JUDAS PRIEST Frontman Talks About Making Of 'British Steel'; Video Available

JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford was interviewed by Clear Channel in connection with the release of the deluxe 30th anniversary edition of the band's breakthrough 1980 album, "British Steel", on Tuesday (May 11). A clip from the chat can be viewed below. More of the footage is available at this location.

After five previous efforts, endless touring and a developing cult following, PRIEST finally scored at rock radio with two songs off the 1980 album, "Living After Midnight" and "Breaking The Law". Halford told The Pulse of Radio that the band didn't attempt to write hits when they recorded the disc. "We were doing what we'd been doing for the prior three or four years or so, we'd been writing, recording and touring, writing, recording and touring, so there was never a situation where we sat down with the label or management and they said, 'If you can write this kind of record and write this kind of a song, this could happen,'" he said. "It was all, as is every PRIEST release, very spontaneous and very real, you know."

"British Steel" became PRIEST's first gold album in the U.S. and established them as a headlining act.

To celebrate the impending 30th anniversary of the record, PRIEST played "British Steel" in its entirety on its 2009 summer and fall tour.

The new reissue features the complete remastered album plus two bonus tracks, along with a DVD that captures an entire 16-song concert filmed in Hollywood, Florida last August, including the full performance of "British Steel".

A deluxe edition also contains a CD of the Florida concert.

PRIEST is currently on a break but Halford will play all six Ozzfest shows with his self-named solo band this summer.