28: Breaking the Law - Judas Priest

[Transcript generated with MacWisper] Better than mine, I was just thinking of a hardened baguette.

Hello and welcome back to We Can't We Rhyme, We've Gone Too Far, a podcast where we discuss

the weirdest, worst, silliest as fuck music videos. For this episode, we are without our

book's favourite Bulgarian host Nelly. He is currently indisposed due to having a wedding.

Anyway, congrats to Nilly and Scott from the now, I guess, getting married corner.

I'd forgotten to have written pause for cheers there and I had it muted so it's scrambling to

unmute myself. I have to cheer. Yeah. Do you want to just insert like a cheer just in case?

Yeah. Okay.

The hell that was. But hey.

Today we are podcast with nothing left to lose. We've assembled our crew,

pick their target and synchronise watches, all to the soundtrack of Judas Priest's 'Breaking the Love'.

The video opens with the lead singer Rob Halfords riding in the back of a convertible,

lamenting his life, apparently a breaking point and on the way to "break the law, break the law".

He jumps out and regroups with the rest of the band, bursting through the door of the bank,

and expertly subdues the punters and staff using the sheer power of their metal chops.

Antics ensue and it's revealed the band are after their own golden record for the album

British Steel, which they take and escape into the sunset.

For the 1980 album British Steel, the video was directed by Julian Temple,

best known for his work with the Six Pistols and various other music related documentaries and

films. Guitarist KK Downing later remarked in an interview "We were young, and it was exciting.

We were probably making the very first heavy metal conceptual video."

On another note, this is a podcast exclusive, I actually photographed Julian Temple in 2018.

Oh really? I did not know that.

I photographed him with a filmmaker called Neil Fox. It was a random job while at uni.

What was his chat like?

Well he was talking about a documentary that he just… I think he made like a year before

and it was about… was it about the Sex Pistols or The Clash? I think it was The Clash. He

was fine, you know, I had no idea who he was. He articulated everything he talked about

quite well so he was dead on.

Done with the director Julian Temple. Is it the director yet?

Yes.

The guy who directed this but judging by his Wikipedia he was quite an interesting guy

because he did he's done a bunch of documentaries with the Sex Pistols and loads of other stuff

in that kind of scene at the time.

I actually, I couldn't figure out how to do it.

I tried to change the Wikipedia photo to one of mine,

but I couldn't.

I didn't know how to upload it.

Wikipedia is so hard to understand.

Yeah, you know, people always talk about Wikipedia like,

oh, you know, anyone can edit it, but I've tried editing.

Every single thing I've ever added to Wikipedia

has been immediately removed.

Yeah, it's true.

I don't get it.

I don't understand it.

It's like you literally you hit send and then when you hit reload it's the water someone's

already went and went "Nope".

You know what actually it's actually in that respect it's the information on there should

be the most up-to-date information about anything you're looking for.

Yeah I think it gets a bad rap for what it is but previously he had directed several

Kinks videos. He's also referred to the name but referred to by name in the Kinks song

Too Hot for the word of mouth album. Julian's on the street scouting out locations, it's

So apparently he's popular with the musilists.

Oh yeah, he's done quite a lot.

So initial thoughts, what do you think?

Initial thoughts, I fucking loved it.

I'm really not familiar with Judas Priest at all.

From our previous conversation they had, I think I've kind of always bundled them in

with the whole dad rock thing.

But I'm starting to think that was unfair because this is actually a pretty good song.

I thought for some reason I thought Judas Priest was Gene Simmons. For some reason I thought they

were the same thing. I thought you know he was that was something he done separately.

It was a Gene Simmons side project.

Yeah I feel like a right twat now thinking that. It's one of those videos where I didn't expect

much and actually got so much from it. I'm sort of introduced now to a new genre music, a new sort

of, you know, a new band which I didn't really know much about.

I guess it's quite refreshing, especially from what I've mainly learned during this podcast.

It's quite refreshing, especially a video less sort of era for one to have an actual story

running through it. And a story which is, you know, told cohesively in like two and a half minutes.

Something that's not just a f*cking like a stream of nonsense going into our faces as frequently as

isn't it?

Nelly's missed out so badly on this one,

because it's just got so many good points in it.

Well, speaking of that, what weapon, non-weapon,

would you use to rob a bank?

I was thinking about this earlier.

All I could really think of was weaponized hand sanitizer.

I've got one of those massive bottles that you hit the pump

and it sprays.

And I was using it yesterday, and for some reason,

I think it's gotten clogged up, and that alcohol just went,

smacked me in the eye.

That's where it comes out even more ferociously

because the gap's smaller.

Yeah.

Except just going a direction.

I'll insert a clip of Nelly sniggering in the background

here.

I don't know if you saw a picture of the guy going

around Walmart and he's repurposed his gun holster

as a sanitizer holster.

Sanitizer.

I'll just have that and it'll just be rapid fire

in the fuckers.

That's pretty clever.

I thought it's better than mine.

I was just thinking of like a hardened baguette,

because then you could eat the evidence,

and you just don't happen to worry about it.

I'm sure that was the story of like a Sherlock Holmes

or some other detective where someone got murdered

with an ice pick-- not an ice pick.

What's the word I'm looking for?

Icicle?

Icicle, yeah.

Someone got murdered with an icicle

because you can melt the evidence away afterwards.

You'd be in there swinging your baguette.

Would you be wearing the stereotypical French outfit

as well, just to throw people off the fence.

With garlic hanging around my neck.

Yeah.

So everyone will be looking for a Frenchman.

They won't be looking for an Irishman.

I think that's not a bad idea.

Tell you what, some baguettes have gone out.

Gregs are pretty fucking solid.

So yeah.

Depends what time of day you get them.

Would you use that to pry open the safe as well?

Yeah, it's one of those things that probably just

get caught up in the safe.

I find it really, really curious how they--

It didn't actually spend any time showing safe cracking.

I think they sort of missed the boat there.

Though I think--

I mean, not to be really boring--

I think most banks actually don't have their safes locked

unless they're closed.

So there's a hint of truth there that the door just opened.

But yeah, they-- guitar--

yeah, what do you think of that?

A guitar to open a safe?

I don't know if we're meant to get the impression that they've

opened it with the guitars or not, but it looks--

that's what I thought straight away.

They've just riffed at the safe to such a degree

that is opened. No they definitely did yeah. Well that, you know, I'm just trying to watch

it back. Yeah it just magically opened. Oh wait, I'm trying to see if there's someone

actually pushing the door open. Yeah someone was already inside. Just saying that now.

You can see down like the slither there's the inside.

Okay yeah I feel like they've missed an opportunity where someone could be like climbing through

the vents or something there to drop down into the sea.

Yeah well I mean it could have got really Mission Impossible style you know where yeah

they were, I don't know, using lasers coming from their guitars and dangling from ceilings

to get in there. But yeah, I mean they just played a pretty brute force. Would hand sanitizer

work over the Nacife?

I guess you could kind of, you could kind of lubricate, although no, I actually did

try that. Speaking of my, my chair is very squeaky today and it needs some WD-40. But

I remember I did once on a job and there was a squeaky chair and I didn't have any WD-40.

So I tried hand-scientific because it was like after the pandemic and it doesn't work.

So I think magic could shut it up.

So I can confirm.

If anything, I wonder if the alcohol would sort of strip away the grease.

So yeah, it probably made it worse.

Yeah, exactly.

But you know, did it for science.

[MUSIC]

[music]

If you think guitar is giving you a scary typical sort of back robbing situation, in this case like

they're using guitars and they're playing them so loud that a guy's glasses crack.

Yes I think that's the bank manager, I think he's in so much shock.

Which that's actually pretty violent because I mean he would probably go blind if a name

got in his eyes.

So that I mean that was actually pretty that was pretty rough on the band's part where

they did it did bring a little bit of violence into this.

How loud does a sound have to be to break glass?

we can get an estimate of how loud they're actually playing without amplifier or something

but let's not worry about that.

I do think there's something really funny about it and I'm just realizing that now is

the two guitarists and Rob obviously come in through the front door but the drummer's

already in the bank.

Is he?

Just casually in the corner. Yeah well you think about it his kit's already set up you

know it doesn't never show him coming in with the other ones.

I never noticed the drummer was even in there.

I just find it really funny that the people in the bank are really worried. They're wondering

why is this guy in the Trump kit just sitting in the corner?

The video might be a perfect example of like you're making a movie and you're not cutting

corners but there's stuff that the audience just won't notice but it doesn't really matter. This

is kind of the perfect example because I genuinely didn't even notice and I've watched this like 10

times. No I think that you can you can get away with it because the charm's all there.

Well I've found out an article here how loud does it sound to have to be the brake glass?

100 decibels. So they're playing at 100 decibels right now. What is that relatively?

Is that loud? How loud is a jet engine? I should know this but I don't.

I think it's 140. Between 140 and 153. So they're not as loud as a jet but they're still pretty

loud. But yeah, there's probably gigs that have been pretty loud. What was the loudest gig?

left field England's 137 decibels sleazy Joe 140 decibels AC DC 130. So yeah, they could

have went louder. They could have went louder. Yeah, it's probably enough to crack your glasses

bursting eardrum movie, but also on this article of found it's what frequency do you need to

break glass? There's a roughly 556 hertz apparently, but then it also goes on to top of Mariah Carey

can go ask for a voice. Anyway, we're getting sidetracked. The point is, they may have futuristic

sort of sonic weaponry disguised as guitars.

Yeah, that's a very good point. I mean, they are driving an American car around London.

Looks like London anyway, so anything can happen.

It's not in the notes, but I kind of thought this while you were reading the history, the

guy saying we were making the first ever heavy metal conceptual video. Do you think that

holds weight?

I don't know. When I hear conceptual video, I hear, you know, I can, I visualise something

which is really, really, really different. This is this as good as this video is, it

isn't conceptual. Is it? Am I wrong? Well, if you take it from the point of view of it,

like a concept album that you think usually that just means an album with a story. So

maybe that's where they're getting the word that's conceptual from there. If you're talking

like a film, a conceptual film would be like something weird note there, but maybe there's

kind of taken the music definition of it. Yeah, I guess so. Yeah, that would let a pass

for that. I agree with you. If it's in like the film definition, then it's a straightforward

story, which is what I like about it. It's very straightforward. I mean, as straightforward

as that security guard literally does nothing apart from entertains himself. Yeah. For people

who haven't seen the video that you see the odd shot of the security guard for the bank

passed out on his table next to the monitors. Once he notices the band and blowing people's

socks off and breaking classes, he looks very excited and kind of watches it with a lot

look of glee in his face and then eventually he picks up a cardboard guitar and starts

to hear a guitar. So he's not very good at his job but maybe made the right choice not

trying to fight off Judas Priest.

I mean this is after they blew up a screen.

But also maybe he's in on it. Maybe they've already paid him.

I mean at this point it's probably an inside job isn't it?

Yeah well the drummer was already there. He must have unlocked the door and let the drummer

in early. Or maybe they just had it set up and he wasn't there and he ran in.

I think in return for a car of war guitar he was sold.

Yeah.

Didn't take much to buy him out.

Yeah, they promised him a real guitar but he just didn't know it.

It looks real, just ignore the no strings.

My theory there.

The guard was in on it all along.

Also I would also explain why the door was open.

Yeah that's a good point.

Yeah.

Okay I'm gonna go inside job.

So what do you think of them once they get in the safe? What's your views on the quality

of the... I'm gonna say that's a set because I don't think they actually shot in a safe

at that point because going by those rubber bars.

They actually do like the bending the bar thing because they're obviously trying to

for a superman bending the bars, but it's so obvious what's happening, but it's hilarious

anyway. So it's fine. The reactions great though. Yeah. I think he kind of looks down

the camera like for a split second. Yeah, he does just as a, just as he's starting to

bend it. So he kind of looks like he's going like, Oh no, time to go. Do you know, I think

they only think they shot this of two cameras. You know, I was just thinking that because

go straight from him bending the bars into his face. So that's probably even more ammunition

for being a studio.

Yeah, I'm just trying to scrub them through it because it's exactly the same look and

position and you can see the other guys behind him.

Oddly decorated safe in general.

It looks like they just fuck everything in the safe. Just throw it in, it doesn't matter

where it lands.

Well, the walls are covered in what looks to be like, if you remember this sort of tacky

background from, Oh, what video was that? It was eye of the tiger. He ended that fucking

background. If you're right, they've just plastered that on all the walls like gold

foil, golden record, a bunch of golden cassette tapes. Yeah, there's golden cassettes, golden

records. There's a filing cabinet in there. Possibly also golden, but that might just

be the reflection. So yeah, but this is, this is where you get the reveal of the video where

You presume that they're just going in to get some money and break the law, but they're

actually stealing their own golden record back.

Is that a metaphor for like, you know, musicians who work for record companies where, you know,

the thing they make they never really own?

Could be, yeah.

Yeah, he's definitely waving at the camera quite angry that the golden record so it could

well be.

Yeah, it almost makes me laugh every time I see it.

Whenever he picks up his own record and sees his own name, he's almost surprised.

can watch a video it's 1.34 is the timestamp and yeah it's and then yeah as you said he

just literally breaks out and shouts at the camera with his prize.

He kind of looks like he wasn't expecting it.

Yes like break into your bank and you just see you find your family photos. It's a bit

surprising.

So maybe they were just wondering about the bank and they just happened to find their

own. They're like what the fuck how did you guys get this what the fuck? Taking that back.

That was actually his safety deposit box he's broken into.

>> What's his password?

>> There's no other way in. There's actually a really,

I've just noticed it this time around.

There's a point when he's shouting at the camera,

if you look with the drum set is,

the drummer just appears and just runs.

But it's for a split second.

>> That drummer, he's always popping up in weird places.

>> Yeah, he's literally popping up. In fairness,

when he's in the car at the end,

he's still selling the idea and just drumming away.

Obviously, without a drum kit.

I was going to bring that up because there's a split second to his 12 which he's just smiling

away at the bottom. Just slapping his hands on what I guess is either a bongo or his lap

or whatever. Driving off into not the sunset but it was driving off the ends. Pretty cool.

I thought it did sort of silly idea of the car being a convertible. They're all shutting

out the top. Pretty dangerous, but pretty cool. Yeah, it looks like fun that they're

they're all they're all in the convertible and still playing away and sharing away and

it looks like they're having a lot of fun. That would be a nice way to travel in London.

less help from safety back in the end. So they were told go and get it. There's way

too many of them in the back of that car. In fairness when it did drive off when they

were out, escaped the bank, it looked like the basis almost fell out because he's literally

just one foot in the car and it's starting to drive off. I'm just trying to figure out

how they would have done that car shot actually. Which one? The one where it's like the close-up

of them in the car. Yeah okay so that must have been really really tight because there's

too many of them in the car in the first place. But who's driving the car? Come to think about

it.

Well now I'm looking at you can't actually see the car so maybe they're on like the back

of a lorry and it's kind of faked.

That'll be the safe way to do it. I think Julian's literally in the seat with her in

the car with them. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. I mean there's seven people

in that car.

It does give me a bit of a flashback to student film once where the cameraman was the only

person who could drive. So he was driving while he was

is. Oh, come on. Really operate the camera. Yeah, that was unsafe. Yeah, that's absolutely

ridiculous. Why didn't someone else's hold the camera? I don't know. I can't remember,

but no one died. Oh, good. Well, that's this was before all the big who have helped me

see the film industry. Unsurprisingly, I don't think you'd get with that. No, you would not.

There's one of the notes here. The video was shot before this album. British deal album

went platinum. But I think the upshot of this, which is quite funny, is that they put this

video out before the album came out, or at least before it went platinum. So they were

just that confident that they were like, oh yeah, yeah, just stick a golden record in

the video. We know it's going to at least sell that much. I guess kudos to them. I mean,

they must have, yeah, they must have really believed in what they were doing. So one tiny

thing I will add is one of the band members comes out of a love shop at the start.

I love, hold on, I miss that.

Cinema Club, video film, video tapes, mags, sex aids.

Oh wow, yeah I did not notice that.

Peep machines.

Oh wow.

So he's got a good night out planned after they finish rough in the bank apparently,

or night in I guess.

Which, which, which band member is it? Oh it's one of the guitarists.

Yeah it's one of the ones who are dressed up but I can't tell which one because he's,

hiding his face because he's coming out of a dirty shop.

You know I'm actually just noticing as well the um it's like 12 13 seconds in the security

guards napping on one of the screens you can already see them. Like I think it looks like

a guitar they're already robbing the bank maybe this is a dream. The whole thing is

the security it's either the security card was an inside job or it was his dream all along.

Again probably reading into it too much. Probably yeah.

[Music]

All right, fun points. I don't really have much to say about this video. I thought it was fantastic

and original. The concept was simple and it wasn't overdone. I do think it looked like

it would have been great fun to make and everyone involved looks like they gave 110%. I think

the song's pretty darn good too. I think this is probably one of the probably the best videos

we've had a chance to look at.

Originally we're going to have Rob back on this episode but he was too busy with working

stuff unfortunately but he suggested this so thank you Rob for suggesting this fine

video. Pretty refreshing seeing a video which is funny, short, to the point, just sort of tells the

story well and gets out of the way and I really don't have much many complaints about it. It's just

a good laugh. Favourite part? I think if I had to choose one, 53 seconds in, Rob the singer is

literally just shouting to people. I just, I don't know, that just made me chuckle. He got really into

it, you know, these poor people are on the ground with their hands above their head and he's just

singing away to them but really you know really violently singing yeah I mean

there's lots of other honorable mentions but but yeah I like that bit. He's a true showman

even if he's weaponizing his showmanship. A worst part you know what first time in

a while can't find anything I don't like about it I mean even the bits he chatted

about I you know I'll let them pass for this one. Yeah I'm the same couldn't

really find a fault just for the sake of finding a fault I'll pick out the mild

build country error with the monitor, but I don't actually care. It's just the only

I can actually think of, which is very impressive. Uh, yeah, so it's an eye for me. Yeah, I from

me. So Nellie, you have missed out.

[Music]

Take a look at the show notes for links to today's video, links to Instagram etc or email

us at gontoforcast@gmail.com if you have any thoughts or if you would like to tell us what

you would rob a bank with isn't a weapon. I would like to hear that. If you're enjoying

the podcast, please leave us a review on Apple podcast, Spotify or podcast player of your

choice. See you next time.

Bye everyone.

And nearly he says goodbye in spirit.

Getting married, what an excuse.

I know, I see.

[Music]

(electronic buzzing)

(keyboard clacking)