# Operation Rock & Roll

Operation Rock & Roll was a 1991 concert tour featuring Judas Priest, Alice Cooper, Motörhead, Dangerous Toys and Metal Church. It ran from 9 July 1991 until 19 August 1991 in the United States and Canada. This tour was in honor of the US forces involved in Operation Desert Storm during the Gulf War. This would also be Judas Priest's final tour with Rob Halford until 2004.
Judas Priest continued to tour in support of Painkiller, with Alice Cooper supporting Hey Stoopid, Motörhead supporting 1916, Dangerous Toys supporting Hellacious Acres and Metal Church supporting The Human Factor.

## Rob Halford incident

On the 19 August 1991 show in Toronto, the last date of the tour, an incident occurred when Rob Halford collided with the drum riser as he was making his entrance onstage on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle as Judas Priest was set to perform, breaking his nose in the process. He was left unconscious as "Hell Bent for Leather" was being performed. Crew members struggled to search for Halford in the heavy induced fog, not knowing where he was. After a short while, guitarist Glenn Tipton stumbled upon him on the ground and Halford was then assisted by the crew members. He regained consciousness afterwards and finished the show with a plaster on the bridge of his nose. After the show, he was transferred to the local medical clinic where he was treated for a concussion.
In the 2004 Reunited documentary, Tipton explained that so much dry ice, smoke and pyrotechnics was the primary factor that the center of the stage got stuck, "Rob went down on the ramp on the bike, and, so lucky, he'd actually just caught the top of his head, you know, I mean it could've literally have killed him. And it knocked him off. So we started the number not knowing what had gone on because there was so much dry ice and smoke, until I stepped on Rob, [Laughs] I actually stepped on Rob, 'What's this? On the stage', you know, 'some Priest prop.' And it was Rob and he was stunned so we played the first song which was, I'm not sure whether it was "Electric Eye" or, without him...anyway true to professional form he rallied around and joined us on stage in the second number."

## Set lists

Judas Priest setlist
* "Hell Bent for Leather"
* "Heading Out to the Highway"
* "The Hellion"
* "Electric Eye"
* "Diamonds & Rust" (Joan Baez cover) (Dropped after 14 July 1991)
* "All Guns Blazing"
* "Metal Gods"
* "Some Heads Are Gonna Roll"
* "The Ripper"
* "Night Crawler"
* "A Touch of Evil"
* "Painkiller"
* "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" (Fleetwood Mac cover)
* "Breaking the Law"
* "Living After Midnight"
* "You've Got Another Thing Comin'"
"Turbo Lover" and "Victim of Changes" were also occasionally performed.

## Tour dates

| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| 9 July 1991 | Salt Lake City | United States | Salt Palace |
| 12 July 1991 | Irvine | United States | Irvine Meadows |
| 13 July 1991 | Mountain View | United States | Shoreline Amphitheatre |
| 14 July 1991 | Sacramento | United States | Cal Expo Amphitheatre |
| 16 July 1991 | Morrison | United States | Red Rocks Amphitheatre |
| 19 July 1991 | Cedar Rapids | United States | Five Seasons Center |
| 20 July 1991 | Tinley Park | United States | World Music Theater |
| 21 July 1991 | Antioch | United States | Starwood Amphitheatre |
| 23 July 1991 | Lakeland | United States | Lakeland Civic Center |
| 24 July 1991 | Orlando | United States | Orlando Arena |
| 25 July 1991 | Atlanta | United States | Coca-Cola Lakewood Amphitheatre |
| 27 July 1991 | Houston | United States | The Summit |
| 28 July 1991 | Dallas | United States | Coca-Cola Starplex Amphitheatre |
| 30 July 1991 | Charlotte | United States | Blockbuster Pavilion |
| 31 July 1991 | Raleigh | United States | Walnut Creek Amphitheatre |
| 2 August 1991 | Burgettstown | United States | Star Lake Amphitheater |
| 3 August 1991 | Clarkston | United States | Pine Knob Music Theatre |
| 4 August 1991 | Merrillville | United States | Star Plaza Theatre |
| 6 August 1991 | Noblesville | United States | Deer Creek Music Center |
| 7 August 1991 | Richfield | United States | Richfield Coliseum |
| 8 August 1991 | Weedsport | United States | Cayuga County Fair Speedway |
| 9 August 1991 | East Rutherford | United States | Brendan Byrne Arena |
| 10 August 1991 | Philadelphia | United States | Spectrum |
| 11 August 1991 | Bristol | United States | Lake Compounce |
| 13 August 1991 | Old Orchard Beach | United States | The Ball Park |
| 14 August 1991 | Mansfield | United States | Great Woods |
| 15 August 1991 | Landover | United States | Capital Centre |
| 16 August 1991 | Middletown | United States | Orange County Fair Speedway |
| 17 August 1991 | Montreal | Canada | Montreal Forum |
| 19 August 1991 | Toronto | Canada | CNE Grandstand |