Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Gay & Lesbian Musicians: Rob Halford


When it comes to heavy metal singers, few others can even come close to matching Rob Halford.  His voice is completely unique, and his high-pitched operatic wails make his vocals instantly recognizable.  Given his status in the heavy metal community, it goes without saying that his singing style has influenced a countless number of artists who came after him.  In a career that has spanned more than three decades now, Halford has seen multi-platinum, worldwide success fronting the legendary Judas Priest, and has had an equally impressive solo career for nearly twenty years now!

The story behind the music begins on August 25, 1951, when young Robert was born to working-class parents in Birmingham England.  He first began singing as a teenager, fronting a local band called Hiroshima, while he worked as a theatrical lighting engineer by day.  That band didn't last long, and Rob went through a few other short-lived musical projects before his fortunes changed in 1973.  As fate would have it, Rob's sister was dating Ian Hill, who was the bass player of an up-and-coming local band called Judas Priest.  One day, several of the band members were hanging around the Halford home, and happened to hear Rob singing along to the radio.  Having just lost their previous singer, they immediately arranged a tryout for Rob, and he was quickly accepted into the group.

With Rob now fronting the band, their sound shifted more toward heavy metal.  It didn't take them long to build a local following.  By 1974, their first album, Rocka Rolla, was issued on Gull records.  Unfortunately, the material on the album was unfocused, and the record tanked.  With each successive release, however, the band honed its sound and its songwriting skills.  Their hard work paid off by broadening their worldwide fan base, and leading to a string of what are now considered to be classic heavy metal albums.

Priest's climb to the top began with their 1976 release, Sad Wings Of Destiny.  The album gave them modest success, and their popularity continued its slow but steady rise with future releases like Sin After Sin in 1977, Stained Class in 1978, and double dose featuring new studio album Hell Bent For Leather, as well as a blistering live recording called Unleashed In The East in 1979.  The last two recordings went on to have a profound impact on the heavy metal world by being the inspiration that launched many popular bands, including: Iron Maiden, Metallica, Megadeth, and Pantera among others.  Rob's influence on metal goes beyond his singing prowess, however.  His stage apparel also came to define the heavy metal look.  He would arrive dressed from head to toe in black leather and studs, and driving a Harley onto the stage!  In addition, his stage presence as a performer, and his ability to work an audience are second to none.  Simply stated, he is the quintessential heavy metal singer!

By the dawn of the 1980s, Priest had a rabid underground following, and they continued to focus on broadening their sound in an effort to reach mainstream success.  It would take a few more years for them to reach the level that they had their sights set upon, but their efforts to achieve this really showed in their Eighties releases.  Even though the band had shown steady artistic growth with their past records, the albums released during this period were much more focused and polished than past records had been.  On each of these the material was stellar, and they brought the band one step closer to their goal.  Finally, their 1984 release Defenders Of The Faith pushed them over the top, making the band a headlining arena act.  They finished out the eighties with four more successive multi-platinum albums, and ushered in the 1990s with their most monstrous creation to date: an album called Painkiller.  By this point, it seemed they were only poised for even greater success.

As it turned out, that was not meant to be.  Once they had finished the massive tour for the album in 1992, Rob announced that after twenty years, he was going to leave the band.  His reasons had nothing to do with the band itself; he loved being in Priest, but he had carried a desire to experiment with other musical styles that could not be expressed within the framework of the Judas Priest sound.  Fortunately, the split was completely amicable, and everyone remained on good terms.

Upon his exit from his former band, Rob embarked on what would be an extremely successful and creatively satisfying solo career for him.  He immediately set himself to the task of forming a new band.  The result was a group that he called Fight, which was very similar in style to Painkiller-era Priest.  Fight would go on to release two full length albums: War Of Words in 1993, and A Small Deadly Space in 1995, as well as a disc of remixes called Mutations that was released in between these records.

After disbanding Fight in the latter half of 1995, Rob signed a deal with Trent Reznor's label, Nothing Records.  He formed a new project called Two, which released a single album in 1997 called Voyeurs.  Despite the fact that it's industrial sound was far different than anything Rob had done in the past, the album still did reasonably well.  However, its sales were far below those of any other project he'd been associated with.

It was also around this time that Rob finally addressed long-standing rumors about his sexuality, by announcing publicly that he was gay.  This was a fact that had previously been known only by his band mates and those close to him.  They had tried to keep it a secret for fear that it may damage his career, but it was long suspected by many fans who had picked up on subtle references in his lyrics anyway.  Some were probably also tipped off by his leather clad look that was known to be a popular mode of dress among some certain groups of gay men.  The story came via MTV news in 1998.  In his announcement, he said that he hadn't even felt comfortable enough himself to publicly address the issue until then.  Surprisingly, the metal community responded with an outpouring of support, quickly laying to rest any fears that Rob may have had about alienating his fans.

Following this, Rob took a brief rest before returning with a newly formed group that bore his last name in 2000.  Halford was a return to his true heavy metal roots, and the closest thing in his solo career to the classic Priest sound that he was known for.  The band pumped out a total of three albums, including their self-titled debut in 2000, another concert recording called Live Insurrection in 2001, and a second studio release called Crucible in 2002.  And new releases continue to pop up every few years!

Through all of this, rumors that Rob would reunite with Judas Priest were continual.  Metal fans were elated when their wishes came true in 2003.  The original Priest has since released two more albums, Angel Of Retribution in 2005, and Nostradamus in 2008.  Both recordings were accompanied by very successful world tours that saw the band performing at the top of their game and seemingly prepared to continue indefinitely.

Of course, no one can predict the future, but where Rob Halford is concerned, one quickly learns to expect the unexpected!  At the age of 58, he shows no sign of slowing down...and one look at his impressive resume is proof that he is not an artist who will ever be content to rest on his laurels.  Judging by what he has given us in the past, it seems safe to assume that we will be hearing from the Metal God for a long time to come!

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