The Flaying Hat Band - Complete Works 1970-1971

The Flying Hat Band was the last band where Glenn Tipton played before joining Judas Priest. They were a pretty hard rocking band and eventually landed a record deal with Vertigo Records, but their initial album (which was recorded sometime in 1970-71, according to bassist Andy Wheeler) was shelved by the company after it was deemed much too similar with labelmates Black Sabbath (one source claims that the album was "too scary", but I highly doubt that unless the unreleased material is extremely heavy). The band continued touring with a few lineup changes along the way (Tipton being the only member to stay all the way through), but money was beginning to run very low. So eventually when Tipton was offered a place in Judas Priest in April 1974 (Priest were looking for another member as it was suggested by Gull Records, with which they had just signed), he decided to accept the offer considering that it can't be any worse than with TFHB. TFHB dissolved at the same time and the rest is history for Judas Priest. The first four of these tracks are widely available (including on Glenn Tipton's official website), and are studio-quality demos from around 1970-71, possibly recorded for the aforementioned album. But the two latter tracks are seen much more rarely. These tracks have no known names. They are of lesser quality than the first four ones, being studio tracks as well but have probably passed through a few cassette generations. In fact I'm not entirely sure if they're TFHB recordings at all, but I'm including them here anyway. Track listing: 00:00 Seventh Plain 02:51 Coming of the Lord 09:33 Reaching for the Stars 14:10 Lost Time 16:46 Unnamed track 22:42 Unnamed track Recorded: Around 1970-71 #theflayinghatband #glentipton #judaspriest #andywheeler

Added 6 Apr 2026