Despite both sides insisting it would never happen, Judas Priest reunited with former singer Rob Halford in 2003 after 13 years apart. The following year, Classic Rock caught up with Halford, plus guitarist Glenn Tipton and KK Downing (who left in 2011) on the road in Spain to talk splits, reunions and their then-upcoming comeback album Angel Of Retribution.
Rob Halford almost died at his final gig as Judas Priest vocalist on August 19, 1991 – and not because the other four members gave him a severe kicking when they’d learned of his decision to quit after 18 years as frontman, either.
Halford’s near-death experience occurred during a show at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Canada: the final stop on a tour called Operation Rock’N’Roll. Priest were sharing the bill with co-headliner Alice Cooper, and were on the promotion trail for their then-new album, Painkiller. But notwithstanding that record’s title, it was still a surprise to see Halford mainlining Nurofen after Hell Bent For Leather, the opening song of the set.
As Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton explains: “We were running late, and suddenly we heard our intro tape running while were still in the dressing-room. So we rushed out on to the stage in a bit of a panic, and loads and loads of dry ice was blowing about. The crew were supposed to have raised a stairway in front of the drum riser, to allow Rob to ride out on his Harley Davidson and start the show.”
Tipton winces as he continues: “But the timing went wrong and the stairs were only halfway up. So Rob popped the clutch and roared along, came out from underneath the riser and then collided with the bottom rung of the stairway. The stairs hit him straight on the nose and he fell backwards off his bike. He was so lucky; he could have been killed. Thank God his motorbike didn’t end up in the audience.
“The rest of us started playing the opening number, not knowing what had happened. There was so much smoke that I actually stepped on Rob while he was unconscious, and I thought: ‘What’s this in the centre of the stage, some kind of Priest prop?’ And it was Rob. He was stunned.”
Halford was out for three minutes, but the crew revived him and patched him up, and he finished the show – albeit with a plaster on the bridge of his busted hooter. He was later taken to hospital, where he was treated for concussion.
Halford officially left the band nine months later, but it’s ironic to hear Tipton say that he’d mistaken Rob’s KO’d body for a ‘Priest prop’ – because cynics might say that’s exactly what the band lumbered themselves with, when they appointed Halford’s replacement: Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens, an American from Akron, Ohio. His previous experience? He sang in a Judas Priest tribute band called British Steel.
Fast-forward to 2004, and Judas Priest are still extremely accident-prone. It deep into night time in Barcelona, and, but the window of Classic Rock’s top-floor room at the city’s Hilton hotel is still hot to the touch after a scorching summer’s day. Looking out, there’s an orange haze in the air that hangs over the nearby Avinguda Diagonal highway, and extends right up to where some wooded half-mountains meet the sky several miles away. The haze is being caused by batteries of fireworks that are being detonated in celebration of an ongoing Spanish fiesta.
The explosions continue into the wee small hours, and this writer finds himself wondering idly if Judas Priest – who are in town to play a gig the following night – might just be joining in the party with a little preparatory pyrotechnic testing of their own…
It’s not far from the truth, as Halford reveals the next morning: “I let off a firework last night and it went into this homeless person’s sleeping bag. There’s this big festival going on here in Spain, you see, so we bought some fireworks ourselves and we found a little park outside our hotel where we could let them off.
“So me and Ian [Hill, Priest bassist] sat this big rocket down on the grass and lit the blue touchpaper. But unfortunately the rocket fell over and started shooting off all these fucking sparks and explosions… And then we heard this scream. The firework had gone sideways, and it hit this homeless person who was trying to have a kip on a bench – there were flames all over the place, and his sleeping bag was reduced to ashes. We went back to the hotel thinking the police would arrive…”
Classic Rock is in Spain to celebrate Halford’s reinstatement in Priest’s line-up, some 13 years after that ill-fated show in Toronto. At the time of our Iberian visit, the band are in the middle of a lightning trek through mainland Europe, dubbed the ‘Reunited’ tour. Later, they are set to decamp to the States to play the Ozzfest with Black Sabbath. Priest have only played live with the Sabs once before: way back at the very start of the 70s, at the Masonic Hall in Aberwelle Street, Walsall. The gig was so long ago that neither Rob Halford nor Glenn Tipton had yet joined the Priesthood.
“I remember that show well – it was before electricity and when Al Atkins was singing in the band. It was the first and only time that we shared a stage with Sabbath,” recalls Priest guitarist KK Downing. “And After a long period of estrangement the classic Priest line-up began re-establishing personal and professional relationships back in early 2000, along the way sparking a spate of reunion rumours. Events came to a head at a business meeting a year later, when Halford, Downing and Tipton got together to discuss the retro contents of the Electric Eye DVD and Metalogy multi-CD box set, released in November 2003 and May 2004 resoectively.
The three talked of Priest times gone by as they delved into their epic back catalogue and scanned their endearingly cheesy early videos. And, slowly but surely, old differences were put to rest. Nevertheless, by July 2003 – when it was officially announced that Halford had been reinstalled in Priest – there still appeared to be lingering resentment. As KK Downing told Classic Rock at the time: “Rob Halford is lucky we gave him another chance.”
Two years earlier, KK had been even more vehement when he told us: “Everybody in this band categorically believes that Rob Halford should never sing with us again – he doesn’t deserve it.”
So, what the hell changed?
“Well, nothing really,” shrugs Halford. “I read that story where Ken [KK] said I didn’t deserve to be in the band. And that’s great, that’s healthy emotion – Ken never holds anything back; he tells you what’s on his mind and I love him for that.”
Today, Downing prefers to make light of the situation: “Yes, I admit I said that Rob should be glad he’s back,” he smiles. “But we should be happy as well, and the fans should be ecstatic too, because it’s all about the music and the fans.
“Anyone who’s been in a serious relationship – wives, girlfriends, whatever it is… Doesn’t it always get nasty in the end? It does, doesn’t it? Unknown forces surround the individuals concerned, a few knives get stuck in here and there – and before you know it, it’s out of control.”
Halford says there wasn’t a single particular event that sparked his departure: “There were just a lot of emotions going around – plus we’d just had that horrific thing in Reno [the 1990 court case in Nevada where Priest were accused of causing two boys to commit suicide because of hidden subliminal messages in a song from their 1978 Stained Class album] which we were still getting over…”
Downing adds: “It was sad that everything came to a head on the ‘Painkiller’ tour, because the band were really doing well. We were on a high, I thought, and now Painkilller has probably become one of the most acclaimed heavy metal albums of all time. People saw us falling apart and they couldn’t quite grasp it. It was like: ‘What are these idiots doing?’ But it was out of our control.”
“A lot the best bands have a bit of niggle,” offers Tipton. “Like Townshend and Daltrey in The Who, or Jagger and Richards in The Rolling Stones, or Blackmore and Gillan in Deep Purple… Me and Rob and Ken, we’ve had our share of arguments; there’s been months when we haven’t spoken to each other. But it’s that spark, it’s that tension – you don’t want yes-men in a band, you want characters. You’ve got to have fallings out; you’ve got to have a spark of temper in there. That’s what really generates the excitement in a lot of classic bands. You’ve got to have conflict – and once you get it under control you’re up and running.”
Halford’s Priest homecoming has been welcomed unilaterally, even though doubts remain about the motivation behind the move. The band won’t be drawn on rumours that the only way to entice Rob back was to offer him a 50 per cent cut of future earnings. Glenn Tipton will only say that business matters have been worked out “satisfactorily”.
Downing elaborates: “Rob had been operating out of the States while we had maintained our business interests in the UK, so we had to amalgamate and get everything sorted out. It’s Judas Priest plc again; it’s no big deal, it’s just a formality for our accountants and managers and suchlike.”
However, Tipton is vociferous in his defence of the accusation that Halford’s return is purely a money-making exercise: “I’m sure a lot of people are thinking that – but we wouldn’t do it for that reason. We’re back out there now because we’ve got a genuine love for heavy metal and Judas Priest’s music. We love to perform, we’re having a great time, and we’ve got more energy and enthusiasm than we’ve ever had. When that dries up we’ll be the first to recognise it, and we’ll be the ones to hang up our hats.”
Glenn stresses: “There’s a lot of energy, and there’s still a lot of fantastic new songs in this band. It’s certainly not going to be a case of 'one album, one tour, thank you very much, now we’re going off into retirement to count all our money’.”
So, what exactly does Rob Halford bring to Judas Priest that was lacking when his predecessor, Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens, was around?
“Just the nostalgia of it all, really,” responds Downing. “The familiarity of it all, the voice, the presence… It all just comes flooding back. People are turning out in their droves to see us again; I’ve been truly amazed by the response. Everyone’s just so glad that Rob’s back. Fans used to talk about the beginning of the 90s, when Rob left the band, as being the demise of heavy metal as we knew it – a lot of people said that was the end of heavy metal. Mentioning no names. Well, now we’re back.”
“Rob’s unique,” proclaims Tipton. “‘Ripper’ stepped in and did an amazing job, but… It wasn’t Rob. Rob has a peerless voice and particularly as a writing team, when we get together we have something that’s quite magical. It just works. We’ve got the family back together.”
Halford himself agrees that ‘the voice’ is the main focus of attention, and the good news is that he’s still got it: “It’s a blessing, really – I can do a lot of different things with my vocals that some heavy metal singers can’t. I think I bring an interesting aspect to Judas Priest’s repertoire as a singer. I don’t sing in one key, one tone or one register; I’m able to take it up into different places.
“I believe I’ve carved out a niche for myself – especially when I see tribute bands, and I look at them and think, my God, is that supposed to be me, do I really sing like that?”
(On the subject of tribute bands, Rob was sad to hear that Nudist Priest, the band who played JP songs naked, have split up. “I never saw them live,” he complains, “but a friend of mine, my former guitarist Pat Lachman, went to see them. My only questions were: ‘What was the singer like, and how big was his unit?’”)
Halford continues: “But yes, it’s fantastic – I still can’t quite believe I’m
back in the band, to be honest. It’s as though those long years when we were actually away from each other have just vanished in time. It’s bizarre. I look to my right and I see Ken… and there’s Glenn, and there’s Ian, and there’s Scott [Travis, drummer].” Echoing Tipton’s remark, Rob smiles: “It’s like a family again.”
You won’t find Classic Rock knocking Rob Halford’s return to Judas Priest. We go back a long way: this writer first met them in spring 1976, just as they’d released their second album, Sad Wings Of Destiny, for the smalltime Gull Records label (an offshoot of Decca).
We met at the late publicist Keith Goodwin’s office in London’s Tin Pan Alley – that’s Denmark Street in the city’s West End – and conducted our interview in a mice-infested top-floor garret. The band were earnest young fellows back then. What’s more, back in mid-70s when ‘S’ and ‘M’ were just isolated letters in the alphabet, Priest’s stage gear was altogether more floaty, flimsy and flouncy…
“My mum’s got all my old poncey outfits in the attic back in Walsall,” Halford reveals. “I’ve got an apartment in Amsterdam and I’ve this crazy idea for the future of opening a little Metal God Coffee Shop, and having a few bits of Priest memorabilia on the wall. I’d sit in the corner, watching the world go by. It may or may not happen. I might even ask Ken if I can borrow that old cowboy hat of his – oh yes, Ken’s hat was legendary. But it’s nice when you look at the past you can smile about it.”
“We were just young boys then,” chuckles Downing. “We were the Def Leppard of the time. But we were very serious about what we did; we just did our best and we hoped people would like it. But, yes, it was hard to make a living – and I won’t tell you where the material came from for my blue velvet trousers. Or my gold boots, for that matter.”
Halford, Tipton and Downing (and, indeed, Ian Hill) are all in their early 50s now and, to their credit, they freely own up to their old-warhorse status: “I’m 53,” says Halford, for one. “I was born on August the 25th, 1951. But I’ve got to tell you, kid, it’s like the elixir of life what we do.”
In fact, Priest have a quietly humorous attitude to their position as the elder statesmen of heavy metal. Back at the hotel at 3am after the band’s Barcelona greatest-hits show, Downing jokingly invites “everyone back for drinks in my room” and we all raise our eyebrows in mock horror. “I would have joined you in the old days,” responds Ian Hill glumly, stumbling around on a pretend walking-stick to everyone’s amusement. Living after midnight, indeed.
The next Spanish show – a festival at the Plaza de Toros in Valencia – has Priest scheduled to go on stage in the early hours of the morning. “I might have to take some Philosan to get through it,” Hill chuckles. “Fortifies the over-40s, you know.”
Halford responds by mock-moaning about the debilitating weight of the voluminous studded leather coats he now sports on stage, and then he congratulates himself on remembering the words to all the songs after the prompter packed up halfway through the Barcelona gig. (Although try as I might, I can’t quite imagine the lyrics to ‘Painkiller’ – ‘He is the pain-KILLER! This is the pain-KILLER!’ – scrolling down an on-stage monitor screen…). In the light of all the above, it should come as no surprise to hear Downing and Tipton agree that having Rob back in the band is “like stepping into an old pair of slippers”.
Judas Priest’s reunion album with Halford, Angel Of Retribution, is scheduled for release in a couple of months. The band are being surprisingly tight-lipped about its content.
Halford: “It’s just got all the things that you want from Priest. All the screaming, full-roar racket is there, together with the light and shade, the drama and the darkness. All the attributes of heavy metal that Priest have personified are in this recording.”
Downing: “We’re aware that our fans will well and truly cut our balls off if we don’t deliver. I think it’s safe to say that there are bits on there that are very identifiable with Judas Priest; they’re typical Judas Priest.”
Tipton: “It doesn’t really matter to us what people think, as long as the end product turns out how we want it. The new album is not going to be an extension from Demolition [Tim ‘Ripper’ Owens’s second and final album with the band, released in July 2001] or even an extension from Painkiller. It’ll just be us again in 2005.”
Priest are co-producing the album with Roy Z, who collaborated with Rob Halford (both as a producer and a songwriter) during the latter’s solo years. So, is Rob exerting more influence on JP matters than he used to in the old days?
“Not at all,” Halford replies. “We all talked about who we might like work with in the studio. As you know, Priest have always co-produced their recordings, and I think Ken and Glenn in particular were impressed by Roy’s work on the two Halford [the band] things we did. For Priest, we were just looking for somebody who, like us, realises how important the new record is and who, above all, loves their heavy metal. Roy has all the right credentials and it’s worked out really well with him.”
Downing elaborates: “Rob felt comfortable with Roy producing his vocals. So rather than work with somebody new, at least we knew that Rob was going to be happy. And obviously it wasn’t long before everyone felt really comfortable with Roy; he’s a good guitar player as well as a producer, he’s got a great ear and he’s very proficient… And efficient, because that’s what we really wanted. Speaking for the musos in the band, we like to get on with it, and we don’t like to mess about.”
“If you look back to the days when we used Tom Allom or Chris Tsangarides, we’ve always been heavily involved in the sounds of our records,” says Tipton. “Not just in production – we arrange the songs ourselves; we’ve always known exactly what we want and how the tracks should be presented.”
One of the many great things about Judas Priest is the way they wholeheartedly embrace the term ‘heavy metal’. They have no inhibitions or misgivings; they don’t spit out the phrase like it’s filthy and contaminated.
Downing: “Somebody said to me the other night that Black Sabbath are heavy, but Judas Priest are metal. I kind of like that. We’re proud to be part of the heavy metal genre that is known around the world. It’s a form of music that is here to stay, always was here to stay, because whether it’s blues, jazz, fusion, classical, pop, whatever it is – heavy metal is a part of that. None of those other types of music will go away and become extinguished – and neither will heavy metal. I’m confident of that. It’s etched in stone.”
As our interview begins to wind down, Classic Rock makes a potentially fatal faux pas. Grappling with our tape machine, we attempt to extract the cassette recording of our interview with Halford. But the cassette gets jammed and we remark to no one in particular that we’re just “trying to make Rob come out”. Oops. It’s a moment of acute embarrassment, but the comment prompts a surprising response from the singer himself.
“If I hadn’t left Judas Priest, I wouldn’t have done it – I wouldn’t have said I was gay,’ he says. “It would have been wrong.”
But surely no one really cares about his sexuality
these days?
“No, and no one really cared back then – except for myself, of course. But I think it was best that I did it when I was out of the band, and put it behind me for a period, to get it all out of the way.
“When it happened there were some silly things about timing and me doing it for publicity, and that wasn’t right. It was a genuine slip of the tongue on MTV when I was talking about the Two thing [Halford’s collaboration with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails fame]. But I did it and it went around the world, around the wires; the dust went up in the air and then it settled. And that was that.
“But I’m glad I did it then, so that when I came back to Judas Priest it’s all, you know, water under the bridge. It's done and dusted now. But as I say, if I’d stayed in the band I still wouldn’t have come out. Because I protect Priest with my life – I feel deeply about this band, and I put it before myself in that respect. I wouldn't do anything to damage the Priest cause.
“I don’t like to make a fuss about the whole issue of homosexuality. I know some people do, some of the so-called activists, people who are out there with a cause and a political reason – but that’s not something that’s ever interested me. However, I do see the significance of what I do in the back of my mind. There’s an acceptance, and that’s great. It shows the intelligence and the humanity of heavy metal fans. They don’t care about me. All they really want to do is go to see Judas Priest – and have a great time.”
Amen to that.
Originally published in Classic Rock magazine issue 74, December 2004
