Metal’s high Priest still in rude health
The British heavy metal band’s almost 50-year career would be ideal Hollywood fodder, its lead singer tells James Croot.
Bsuccess has got Rob Halford thinking. Judas Priest’s lead singer believes the British heavy metallers’ almost-50-years of history would be ideal fodder for a Hollywood biopic.
‘‘I think Judas Priest has had a very interesting life,’’ Halford tells Stuff ahead of the band’s visit to Auckland for a one-off show on March 16. ‘‘We’ve certainly got some stories to tell. We’ve certainly had a lot of incidents on the road, that’s for sure,’’ he adds, also pointing to the similarities between himself and Queen frontman Freddie Mercury.
‘‘I also had to hide a gay guy like Freddie for all those years,’’ says the now 67-year-old Halford who only publicly revealed his homosexuality in 1998.
‘‘It’s a wonderful moment when you walk out of the closet,’’ he told bi-weekly LGBT magazine The
Advocate back then. ‘‘Now I’ve done that and I’ve freed myself. It’s a great feeling for me to finally let go and make this statement.’’
He admits he was worried about a negative reaction after that interview, but was surprised and delighted to be quickly inundated with messages of support from colleagues and fans.
As for who would play him? Halford isn’t sure. ‘‘Who could be the ‘metal god’? I haven’t got a clue. I thought Rami [Malek, who won an Oscar for his performance in Bohemian Rhapsody ]dida fantastic job of Freddie’s persona, charisma. But I’m sure there’s another actor out there who could get the leather and whips and chains on.’’
Halford says he could also help with the script, admitting that he’s finally working on a memoir on his life and time with the You’ve Got Another Thing
Coming and Breaking the Law hitmakers.
‘‘It’s been rattling around in my head forever. As you move on in life and have had the wonderful good luck, fortune and gratefulness to spend 50 years in a glorious band like Judas Priest, you want to be to tell your side of the story, as opposed to something that has been knocked up by somebody else from a bunch of interviews.
‘‘Just because of the way I am and because I’m the lyricist of the band – a bit like my mate Bruce [Dickinson, Iron Maiden’s lead singer] – I think mine will end up like The Lord of the Rings.
Between my early childhood, adolescent years and the place where I’m at now, I think we’re talking about three heavy metal tomes.’’
However, the Sutton Coldfield-born Halford’s excitement about seeing all the band’s ‘‘Kiwi metal maniacs’’ for the first time since 2015’s Westfest, has been tempered by the absence of Ozzy Osbourne who they were due to share the bill with in Auckland and Christchurch.
Music’s Prince of Darkness has had to remain at home after being admitted to hospital with pneumonia. As a result, the South Island gig has been cancelled and a new support act had to be found. ‘‘I’m so pleased we’ve been able to work it out,’’ Halford says.
‘‘Obviously we’re relieved that Ozzy is getting better now. It was so scary for us and his family and fans and everyone, so we are so happy at his recovery. We knew about as much as anybody did. Obviously, when it is an illness like this, it’s a very private matter because it affects the immediate family so strongly.
‘‘But the big thing is that he’s on the road to recovery and I’m sure he’ll come back and see his fans in New Zealand when he’s able.’’
Halford is particularly delighted that Halestorm were chosen as the replacement band. ‘‘I’m a massive Halestorm fan. Going out with Lzzy [Hale, Halestorm’s lead vocalist and guitarist] and the guys will be a real treat. She is one of the mostpowerful rock musicians right now – she’s phenomenal.
‘‘I have a lot of girl friends in the business. There’s Maria [Brink] from In this Moment, the singer [Alissa White-Gluz] from Arch Enemy and Doro [the German-born former lead singer of Warlock]. It’s great that the girls are showing the guys how to do it.’’
Predicting that the Spark Arena show will ‘‘be a blast’’, Halford says it is always fun to tour with other bands. ‘‘We are all connected. That’s the great joy of being a musician – they know what it feels like to be out on that stage and it will be great
I’ll be turning 68 this year and I don’t feel it man – I’m having a blast since I quit all that drinking and drugging 33 years ago.
to see Lzzy and the guys perform before us.’’
Of course, the Priests haven’t been without their own health problems. Halford has needed back and umbilical hernia surgery in recent years, and famously broke his nose while riding a HarleyDavidson onto a Toronto stage in 1991. Then there’s guitarist Glenn Tipton, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2008.
‘‘We have this song called No Surrender, which has become Glenn’s anthem,’’ Halford says. ‘‘It’s a day-to-day thing with Parkinson’s – some days are better than others, you know, and that’s the cruelty of it. For Glenn, a musician, somedays he can pick up a guitar and he’s fine and somedays it’s a real challenge.
‘‘Glenn has always said as and when he feels ready he’ll be on the road. We’re so pleased for him where he is at now. He’s probably collecting ideas for the next Priest album – that’s his motivation. He’s still fully immersed in Priest. We all battle on, that’s the way we’ve always done it.’’
Halford says he’s fighting fit and having a blast. ‘‘I’ll be turning 68 this year and I don’t feel it man – I’m having a blast. I kind of thank the Lord for my personal health since I quit all that drinking and drugging 33 years ago.’’
Describing the band as like a family, he believes that has been one of the keys to their longevity.
‘‘There’s an enormous amount of love and support for each other. We keep things that happen to us close and support and protect each other. I think you also have to find a balance between writing, recording, touring and that time where you say, ‘OK, see you guys in a few months’. It’s important to be able to take that little break and find some kind of platform of harmony to keep it going.’’