June 18th, 1984: Judas Priest Gets Banned
On this day, Judas Priest played New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Rowdy concert goers trashed the venue doing over $250,000 in damage. As a result, Priest was banned for life.
Here’s what happened…
Before the show even began, the crowd was hurling beer bottles, lighting firecrackers and tossing lit M-80s onto the stage.
Several riots broke out, and the crowd also brawled with venue security before NYPD officers arrived – some in full riot gear. After the smoke cleared, the damage done was evident.
Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford was philosophical regarding the ban figuring the same thing would happen again if they returned to the Garden. “There would be some enthusiast who was there from the original riot with his pen knife out. It would start all over again! So, it’s probably best.”
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