The man who wanted to be Joan Baez

No, the Metal God was not a Priest founder, noone in the band was, JP was the name of the dissolved band of Allan Atkins, when Atkins rejoined with KK Downing and Ian Hill they choose the former name. Atkins was married and fathered a boy do he need a stable job and left the band, Halford join in, but most of the song of that period still had Atkins trademark, and writing credits.

Tipton was enrolled just 3 weeks before the Rocka Rolla recordings, and it took 3 months...during the sessions Tipton wrote Tyrant and Epitaph but Budgie's producer Roger Bain marked the songs as Not Commercial, Tyrant will be a staple of JP gigs...one of the song Bain discarded was Victim Of Changes, another one JP live staple sice the Al Atkins era. Sad Wings was produced by Calvert and West from pop band Typicalli Tropical, but hidden in the dark of a 128 channels Neve mixer was Chris Tsangarides, the name of production of NWOBHM...Halford finally started to work on Diamond and Rust, but the Gull record label rejected the song first, then when Priest moved to Columbia Records print a compilation with Diamonds and Rust at #3 position, #3 in rock album is the single...

You know the first print of Sad Wings of Destiny had Side A swapped with B, I got it, to me Prelude then Tyrant are a splendid start.

OK things get better and better, new manager Hemmings made a miracle, the band signed with CBS, the recording budget for the new album is £ 65.000, before they had £ 2000 from Gull...
The choice of the producer is easy, Roger Glover, he wanted a rough approach to rock songs, with more double bass drums so Glover went on hire the most famous recording artist of London, Simon Phillips. The drum work on Sin After Sin sets a new level of toughness and speedness, still today on Phillips masterclass we can ear Last Rose of Summer and Let Us Prey.
Halford proprosed Diamonds and Rust once again, Glover agreed, finally, after the session Glover was pleased, and choosed Baez' song as first single...

The band asked Phillips to join, but he did not want to play in a travelling band, he's a recording artist, the best pay in UK, later he regretted the decision, the band hired Ulster born Les Binks for imminent US tour.

Stained Class was released Feb 10th 1978, after a couple of months of recordings hither and yon, the lack of drumming precision and the absence of a real pruducers made SC a weird album, with weird songs, surely you know the incredible legal problems behind Better than You Better then Me. And the Binks showdown with Beyond the Realms of Death. The record is darker than the others, sells well in UK, not good in US, but the band had some bullets to spare for the new one.

Released October 9th 1978 as Hell Bent for Leather in USA due to controversy over ES shooting in San Diego CA where the pricipal and a janitor were killed by a 16y girl and 8 kids injured. HBFL contains a song more Fleetwood Mac's Green Manalishi written by mad genius Peter Green and different tracks listing, the beautiful cover by Polish artist Roslaw Szaybo is one of my favorite. Anyway the record is full of fast pace songs, one above all Running Wild and epic mid tempo as Rock Forever. First single the weird ballad Before the Dawn, where we still hear the Joan Baez' echo. The record went on Billboard Top 200 and JP embarked on a world tour as headliner, the recordings from the Japan gigs went on JP first live album, Unleashed in the East, the producer was the British Tom Allon who will change the Priest history forever.

British Steel peak at 34 on Billboard and # 4 in UK, released 14th April 1980, carry the band on Metal throne. Still today any rock radio plays Living after Midnight and Breaking the Law once daily. The record went Gold then Platinum, whose merit ? Tom Allon first, he cuts short dark sounds and focus on Major chords. Precise drumming of ex Trapeze Dave Holland gives strenght to the rhythm and his left arm is a mallet. The album cover became an istant classic, guess who...Roslaw Szybo ! Halford has long hair for last time in his career.

The seventh one arrives in stores at the end of Febraury 1981. Different covers for different markets, Canada, US and Japan has the one show on left, concept by John Berg and Art Kane both Americans, the Pinnacle One for Euro is from well know Szaybo. The record went Gold in US only Silver in UK...'81 was one of the Golden Years for Synth Pop and New Wave, the album isn't catchy as British Steel even Heading Out the Highway, Hot Rockin' and Don't Go is radio friendly and get air play. the two gems are not radio friendly, Solar Angels with flanged riff became a "Yes I can play it" for most of worldwide rock guitarists and Desert Plains...Halford singing peak. Later the song will carry Halford live vocal solo, the solid staple of any Priest's concert. From desert plains I bring you love.

It's time for masterpiece, listening to SfV first time left me open-mouthed. OK, I was JP fan, but this record, in Hevy Metal or Hard Rock is "the RECORD". It was July in the summer of 1982, and I played for all year long...still today is one of my favorite album and Electric Eye is my favorite song overall, the SyFy lyric change my attitude and my way of writing. Electric Eye is about a spy drone, common today uncommon in early 80's, where England was the most camera controlled land in the world.

Another masterpiece with SyFy lyrics, JP dominates any metal acts, the summer of 83 see JP triumphant at US Festival, that gets worlwide TV airplay. The Defenders of the Faith tour is some of pharaonical, on stage a mecha-Metallian, the robotical heavy armored armadillo from the cover, can move arms and carrying Rob or KK and Glen everywhere, the tour gone soldout, The Sentinel is still on the set list today...I love that song...

Try something with synthesizer...Glenn Tipton did, and Turbo is one of JP best selling albums.
Another one with SyFy lyrics, another one with solid riff, Rob wants more bikes, Glenn not...all Turbo videos shown Priest on futuristics HD...Rob is on cover of every music mags all over the entire world.

On May 17, 1988, the eleventh one is released, 50 minutes of solid rock with a Chuck Berry cover of Johnny B. Goode for the OST of Uma Thurman 1988 movie...
Most of the song are outtakes from Turbo project, JP wanted a double album, CBS won't.
Ram it Down performed well in US, less in Europe, and Rob left Ibiza for Phoenix, Arizona...

The Metal Decade is gone, on September 1990 the Painkiller see the light...after the ridicolus subminal messages trial of Stained Class era songs. Younger people than me considers Painkiller a milestone, I think is a good album, Tounch of Evil song overall, but I think they got harder and heavy not to loose the wave they created.
At the end of a sold out tour Rob Halford left the band, in May 1992, six years later Rob revealed his homosexuality :

All I want to do in my life is to be like Joan Baez