Rob Halford
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| Rob Halford | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Robert John Arthur Halford | |
| Also known as | Rob Halford | |
| Born | August 25, 1951 (age 55) | |
| Origin | Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, England  |
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| Genre(s) | Heavy Metal | |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter | |
| Years active | 1970s - present | |
| Website | Official website | |
Robert John Arthur Halford (born August 25, 1951) is an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist for the heavy metal band Judas Priest. Halford is known for his multi-octave range, high-pitched screams, leather-clad image and showing up on stage on a motorcycle (usually a Harley-Davidson). His stud-leather style has been widely adopted by heavy metal performers and fans around the world.
Because of his enormous influence on rock and metal music, Halford has been nicknamed the 'Metal God'.
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[edit] Life and career
Halford was born in Sutton Coldfield in Warwickshire, England. He sang for numerous bands including Athens Wood, Lord Lucifer, Abraxas, Thark and Hiroshima. In May 1973, he joined Judas Priest after being suggested to them by his sister Sue, who was dating bass player Ian Hill [[1]].
Between 1974 and 1990, Rob Halford recorded 14 albums with Judas Priest, along the way becoming the archetypal heavy metal singer. Around 1977 he began to cultivate his now famous leather-clad and sunglasses-wearing persona and began riding a Harley-Davdison motorcycle on stage during live performances. The stunt caused a memorable accident during the Painkiller tour when he hit a drum-riser occluded by clouds of dry ice. He broke his nose and fell off the motorcycle, tumbling off-stage. After regaining consciousness, Halford returned and performed the whole concert. In the band's Behind the Music episode, Rob named the accident as one of the events that caused the rift between him and the rest of the band that would eventually force them apart. While Halford is certainly the best known figure in rock for the leather outfits and on-stage motorbike, this aspect of his act had actually been pioneered some years earlier by Eric Bloom of Blue Öyster Cult . [1]
After a 20-year career with Judas Priest that saw the band achieve international fame, Halford announced to the band in July 1991 that he was leaving. He first formed the band Fight with Judas Priest drummer Scott Travis, recording two albums between 1993 and 1995. Immediately before this, he had recorded a track called "Light Comes Out of Black" for the 1992 movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The song featured music provided by Pantera, although their contribution is uncredited. After Fight, he colloborated with guitarist John Lowery in an industrial-influenced project called 2wo which was produced by Trent Reznor and released on his Nothing Records label. The project was a commercial and artistic failure.
In 1998, Halford revealed he was gay in an interview on MTV. His sexuality had always been known to the rest of Judas Priest and came as little surprise to fans as his sexuality was somewhat of an open secret among fans and among the Heavy Metal press. The response from the heavy metal community has been widely accepting.
Halford returned to his metal roots in 2000 with his band Halford and the widely acclaimed album Resurrection (2000), produced by Roy Z. A live album in 2001 was followed up by 2002's Crucible. That same year, Halford had a small role in the film Spun in which he played a gay sex store clerk.
A reunion with Judas Priest had been speculated on for some time, at least since the release of the Resurrection album which some critics claimed sounded more like Judas Priest than that band's previous album Jugulator (1997). Halford himself had never ruled it out, claiming in 2002 that "Gut instinct tells me that at some point it will happen".[2] In July of 2003, the singer returned to his former band and they released Angel of Retribution in 2005. The world tour that accompanied the release marked the band's 30th anniversary.
Rob Halford has also performed as the vocalist for Black Sabbath at three shows. He replaced Ronnie James Dio for two nights in November 1992, when Dio elected not to open a show for Ozzy Osbourne. Dio's contract had actually expired with the conclusion of the Dehumanizer tour and he saw no reason why he should do these two shows, given the things Ozzy had said about him over the years. Halford stepped in, having first spoken to Dio, with whom he has a good relationship. He also replaced Osbourne in Black Sabbath on August 25, 2004, his 53rd birthday at an Ozzfest show in Camden, New Jersey, since Ozzy could not perform due to bronchitis.
[edit] Trivia
- In the October 2006 issue of "Classic Rock" magazine he stated the only songs on his iPod are his own work and Queen (of which he has their entire catalog).
- Among his many tattoos is the Marvel Comics Punisher skull.
- He said that he liked bands that looked weird like The Misfits and Tool
[edit] Discography
[edit] Judas Priest
- Rocka Rolla (1974)
- Sad Wings of Destiny (1976)
- Sin After Sin (1977)
- Stained Class (1978)
- Killing Machine (1978) (released as Hell Bent for Leather in the USA 1979)
- Unleashed in the East (1979)
- British Steel (1980)
- Point of Entry (1981)
- Screaming for Vengeance (1982)
- Defenders of the Faith (1984)
- Turbo (1986)
- Priest...Live! (1987)
- Ram It Down (1988)
- Painkiller (1990)
- Metalogy (2004)
- Angel of Retribution (2005)
- Rising In the East (2005)
- Live Vengeance '82 (2006)
- The Essential Judas Priest (2006)
- (Untitled) Nostradamus Concept Album (2007)
[edit] Fight
- War of Words (1993)
- Mutations (1994)
- A Small Deadly Space (1995)
[edit] 2wo
- Voyeurs (1997)
[edit] Halford
- Resurrection (2000)
- Live Insurrection (2001)
- Crucible (2002)
- Fourging The Furnace (2003)
- Halford IV(working title (2007))
[edit] Guest appearances
- Krokus – Headhunter vocals on "Ready to Burn" (1983)
- Hear 'n Aid (1986)
- Ugly Kid Joe – America's Least Wanted vocals on "Goddamn Devil" (1992)
- Skid Row – B-Side Ourselves vocals on "Delivering the Goods" (1992)
- Queens of the Stone Age – Rated R vocals on "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" (2000)
- Furious IV– Is That You (2002)
[edit] References
- ^ Sleazegrinder: "Reaping the Benefits", Classic Rock, Issue 96
- ^ Hoaksey, Mark: "Interview with Rob Halford", Power Play Issue 35, July 2002
[edit] External links
| Judas Priest |
| Rob Halford | K. K. Downing | Glenn Tipton | Ian Hill | Scott Travis |
| Former Members: Al Atkins | Tim 'Ripper' Owens | John Pattridge | John Ellis | Alan Moore | Chris Campbell | John Hinch | Les Binks | Dave Holland | Simon Phillips |
| Discography |
| Albums: Rocka Rolla | Sad Wings of Destiny | Sin After Sin | Stained Class | Hell Bent for Leather | Unleashed in the East | British Steel | Point of Entry Screaming for Vengeance | Defenders of the Faith | Turbo | Priest...Live! | Ram It Down | Painkiller | Jugulator | Live Meltdown | Demolition | Live in London Angel of Retribution |
| Compilations/Box Sets: The Best of Judas Priest | Hero, Hero | The Collection | Genocide | Metal Works | The Best of Judas Priest: Living After Midnight Metalogy | The Essential Judas Priest |
| DVDs: Live in London | Electric Eye | Rising in the East | Live Vengeance '82 |
