World Wide Blitz Tour

World Wide Blitz Tour

Tour by Judas Priest
Location	Europe North America
Associated album	Point of Entry
Start date	13 February 1981 (1981-02-13)
End date	14 December 1981 (1981-12-14)
Legs	5
No. of shows	115 (116 scheduled)
Judas Priest concert chronology
British Steel Tour (1980) World Wide Blitz Tour (1981) World Vengeance Tour (1982–1983)

The World Wide Blitz Tour was a 1981 concert tour by English heavy metal band Judas Priest where the band toured in Europe and North America from 13 February to 14 December 1981 in support of the album Point of Entry.

Overview

Europe (first leg)

For the first European leg of the tour, the band was supported by Saxon, who were promoting their album, "Strong Arm of the Law."

North American leg

Savoy Brown supported the band for the first month of the leg until the end of May. Iron Maiden, who were promoting their album Killers, supported the band after that. Humble Pie would co-headline all of the June dates with Priest and Maiden. Whitesnake would then be the co-headliner throughout most of the July dates. Joe Perry opened a couple of the later shows in July.

The only official Judas Priest track recorded during this tour, a performance of "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" from a show at Palladium in New York City, is featured on the "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll" single released in February 1984. The same track is found on the Metalogy box set.

Europe (final leg)

The final European leg was supported by Def Leppard, who were promoting their album, High 'n' Dry, and Accept. ^[1]

Personnel

• Rob Halford – Lead vocals
• Glenn Tipton – Lead/rhythm guitar and background vocals
• K.K. Downing – Rhythm/lead guitar and background vocals
• Ian Hill – Bass and background vocals
• Dave Holland – Drums

Setlist

The setlist varied throughout the tour. The European leg had a setlist of: ^[2]

1. "Hell Bent For Leather"
2. "The Ripper"
3. "Diamonds & Rust" (Joan Baez cover)
4. "Grinder"
5. "Sinner"
6. "Breaking the Law"
7. "Beyond the Realms of Death"
8. "Troubleshooter"
9. "Metal Gods"
10. "Hot Rockin'"
11. "You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise"
12. "Victim of Changes"
13. "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" (Fleetwood Mac cover)
14. "Living After Midnight"
15. "Tyrant"

The typical setlist for the North American leg and second European leg

1. "Solar Angels"
2. "Heading Out to the Highway"
3. "Diamonds ^ Rust" (Replaced by "Metal Gods" on second European leg)
4. "Troubleshooter" (Replaced by "Hell Bent for Leather" after 6 May 1981)
5. "Breaking the Law"
6. "Sinner"
7. "Beyond the Realms of Death"
8. "Grinder"
9. "Desert Plains"
10. "Hot Rockin'"
11. "You Don't Have to Be Old to Be Wise"
12. "Victim of Changes"
13. "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" (Fleetwood Mac cover)
14. "Living After Midnight"
15. "Tyrant"

Also occasionally played were:

• "United" (Played on 6 to 8 November and 12 December)
• "Genocide" (Played on 10 July)
• "Rapid Fire" (Played on 10 July)
• "Exciter" (Played on 10 July) in Atlanta

Tour dates

Date [3]	City	Country	Venue	Opening Act(s)
Europe
13 February 1981	Kerkrade	Netherlands	Rodahal	Saxon
14 February 1981	Amsterdam		Jaap Edenhal
15 February 1981	Brussels	Belgium	Forest National
16 February 1981	Paris	France	Hippodrome de Pantin
17 February 1981
18 February 1981	Ravensburg	West Germany	Oberschwabenhalle
19 February 1981	Neunkirchen am Brand		Hemmerleinhalle
20 February 1981	Sindelfingen		Messehalle
21 February 1981	Dortmund		Westfalenhallen
23 February 1981	Düsseldorf		Philipshalle
24 February 1981	Ludwigshafen		Friedrich-Ebert-Halle
25 February 1981	Hanover		Niedersachsenhalle
26 February 1981	Kassel		Messehalle
27 February 1981	Wiesbaden		Rhein-Main Halle
28 February 1981	Strasbourg	France	Hall Tivoli
1 March 1981	Cambrai		Palais des Grottes
3 March 1981	Hamburg	West Germany	Hamburg Music Hall
4 March 1981	West Berlin		Neue Welt
6 March 1981	Kiel		Sparkassen-Arena
8 March 1981	Stockholm	Sweden	Stockholm Concert Hall
North America
1 May 1981	Richfield	United States	Richfield Coliseum	Savoy Brown
2 May 1981	Louisville		Louisville Gardens
4 May 1981	Columbus		Veterans Memorial Auditorium
5 May 1981	Springfield		Prairie Capital Convention Center
6 May 1981	Indianapolis		Indiana Convention Center
7 May 1981	South Bend		Morris Civic Auditorium
8 May 1981	Chicago		International Amphitheatre
9 May 1981	Rockford		Rockford Metro Center
10 May 1981	Milwaukee		Milwaukee Auditorium
12 May 1981	Des Moines		Des Moines Veterans Memorial Auditorium
14 May 1981	Bloomington		Met Center
15 May 1981	Omaha		Omaha Civic Auditorium
16 May 1981	St. Louis		Kiel Auditorium
17 May 1981	Kansas City		Memorial Hall
19 May 1981	Salt Lake City		Salt Palace
21 May 1981	San Bernardino		Swing Auditorium
22 May 1981	Oakland		Oakland Civic Auditorium	Savoy Brown, Ranger
23 May 1981	Long Beach		Long Beach Arena	Savoy Brown
24 May 1981	Bakersfield		Bakersfield Civic Auditorium
25 May 1981	San Diego		SDSU Open Air Theater
27 May 1981	Fresno		Selland Arena
29 May 1981	Portland		Veterans Memorial Coliseum
30 May 1981	Seattle		Seattle Center Arena
3 June 1981	Las Vegas		Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts	Humble Pie, Iron Maiden
4 June 1981	Phoenix		Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
5 June 1981	El Paso		El Paso County Coliseum
6 June 1981	Odessa		Ector County Coliseum
7 June 1981	Lubbock		Lubbock Municipal Coliseum
9 June 1981	McAllen		La Villa Real Convention Center
10 June 1981	Laredo		Laredo Civic Center
11 June 1981	San Antonio		Convention Center Arena
12 June 1981	Austin		Austin Municipal Auditorium
13 June 1981	Dallas		Moody Coliseum
14 June 1981	Houston		Sam Houston Coliseum
27 June 1981	Cleveland		Agora Theatre and Ballroom	Iron Maiden, Whitesnake
1 July 1981	Landover		Capital Centre
2 July 1981	Asbury Park		Asbury Park Convention Hall
3 July 1981	Salisbury		Wicomico Youth and Civic Center
4 July 1981	Norfolk		Norfolk Scope
5 July 1981	Huntington		Huntington Civic Center
7 July 1981	Pittsburgh		Stanley Theatre
9 July 1981	Myrtle Beach		Myrtle Beach Convention Center
10 July 1981	Atlanta		Fox Theatre
11 July 1981	Johnson City		Freedom Hall Civic Center
12 July 1981	Memphis		Ellis Auditorium
14 July 1981	Evansville		Roberts Municipal Stadium
15 July 1981	Trotwood		Hara Arena
16 July 1981	Johnstown		Cambria County War Memorial Arena
17 July 1981	Buffalo		Shea's Buffalo
18 July 1981	Rochester		Rochester Auditorium
19 July 1981	Syracuse		Landmark Theatre
21 July 1981	Albany		Palace Theatre	Iron Maiden
22 July 1981	New York City		Palladium
23 July 1981
24 July 1981
25 July 1981	New Haven		New Haven Coliseum	Iron Maiden, Joe Perry
26 July 1981	Allentown		Great Allentown Fair
28 July 1981	Boston		Orpheum Theatre	Iron Maiden
29 July 1981	Baltimore		Baltimore Civic Center
30 July 1981	Upper Darby Township		Tower Theater
31 July 1981	New York City		Pier 84
Europe
6 November 1981	Kingston upon Hull	England	Hull City Hall
7 November 1981	Manchester		Manchester Apollo
8 November 1981
9 November 1981	Leicester		De Montfort Hall
10 November 1981	Bristol		Colston Hall
11 November 1981	Cardiff	Wales	Sophia Gardens Pavilion
12 November 1981	Birmingham	England	Birmingham Odeon
13 November 1981
15 November 1981	Glasgow	Scotland	The Apollo
16 November 1981	Newcastle	England	Newcastle City Hall
17 November 1981
18 November 1981	Sheffield		Sheffield City Hall
19 November 1981
20 November 1981	Crawley		Crawley Leisure Centre
21 November 1981	London		Hammersmith Odeon
22 November 1981
23 November 1981	Southampton		Gaumont Theatre
24 November 1981	Poole		Poole Arts Centre
Europe
27 November 1981	Wiesbaden	West Germany	Rhein-Main Halle	Def Leppard, Accept
28 November 1981	Neunkirchen am Brand		Hemmerleinhalle
29 November 1981	Friedrichshafen		Stadthalle
30 November 1981	Saarbrücken		Saarlandhalle
1 December 1981	Rüsselsheim		Walter-Köbel-Halle
2 December 1981	Karlsruhe		Schwarzwaldhalle
3 December 1981	Ludwigshafen		Friedrich-Ebert-Halle
4 December 1981	Munich		Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle
5 December 1981	Lausanne	Switzerland	Palais de Beaulieu
6 December 1981	Clermont-Ferrand	France	Clermont-Ferrand Sports Hall
7 December 1981	Nogent-sur-Marne		Pavillon Baltard
8 December 1981	Strasbourg		Hall Rhenus
9 December 1981	Lille		Palias De Sports
11 December 1981	Brussels	Belgium	Forest National
12 December 1981	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Jaap Edenhal
13 December 1981	Essen	West Germany	Grugahalle
14 December 1981	Hamburg		Markthalle Hamburg

Boxscore

City	Venue	Tickets sold	Gross revenue (adjusted for inflation)
South Bend	Morris Civic Auditorium	2,274 [4]	$55,812 [4]
St. Louis	Kiel Auditorium	5,700 [5]	$134,466 [5]
Kansas City	Memorial Hall	1,850 [5]	$41,332 [5]
San Bernardino	Swing Auditorium	6,655 [6]	$168,923 [6]
Oakland	Civic Auditorium	4,891 [6]	$133,367 [6]
Long Beach	Long Beach Arena	10,090 [6]	$238,269 [6]
Portland	Memorial Coliseum	6,831 [7]	$175,756 [7]
Seattle	Center Arena	6,000 [7]	$160,163 [7]
Pittsburgh	Stanley Theater	3,347 [8]	$89,261 [8]
Johnson City	Freedom Hall	4,982 [8]	$114,570 [8]
Memphis	Ellis Auditorium	3,722 [8]	$84,256 [8]
Rochester	Auditorium	2,574 [9]	$64,341 [9]

References

1. "Point of Entry". maddrakket.com. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2017.^{[ unreliable source? ]}
2. "Judas Priest - Hell Bent For Leather Live San Bernardino 1981". YouTube. 29 July 2011. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
3. "WORLD WIDE BLITZ TOUR (1981)". chmetal.info. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
4. "Billboard Magazine 05-23-1981" (PDF).
5. "Billboard Magazine 05-30-1981" (PDF).
6. "Billboard Magazine 06-06-1981" (PDF).
7. "Billboard Magazine 06-13-1981" (PDF).
8. "Billboard Magazine 07-25-1981" (PDF).
9. "Billboard Magazine 08-01-1981" (PDF).