Breaking the Law

This song, with its extremely simple main riff and chorus, was released as a single from the British Steel album, and was one of Judas Priest's big breakthrough songs. It is now considered one of the most famous hard rock/heavy metal songs ever.

The lyrics tell of someone who gets tired of everything that comes with an ordinary life, as that life has become boring. This leads him to take a chance and start breaking the law. According to lead singer Rob Halford, who wrote the lyric, he baked some social commentary into the song. Margaret Thatcher took over as British Prime Minister in 1979, and Halford didn't like what she was doing. "A lot of bad stuff was going on," he wrote in his autobiography, Confess. "The heavy industry and the car makers in the Midlands and around the country were struggling, and there was already talk of factory closures. Unemployment was shooting up. Worst of all, millions of young people had no hope and felt they were being ignored. Writing the lyrics for 'Breaking the Law,' I tried to put myself in the mind of a jobless young bloke at his wits' end."

The song featured some sound effects, including the sound of breaking glass and a police siren. The band were recording British Steel at Tittenhurst Park, which was the home of the Beatles' drummer Ringo Starr. Sampling did not exist at the time, so for the breaking glass, the band used the milk bottles the milkman brought them in the morning, and the police siren was actually guitarist K.K. Downing using the whammy on his Stratocaster.