# Mercenaries of Metal Tour

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, though it varied, such as the addition of "Johnny B. Goode" at several shows in Europe, "Turbo Lover" at several shows in North America, and "Beyond the Realms of Death" at various shows. 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.
* "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. 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 gig ||||
| 3 April 1988 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | Roxy Club |
| European leg ||||
| 7 May 1988 | Stockholm | Sweden | Isstadion |
| 8 May 1988 | Gothenburg | Sweden | Frölundaborg |
| 9 May 1988 | Oslo | Norway | Skedsmohallen |
| 10 May 1988 | Copenhagen | Denmark | K.B. Hallen |
| 12 May 1988 | West Berlin | West Germany | Deutschlandhalle |
| 14 May 1988 | Zwolle | Netherlands | IJsselhallen |
| 15 May 1988 | Brussels | Belgium | Forest National |
| 16 May 1988 | Paris | France | Le Zénith |
| 18 May 1988 | Toulouse | France | Palais des Sports de Toulouse |
| 20 May 1988 | Barcelona | Spain | Palau dels Esports de Barcelona |
| 21 May 1988 | San Sebastián | Spain | Velódromo de Anoeta |
| 22 May 1988 | Madrid | Spain | Auditorio de la Casa de Campo |
| 23 May 1988 | Madrid | Spain | Auditorio de la Casa de Campo |
| 26 May 1988 | Milan | Italy | Palatrussardi |
| 27 May 1988 | Florence | Italy | Palasport |
| 29 May 1988 | Lausanne | Switzerland | CIG de Malley |
| 31 May 1988 | Würzburg | West Germany | Carl Diem Halle |
| 1 June 1988 | Ludwigshafen | West Germany | Friedrich-Ebert-Halle |
| 2 June 1988 | Munich | West Germany | Olympiahalle |
| 4 June 1988 | Jübek | West Germany | Sandbahn-Stadion |
| 5 June 1988 | Oldenburg | West Germany | Weser-Ems Halle |
| 7 June 1988 | Offenbach am Main | West Germany | Stadthalle Offenbach |
| 8 June 1988 | Ulm | West Germany | Halle 10 |
| 9 June 1988 | Böblingen | West Germany | Sporthalle |
| 10 June 1988 | Cologne | West Germany | Sporthalle |
| 12 June 1988 | Birmingham | England | Powerhouse |
| 13 June 1988 | London | England | Hammersmith Odeon |
| 14 June 1988 | London | England | Hammersmith Odeon |
| 16 June 1988 | Leicester | England | De Montfort Hall |
| 17 June 1988 | Edinburgh | Scotland | Edinburgh Playhouse |
| 18 June 1988 | Newcastle upon Tyne | England | Newcastle City Hall |
| 19 June 1988 | Manchester | England | Manchester Apollo |
| 21 June 1988 | Newport | Wales | Newport Centre |
| 22 June 1988 | Sheffield | England | Sheffield City Hall |
| North American leg ||||
| 20 July 1988 | Montreal | Canada | Montreal Forum |
| 22 July 1988 | Toronto | Canada | CNE Grandstand |
| 24 July 1988 | Ottawa | Canada | Ottawa Civic Centre |
| 26 July 1988 | Worcester | United States | Worcester Centrum |
| 27 July 1988 | Middletown | United States | Orange County Fairgrounds |
| 28 July 1988 | Uniondale | United States | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| 29 July 1988 | East Rutherford | United States | Meadowlands Arena |
| 30 July 1988 | Uniondale | United States | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| 31 July 1988 | Providence | United States | Providence Civic Center |
| 2 August 1988 | Philadelphia | United States | Spectrum |
| 5 August 1988 | Saratoga Springs | United States | Saratoga Performing Arts Center |
| 6 August 1988 | Rochester | United States | Rochester Community War Memorial |
| 7 August 1988 | New Haven | United States | New Haven Coliseum |
| 8 August 1988 | Binghamton | United States | Broome County Arena |
| 10 August 1988 | Hershey | United States | Hersheypark Stadium |
| 11 August 1988 | Buffalo | United States | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium |
| 12 August 1988 | Landover | United States | Capital Centre |
| 13 August 1988 | Landover | United States | Capital Centre |
| 14 August 1988 | Hampton | United States | Hampton Coliseum |
| 15 August 1988 | Columbus | United States | Ohio Center |
| 16 August 1988 | Dayton | United States | Hara Arena |
| 17 August 1988 | Richfield | United States | Richfield Coliseum |
| 19 August 1988 | Toledo | United States | Toledo Sports Arena |
| 20 August 1988 | Auburn Hills | United States | The Palace of Auburn Hills |
| 21 August 1988 | Charlevoix | United States | Castle Farms |
| 23 August 1988 | Indianapolis | United States | Market Square Arena |
| 24 August 1988 | Chicago | United States | Rosemont Horizon |
| 26 August 1988 | Milwaukee | United States | Mecca Arena |
| 27 August 1988 | Minneapolis | United States | Met Center |
| 28 August 1988 | East Troy | United States | Alpine Valley Music Theatre |
| 29 August 1988 | Bonner Springs | United States | Sandstone Amphitheater |
| 30 August 1988 | St. Louis | United States | Kiel Auditorium |
| 3 September 1988 | Pittsburgh | United States | Pittsburgh Civic Arena |
| 8 September 1988 | Greensboro | United States | Greensboro Coliseum |
| 9 September 1988 | Charlotte | United States | Charlotte Coliseum |
| 10 September 1988 | Nashville | United States | Starwood Amphitheatre |
| 11 September 1988 | Birmingham | United States | Boutwell Auditorium |
| 13 September 1988 | Memphis | United States | Mid-South Coliseum |
| 14 September 1988 | Atlanta | United States | Omni Coliseum |
| 16 September 1988 | Jacksonville | United States | Jacksonville Coliseum |
| 17 September 1988 | Lakeland | United States | Lakeland Civic Center |
| 18 September 1988 | Pembroke Pines | United States | Hollywood Sportatorium |
| 20 September 1988 | Shreveport | United States | Hirsch Memorial Coliseum |
| 21 September 1988 | New Orleans | United States | Lakefront Arena |
| 23 September 1988 | Houston | United States | The Summit |
| 24 September 1988 | Dallas | United States | Starplex Amphitheatre |
| 25 September 1988 | San Antonio | United States | HemisFair Arena |
| 27 September 1988 | Austin | United States | Frank Erwin Center |
| 28 September 1988 | Lubbock | United States | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum |
| 29 September 1988 | El Paso | United States | El Paso County Coliseum |
| 30 September 1988 | Reno | United States | Lawlor Events Center |
| 1 October 1988 | Salt Lake City | United States | Salt Palace |
| 2 October 1988 | Denver | United States | McNichols Sports Arena |
| 4 October 1988 | Albuquerque | United States | Tingley Coliseum |
| 6 October 1988 | Chandler | United States | Compton Terrace |
| 7 October 1988 | San Francisco | United States | Cow Palace |
| 8 October 1988 | San Francisco | United States | Cow Palace |
| 9 October 1988 | Sacramento | United States | Cal Expo Amphitheater |
| 10 October 1988 | Mountain View | United States | Shoreline Amphitheatre |
| 11 October 1988 | Fresno | United States | Selland Arena |
| 12 October 1988 | San Diego | United States | San Diego Sports Arena |
| 13 October 1988 | Los Angeles | United States | The Forum |
| 14 October 1988 | Los Angeles | United States | The Forum |
| 15 October 1988 | Laguna Hills | United States | Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre |
| 16 October 1988 | Laguna Hills | United States | Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre |
| 18 October 1988 | Spokane | United States | Spokane Coliseum |
| 19 October 1988 | Seattle | United States | Seattle Center Coliseum |
| 20 October 1988 | Portland | United States | Portland Coliseum |
| 22 October 1988 | Vancouver | Canada | Pacific Coliseum |

## Personnel

* Rob Halford – lead vocals
* Glenn Tipton – guitar
* K. K. Downing – guitar
* Ian Hill – bass
* Dave Holland – drums
* Jim Silvia – tour manager