The Mercenaries of Metal Tour was a 1988 concert tour by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, in support of their most recent release, Ram It Down. Unlike their other tours of the 1980s, no official Judas Priest release includes any live recordings from this tour. It was the final tour the band did with longtime drummer Dave Holland. The week before the tour started, the band visited Stockholm, Sweden for full production rehearsals at Hovet. Before the official tour start, the band played a few warm-up shows including one in a club in Amsterdam, Netherlands in early April 1988, where the footage for the Johnny B. Goode video was shot. On 24 September 1988, just before the band was about to perform a show in Dallas, Texas, they were greeted backstage by the sheriff with a subpoena, leading to the infamous subliminal message trial in the summer of 1990.
Setlist The average setlist for the tour is as follows,Judas Priest Average Setlists of tour: Mercenaries of Metal | setlist.fm . Retrieved 2 January 2012. though it varied, such as the addition of "Johnny B. Goode" at several shows in Europe,Judas Priest Covered Songs and Artists – Mercenaries of Metal | setlist.fm . Retrieved 2 January 2012. "Turbo Lover" at several shows in North America,"Judas Priest – Turbo Lover – Live in New Haven 1988" . YouTube, 26 June 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2012. and "Beyond the Realms of Death" at various shows."Judas Priest – Beyond the Realms of Death, San Diego 1988" . YouTube, 29 January 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2012."Judas Priest – Beyond The Realms of Death Live Edinburgh 1988" . YouTube, 1 September 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2012. The setlist also saw the return of "Sinner", which had been a live staple since 1977, but had been dropped like all other pre-Killing Machine songs, except for "Victim of Changes", during the Fuel for Life Tour.Krannila, Ville. The Fuel of the Furnace Part 1 – Sinner . Retrieved 2 January 2012.
"The Hellion / Electric Eye" "Metal Gods" "Sinner" "Breaking the Law" "Come and Get It" "I'm a Rocker" "The Sentinel" "The Ripper" "Beyond the Realms of Death" "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" "Turbo Lover" (added on July 20, 1988) "Ram It Down" "Heavy Metal" "Victim of Changes" "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" "Johnny B. Goode" (dropped after May 26, 1988) "Living After Midnight" "Hell Bent for Leather" "You've Got Another Thing Comin'"
Tour dates The venues and events for the tour were located in Europe and North America. on jugulator.net. Retrieved 2 January 2012.The French Metallian – 1988 tour dates . Retrieved 4 January 2012. They were supported by Bonfire on the European and British legs, Cinderella on the British and North American legs and Slayer on the North American leg. Date City Country Venue Warm-up gig3 April 1988AmsterdamNetherlandsRoxy Club European leg7 May 1988StockholmSwedenIsstadion8 May 1988GothenburgFrölundaborg 9 May 1988OsloNorwaySkedsmohallen10 May 1988CopenhagenDenmarkK.B. Hallen12 May 1988West BerlinWest GermanyDeutschlandhalle14 May 1988ZwolleNetherlandsIJsselhallen15 May 1988BrusselsBelgiumForest National16 May 1988ParisFranceLe Zénith18 May 1988ToulousePalais des Sports de Toulouse20 May 1988BarcelonaSpainPalau dels Esports de Barcelona21 May 1988San SebastiánVelódromo de Anoeta22 May 1988MadridAuditorio de la Casa de Campo23 May 198826 May 1988MilanItalyPalatrussardi27 May 1988FlorencePalasport29 May 1988LausanneSwitzerlandCIG de Malley31 May 1988WürzburgWest GermanyCarl Diem Halle1 June 1988LudwigshafenFriedrich-Ebert-Halle2 June 1988MunichOlympiahalle4 June 1988JübekSandbahn-Stadion5 June 1988OldenburgWeser-Ems Halle7 June 1988Offenbach am MainStadthalle Offenbach8 June 1988UlmHalle 109 June 1988BöblingenSporthalle10 June 1988CologneSporthalle12 June 1988BirminghamEnglandPowerhouse13 June 1988LondonHammersmith Odeon14 June 198816 June 1988LeicesterDe Montfort Hall17 June 1988EdinburghScotlandEdinburgh Playhouse18 June 1988Newcastle upon TyneEnglandNewcastle City Hall19 June 1988ManchesterManchester Apollo21 June 1988NewportWalesNewport Centre22 June 1988SheffieldEnglandSheffield City Hall North American leg20 July 1988MontrealCanadaMontreal Forum22 July 1988TorontoCNE Grandstand24 July 1988OttawaOttawa Civic Centre26 July 1988WorcesterUnited StatesWorcester Centrum27 July 1988MiddletownOrange County Fairgrounds28 July 1988UniondaleNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum29 July 1988East RutherfordMeadowlands Arena30 July 1988UniondaleNassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum31 July 1988ProvidenceProvidence Civic Center2 August 1988PhiladelphiaSpectrum5 August 1988Saratoga SpringsSaratoga Performing Arts Centerchmetal bootlegs – Judas Priest Tour Dates 1988. 26 September 2008 (last updated). Retrieved 8 January 2012.6 August 1988RochesterRochester Community War Memorial7 August 1988New HavenNew Haven Coliseum8 August 1988BinghamtonBroome County Arena10 August 1988HersheyHersheypark Stadium11 August 1988BuffaloBuffalo Memorial Auditorium12 August 1988LandoverCapital Centre13 August 198814 August 1988HamptonHampton Coliseum15 August 1988ColumbusOhio Center16 August 1988DaytonHara Arena17 August 1988RichfieldRichfield Coliseum19 August 1988ToledoToledo Sports Arena20 August 1988Auburn HillsThe Palace of Auburn Hills21 August 1988CharlevoixCastle Farms 23 August 1988IndianapolisMarket Square Arena24 August 1988ChicagoRosemont Horizon26 August 1988MilwaukeeMecca Arena27 August 1988MinneapolisMet Center28 August 1988East TroyAlpine Valley Music Theatre29 August 1988Bonner SpringsSandstone Amphitheater30 August 1988St. LouisKiel Auditorium3 September 1988PittsburghPittsburgh Civic Arena8 September 1988GreensboroGreensboro Coliseum 9 September 1988CharlotteCharlotte Coliseum10 September 1988NashvilleStarwood Amphitheatre11 September 1988BirminghamBoutwell Auditorium13 September 1988MemphisMid-South Coliseum14 September 1988AtlantaOmni Coliseum16 September 1988JacksonvilleJacksonville Coliseum17 September 1988LakelandLakeland Civic Center18 September 1988Pembroke PinesHollywood Sportatorium20 September 1988ShreveportHirsch Memorial Coliseum21 September 1988New OrleansLakefront Arena23 September 1988HoustonThe Summit24 September 1988DallasStarplex Amphitheatre25 September 1988San AntonioHemisFair Arena27 September 1988AustinFrank Erwin Center28 September 1988LubbockLubbock Municipal Coliseum29 September 1988El PasoEl Paso County Coliseum30 September 1988RenoLawlor Events Center1 October 1988Salt Lake CitySalt Palace2 October 1988DenverMcNichols Sports Arena4 October 1988AlbuquerqueTingley Coliseum6 October 1988ChandlerCompton Terrace7 October 1988San FranciscoCow Palace8 October 19889 October 1988SacramentoCal Expo Amphitheater10 October 1988Mountain ViewShoreline Amphitheatre11 October 1988FresnoSelland Arena12 October 1988San DiegoSan Diego Sports Arena13 October 1988Los AngelesThe Forum14 October 198815 October 1988Laguna HillsIrvine Meadows Amphitheatre16 October 198818 October 1988SpokaneSpokane Coliseum19 October 1988SeattleSeattle Center Coliseum20 October 1988PortlandPortland Coliseum22 October 1988VancouverCanadaPacific Coliseum
Personnel Rob Halford – lead vocals Glenn Tipton – guitar K. K. Downing – guitar Ian Hill – bass Dave Holland – drums Jim Silvia – tour manager
References