Judas Priest Talked to Us About Bikes, Blowjobs, and Tipper Gore

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In the ten years after their unstoppable 1974 debut Rocka Rolla, Judas Priest cranked out no less than nine studio albums. The last of these was Defenders of the Faith, the climax of an incredibly successful run that began with British Steel and continued through Point of Entry and their commercial high-water mark, Screaming for Vengeance—which went double platinum in the US and has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. So it’s not like there was any pressure to follow up the record that produced the MTV smash “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” and propelled Priest to the bright lights and big sexual organs of international superstardom. At least that’s the way lead vocalist, gay icon, and renowned metal god Rob Halford tells it when he recalls how Priest repaired to Ibiza, Spain, to record Defenders. With songs about blowjobs (“Jawbreaker”), blowjobs at gunpoint (“Eat Me Alive”) and vampire seduction (“Love Bites”)—not to mention a track that landed at number three on Tipper Gore’s infamous “Filthy Fifteen” list (“Eat Me Alive” again) and possibly the greatest biker anthem ever written by humans (“Rock Hard Ride Free”), Defenders Of The Faith is a thundering celebration of huge riffs, anthemic choruses and hot, sweaty man love. In honor of the album’s three-plus decades of ruling faces and stuffing holes, Priest are re-releasing it in a deluxe triple-disc edition that includes a killer live set from May 5, 1984 at the Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, CA. We recently called Halford on the Secret Priest Hotline to pump him for information. Here’s what he told us:

Noisey: In 1984, you were coming off of a string of highly successful records—British Steel, Point of Entry and especially Screaming for Vengeance. Did you feel any pressure during the writing and recording of Defenders?
Rob Halford: I don’t think we had time to think about that, J. We were just roaring along at the speed of light. The most vivid memory I have of those sessions is that we began them right on the back of the performance at what’s now become the legendary US Festival, which was in Devore [a part of San Bernardino, CA]. We did that show and then we all flew over to Ibiza to start working on the record. So we were full of that amazing event, which was really a great type of propellant, you could say. To that that in your system to start the sessions, I’m sure was beneficial.

Priest kept up a frenetic pace in those days while keeping the quality of the music high. Those first nine albums are all varying degrees of fantastic, and I can’t really think of another band you could say that about.
Thank you. We were banging out a record around once a year in that part of the 80s, and I don’t know how we did it. We’d do a tour, have a couple of weeks break, and then start writing. With Defenders, we had some very barebones ideas, but the bulk of it came together very quickly over in Ibiza. The main thing I like about that record, looking back on it now, is the change in the texture of the production from Screaming For Vengeance. Defenders seems to have a really gritty, hard, uncomplicated vibe about it. Somehow, we made everything sound stronger and more precise than on Screaming Vengeance through Tom Allom’s amazing mixing skills. And of course there are some really cool songs that we still play now.

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Defenders was the third record in a row that Priest recorded in Ibiza. What was the atmosphere like there back then? You were still partying pretty hard in those days, weren’t you?
[Laughs] I’m not sure how we got anything done! God, I mean, we did so much drugs and so much booze, I don’t know how we got through it. I was trying to come up with vocal hooks and write lyrics as well. The whole thing came to a climax for me when I was later doing sessions for the Turbo album. Oh my god. But we had some level heads around, thankfully. Ibiza then, much as it is now, is a very hedonistic place. But here’s the deal: When you close the door of the studio and start to work, you could be anywhere. The downside is when you open the door. [Laughs] Because in Ibiza, you can do anything. And it’s still like that today: There’s a very loose, liberal, Caligula-like vibe. But out of it all came this wonderful record.

But first you had to essentially build the studio you recorded Defenders in, because the one you’d used for Screaming for Vengeance and Point of Entry had shut down.
That’s absolutely right. It was like an episode of Spinal Tap. We literally rolled the studio desk into the building on logs. And studio desks were these big, monstrous pieces of metal in those days. It was like Noah’s Ark. At the time, we were furious about it. “Why are we doing this? We’re a multiplatinum band!” But I guess it’s the British resolve, the stiff upper lip. “Stay calm and carry on” became the attitude. [Laughs] It was a very old Britannia, pomp-and-glory kind of vibe. But instead of empire building, we were studio building. The facility was like a shell of a studio. There wasn’t even a microphone left in the building when we arrived. We actually started from scratch. So maybe that was part of the attitude that went into the album. It was like, “Well, we’ve overcome this. Now we can make a great record.” And we did.

One of my favorite songs on the album is “Jawbreaker,” which is of course about blowjobs. Do you think fans realized that at the time?
[Laughs] I kind of alluded to that, yeah. Maybe that was part of my subconscious, subliminal gay agenda going on there. Because if you think about a large penis while you’re listening to that song, it does fit the mold. [Laughs] But it’s also about this fictional character, this Jawbreaker guy, who has this kind of Rambo-esque kind of attitude about him. Or her. But yeah, I like to play around with the lyrics. You take it as you wish with the interpretation. Fucking great song, though. We’re playing that one live on the current Redeemer of Souls tour.

The song “Eat Me Alive” landed you on Tipper Gore’s shit list.
Yeah. Wow, man—that was crazy. Reflecting today, in a more sensible climate, I can understand trying to make sense of all the crazy things that were being said and done then. I can understand if you’re a parent and you’ve got a kid who’s into rock and metal, you wanna make sure that you feel some responsibility to guide them in what they listen to. As far as putting a rating on music like you do movies, I can see the common sense in that. But it just got completely blown out of proportion through the people that were involved. I didn’t like the negative tone that was directed toward the talent, be it us or Twisted Sister or Sheena Easton or Prince. We were painted as the wrong kind of character. That was our main objection. But anyway, it was a good song to choose. [Laughs] That was our version of 50 Shades Of Grey in 1984.

And “Love Bites” is about some kind of vampire seduction—you were way ahead of the recent vampire craze with that one. What inspired the song?
It just came from my imagination. I love all that kind of gothic Bram Stoker kind of thing. I love to get lost in that kind of escapism. I’d always wanted to write a song that had that kind of Dracula attitude, and it’s got kind of a sexy vibe to it as well. It’s a really simple song, but I love the way it starts off with just vocals and drums and this kind of pull-off riff on the guitar. The components of the song are really full of character and life. From the Priest point of view, they make very specific statements: Let’s write a song that will have a long life, and that’s definitely the case with that track.

Is it true that you originally wanted to include a back-masked recording on that song that said, “Drink a lot of milk”?
[Laughs] No, I think that’s one of those urban myths. Or it could be a reference to that very sad period where we involved in that horrible Reno situation where those two beautiful guys lost their lives. But again, I think we were trying to pull the general public away from the notion that those kinds of things have the potential to do damage—because they don’t. A lot of the bands that did [back-masking] were just joking around. Rock n’ roll has always been full of elements that seem dangerous, and I think rock n’ roll should always be challenging. I think it should always have the ability to provoke and cause a reaction. Otherwise, what’s the point?

“Rock Hard Ride Free” is the ultimate biker anthem. I’m assuming that came from your well-documented love of motorcycles.
It’s got that element, yeah. I don’t ride as often as I’d like since I’ve had some back surgery, but if you’ve ever ridden a motorcycle, you know what it feels like. You can’t describe it to anyone who hasn’t sat on a bike. It’s really cool to sit on a bike with your headphones on—which you shouldn’t do—and listen to [that song] as you’re roaring along. The song is a reference to that spirit of rock n’ roll, which is all about freedom and liberation.

“Some Heads Are Gonna Roll” was written by Bob Halligan, Jr, who wrote “(Take These) Chains” on Screaming for Vengeance. Why did you want to bring in an outside writer?
I think the exercise at the time was looking for an opportunity to spread the gospel of metal through rock n’ roll radio. Bob is a really talented guy—he also wrote a song for me on one of my solo records called “Twist.” But I don’t think in all of the years that Priest has been together as a band that we’ve sat down and tried to write a single for the radio. I don’t think we have that ability, quite frankly. We’re not built that way. In those instances where tracks like “Living After Midnight,” “Breaking the Law” or “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” hit the radio waves, that’s been kind of a fluke from our point of view. They’re songs that just have the right ingredients. But with Bob it was a discussion about a song that could be serviced to radio, because radio was still very, very important in the rock n’ roll world. And it’s a really good song. The great thing about the songs he did for us is that they sound like they could’ve been written by Priest.

You’re including the Long Beach Arena show from May 5, 1984, on the 30th anniversary edition of Defenders. What do you remember about that show? It was broadcast live at the time, wasn’t it?
It was, yeah. I think it was a Friday or Saturday night, and there was just this roaring cacophony of metal and rock that was surging through Southern California at the time. Everybody was going crazy for it. We had the support of older fans and a new breed of fans that were seeing us for first time that night. It was an electric night, and I think that show is a great example of how you can take your studio work into the live arena and go way past 11.