A Brief Philosophy On Songwriting With Allan Atkins - Judas Priest Interview

Born and raised in Stone Cross, West Bromwich, Birmingham, England, UK, Atkins fell in love with music immediately and was quickly influenced by greats such as The Beatles and Stones. Prior to Priest forming, Atkins participated in groups The Medallions and The Bitta Sweet, playing their local circuits and as 1969 rolled around Atkins and fellow bandmate Bruno Stapenhill formed of the greatest heavy metal bands to have ever existed, Judas Priest. We did an in-depth Interview with Atkins last year, but wanted to circle back and revamp another piece on the history and legacy of one of the most important groups in rock history!

2023 Tell me about growing up in Stone Cross, West Bromwich, Birmingham, England, UK. What was early childhood like and when did you first begin to fall in love with music?

Stone Cross was a residential area on the outskirts of West Bromwich town centre and it had it's own Cinema House called 'The Clifton' and it's own very large pub, it also had several shops including a small cafe called The Milky Bar where all the youth would hang out drinking coffee, or milkshakes while listening to music on the jukebox. I had a very religious upbringing has a child and my older brother Brian and myself were made to go to Pentecostal church every Sunday and Catholic church on a Wednesday evening which I hated only my parents were split when it come to religion, Father was C of E and Mother Catholic. My Brother later became a preacher. Music was my first love and my religion and that came about after listening to the early 60's rock and roll bands and pop bands like The Beatles and The Rolling Stones with their rythem and blues sound and I couldn't wait to get my own band together which I did at the age of 15 playing drums and singing.

When did you first begin playing prior to Judas Priest forming? How much does your environment impact your writing and approach to songwriting?

Has I just said, I was playing the pubs and clubs around 1964 learning the ropes and really enjoying my life in my first band which was called 'The Medallions'. Later we called ouselves 'The Bitta Sweet' and this band had a fairly good success on the Plaza circuit opening for top artists like Cat Stevens, David Bowie and Long John Baldrey to name a few. At this time the bands musical direction was leaning more to rock bands like The Who and Cream. I also decided to take up singing and ditched my drums and then I also took up guitar too and started to write my own songs. t's been said a lot of times about the bands and the environment where we came from which was a very industrial area called the Black Country with factories and foundries all around us and the music which came out I suppose was going to have a darker, heavier sound, t's not like we were playing acoustic guitars sitting under palm trees in flowery shirts in the sun and in 1969 my bass player Bruno Stapenhill and myself formed Judas Priest.

How much does the instrument play a role in the channeling of the music for you as a songwriter and performer?

I'm not a great guitarist so I usually start writing all my works with the lyrics first. I have a little blue book at home and am always writing things down for ideas for new songs and sometimes write poems too. I then pass these words and musical ideas to whoever is the guitarist with me at the time and a song is born.

What elements were most important to you when you guys first started playing together? Tell me about “Victim Of Changes” and the legacy and history that follow it.

Band members came and went in those early years of Judas Priest especially with drummers who didn't like working hard for very little money and I didn't blame them but KK, Ian and myself had a goal and that was to work our way to the top playing and writing the music that we loved which was loud/heavy/rock. One of the songs I wrote was called Whiskey Woman which I had the original idea while listening to Led Zep's 'Black Dog' with the vocals on their own in between a heavy riff. This song took another turning when Judas Priest recorded their second album 'Sad Wings of Destiny' when Glenn, Rob and K K altered it and made it a lot heavier and also changed the title to 'Victim of Changes'...

Do you have a set of themes, or familiarness you’d like to touch on that's found throughout each of the early JP songs? What is your particular process and approach when readying for a new album and/or recording project?

I think looking back they all had a dark side to them like Winter, Whiskey Woman, Never Satisfied, Morpheus and Caviar and Meths. It's just where my head was at that moment. I start with ripping songs out of my little blue book and seeing which would fit and sit well together on an album, I then take them to whom I am recording with, usually my guitarist Paul May and go on from there.

What has your 2023 shaped up to be so far?

Paul and myself are recording a new 5th (AMP) Atkins/May/Project album which is coming along fine and I think it's our best work yet. I myself have just signed with 'Sleaszy Rider Records' in Greece for my solo album 'RELOADED' and it's just been released and features a host of brilliant musicians including guitarist Roy Z Ramires, vocalist Ralf Scheepers and Ian Hill on bass from Judas Priest so all's looking good for 2023...