Writers: Glenn Tipton, Rob Halford, and K.K. Downing
Producer: Tom Allom
Recorded: Late 1979 in England
Released: Spring 1980
| Players: | Rob Halford—vocals Glenn Tipton–guitar K.K. Downing–guitar Ian Hill–bass Dave Holland–drums |
| Album: | British Steel (Columbia, 1980) |
After 16 years as an underground metal scene favorite, Judas Priest was propelled into the hard rock mainstream with “Living After Midnight.”
The song earned substantial radio play in the U.S., while it was a Number 12 hit in the U.K.
In writing the song, guitarist Glenn Tipton remembers “messing around with this chord sequence in the small hours through two or three Marshall (amplifier) stacks underneath the sleeping accommodations in the studio. (Lead singer) Rob (Halford), who was trying to sleep above, came down bleary-eyed the next morning and said 'I've got just the title for that: “Living After Midnight.”'”
Guitarist K.K. Downing says the title was an instant hit with the rest of the band. “The sentiment is what rock 'n' roll is all about.”
The British Steel album reached Number 34 on the Billboard 200 and was Priest's first million-seller in the U.S. In the U.K., it reached Number Four on the album chart.
British Steel was the band's first studio album produced by Tom Allom, who had helmed the 1979 live album Unleashed In The East. Allom continued to work with Priest through much of the '80s.
British Steel also marked the debut of drummer Dave Holland, who joined in December 1979 after his predecessor, Les Binks, grew tired of Priest's grueling road schedule.
