Living After Midnight
Encyclopedia
"Living After Midnight" is a song by British
heavy metal
band Judas Priest
, originally featured on their 1980 album British Steel
. Speaking to the hedonistic
, rebellious spirit of the 1980s, is one of the band's most popular songs.
On live performances, the line, "I took the city 'bout one a.m.," is sometimes changed to the particular city or venue the band is performing. For example, on the DVD Rising in the East
, lead vocalist Rob Halford
sings, "I took the Budokan
'bout one a.m.," in reference to the stadium in Tokyo
, Japan
, that hosted the concert. On the Westwood One recordings from the 1983 US Festival Halford recites, "I took some acid about 1 a.m...."
The music video, directed by Julien Temple
and shot live at the Sheffield City Hall
, begins with drummer Dave Holland
playing an invisible drum kit. During the guitar solo, fans on the front row play along with their cardboard guitars (which were the prominent fan symbols of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
movement).
This song has been covered by The Donnas
on their album The Donnas Turn 21
, by Saul Blanch on the tribute album
Acero Argentino: Tributo a Judas Priest, by L.A. Guns
on Hell Bent Forever: A Tribute to Judas Priest
and by Iron Savior
as a bonus track
on the Japan
ese release of their Condition Red
album. It was recently covered by Disturbed on the Tribute to British Steel CD by Metal Hammer
UK. It also appears as one of the bonus songs available with some distributions of Asylum
, and also features on The Lost Children
.
The guitar solo
in the song is played by Glenn Tipton
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
band Judas Priest
Judas Priest
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, England, formed in 1969. The current line-up consists of lead vocalist Rob Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band has gone through several drummers over the years,...
, originally featured on their 1980 album British Steel
British Steel (album)
British Steel is the sixth album by the British heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 14 April 1980. It saw the band reprise the commercial sound they had established on Killing Machine however; this time, they abandoned many of the dark lyrical themes which had been prominent on their...
. Speaking to the hedonistic
Hedonism
Hedonism is a school of thought which argues that pleasure is the only intrinsic good. In very simple terms, a hedonist strives to maximize net pleasure .-Etymology:The name derives from the Greek word for "delight" ....
, rebellious spirit of the 1980s, is one of the band's most popular songs.
On live performances, the line, "I took the city 'bout one a.m.," is sometimes changed to the particular city or venue the band is performing. For example, on the DVD Rising in the East
Rising In the East
Rising in the East is a live DVD of Judas Priest performing a concert in Tokyo's Nippon Budokan filmed in May 2005.-Release:Heavy metal icons Judas Priest released the live DVD 'Rising In the East' on November 15, 2005, via Rhino Home Video....
, lead vocalist Rob Halford
Rob Halford
Robert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is nicknamed the "Metal God" as a tribute to his influence on metal, and after the Judas Priest song of the same name from 1980's...
sings, "I took the Budokan
Nippon Budokan
The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in central Tokyo, Japan.This is the location where many "Live at the Budokan" albums were recorded...
'bout one a.m.," in reference to the stadium in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, that hosted the concert. On the Westwood One recordings from the 1983 US Festival Halford recites, "I took some acid about 1 a.m...."
The music video, directed by Julien Temple
Julien Temple
Julien Temple is an English film, documentary and music video director. He began his career with short films featuring the Sex Pistols, and has continued with various off-beat projects, including The Great Rock And Roll Swindle, Absolute Beginners and a documentary film about Glastonbury.-Temple...
and shot live at the Sheffield City Hall
Sheffield City Hall
Sheffield City Hall is a Grade II* listed building in Sheffield, England, containing several venues, ranging from the Oval Concert Hall which seats over 2,000 people to a ballroom featuring a sprung dance floor...
, begins with drummer Dave Holland
Dave Holland (drummer)
Dave Holland is an English rock drummer, best remembered from his stint with Judas Priest between 1979 and 1989. He served time in prison for attempted rape of a 17-year-old boy...
playing an invisible drum kit. During the guitar solo, fans on the front row play along with their cardboard guitars (which were the prominent fan symbols of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
movement).
This song has been covered by The Donnas
The Donnas
The Donnas are an American all-female rock band from Palo Alto, California. They draw inspiration from The Ramones, The Runaways, AC/DC, Bachman–Turner Overdrive and Kiss. Rolling Stone has stated that "the Donnas offer a guileless take on adolescent alienation; they traffic in kicks, not...
on their album The Donnas Turn 21
The Donnas Turn 21
The Donnas Turn 21 is the fourth studio album by the American hard rock band The Donnas, released in 2001 on Lookout!. Their last release on Lookout!, the album marks their transition away from their previous pop punk sound and towards a more hard rock sound.-Track listing:All songs by The Donnas,...
, by Saul Blanch on the tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
Acero Argentino: Tributo a Judas Priest, by L.A. Guns
L.A. Guns
L.A. Guns is the name of a hard rock group formed in Los Angeles, California, of which two rival incarnations currently exist due to numerous line-up changes. The first incarnation of the group was formed, by Tracii Guns, in 1983 but disbanded in 1985 following its merger with fellow Los Angeles...
on Hell Bent Forever: A Tribute to Judas Priest
Hell Bent Forever: A Tribute To Judas Priest
Hell Bent Forever: A Tribute to Judas Priest is a tribute album, released in 2008. It includes several rock and metal bands such as Motörhead, Icarus Witch, L.A. Guns and Sepultura, covering songs by British heavy metal band Judas Priest...
and by Iron Savior
Iron Savior
Iron Savior is a German power metal band that formed in Hamburg, Germany in 1996. Following a period of several years working behind the scenes in music production, multi-instrumentalist and producer/engineer Piet Sielck joined with former Helloween bandmate Kai Hansen and then-drummer for Blind...
as a bonus track
Bonus track
In terms of recorded music, a bonus track is a piece of music which has been included on specific releases or reissues of an album. This is most often done as a promotional device, either as an incentive to customers to purchase albums they might otherwise not, or to repurchase albums they already...
on the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese release of their Condition Red
Condition Red (album)
Condition Red is the fourth studio album by the German power metal band Iron Savior. It continues the science fiction story that the band introduced on their debut album Iron Savior and continued on Unification, the Interlude EP, and Dark Assault.- Track listing :- Personnel :Iron Savior* Piet...
album. It was recently covered by Disturbed on the Tribute to British Steel CD by Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer
Metal Hammer is a monthly heavy metal music magazine published in the United Kingdom by Future Publishing, and in several other countries by different publishers. Metal Hammer articles feature both mainstream bands and more unusual acts from the whole spectrum of heavy metal music...
UK. It also appears as one of the bonus songs available with some distributions of Asylum
Asylum (Disturbed album)
Asylum is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Disturbed. Taking inspiration from aspects of lead singer David Draiman's life, Asylum is meant to take a fresh direction in the band's music career, while remaining consistent with the band's previous albums. The album was released on...
, and also features on The Lost Children
The Lost Children (album)
-Personnel:Disturbed*David Draiman – lead vocals*Dan Donegan – guitar, electronics*John Moyer – bass guitar, backing vocals*Mike Wengren – drums, percussions*Steve Kmak – bass guitar Production...
.
The guitar solo
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
in the song is played by Glenn Tipton
Glenn Tipton
Glenn Tipton is one of the Grammy Award-winning guitarists for the heavy metal band Judas Priest...
.
Personnel
- Rob HalfordRob HalfordRobert John Arthur "Rob" Halford is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead vocalist for the Grammy Award-winning heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is nicknamed the "Metal God" as a tribute to his influence on metal, and after the Judas Priest song of the same name from 1980's...
- vocals - Glenn TiptonGlenn TiptonGlenn Tipton is one of the Grammy Award-winning guitarists for the heavy metal band Judas Priest...
- lead guitarLead guitarLead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure... - K.K. Downing - rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
- Ian HillIan HillIan Hill is a founding member and bassist for the Birmingham-based Grammy award winning heavy metal band, Judas Priest....
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Dave HollandDave Holland (drummer)Dave Holland is an English rock drummer, best remembered from his stint with Judas Priest between 1979 and 1989. He served time in prison for attempted rape of a 17-year-old boy...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....