Living After Midnight

For their "best of" album, see The Best of Judas Priest: Living After Midnight.

"Living After Midnight"
Single by Judas Priest
from the album British Steel
Released	1980
Recorded	January-February 1980 at Startling Studios, Ascot, England
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal
Length	3:31
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	Rob Halford K.K. Downing Glenn Tipton
Producer	Tom Allom
Judas Priest singles chronology
"Rock Forever" (1979) "Living After Midnight" (1980) "Breaking the Law" (1980)
British Steel track listing "United" (5) "Living After Midnight" (6) "You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise" (7)

"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 Japanese 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.

Personnel

• Rob Halford - vocals
• Glenn Tipton - lead guitar
• K.K. Downing - rhythm guitar
• Ian Hill - bass
• Dave Holland - drums