Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford came out in a 1998 MTV interview. Today he says, "I've become the stately homo of heavy metal." |
Bugs' interview with Rob Halford originally ran in Daily Xtra on
Nov. 20, 2011
Judas
Priest has been hailed as the godfathers of heavy metal. MTV names the band on
its list of greatest metal acts of all time, second only to Black Sabbath and
just ahead of Metallica. Both Black Sabbath and Metallica are inductees to the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but Judas Priest, for reasons known only to the
gods of rock, has so far been left out in the cold.
Metal God Rob Halford of Judas Priest |
I
told lead vocalist Rob Halford I think the snub has everything to do with his
being openly gay.
“I
don’t know, let’s have a think; who in there is gay?” Halford says
rhetorically. “It’s a good question. I consider myself a lower-case gay, not
screaming like my good friend [porn director and drag queen] Chi Chi LaRue. I
love all my friends in the community, and if the moment came [for induction
into the Hall of Fame], it would be a tremendous moment, not just for the band
and our fans, but for the whole LGBT community.”
Halford
rose to showbiz fame in the 1970s at the height of the homophobic disco sucks
movement. Coming out publicly then would likely have meant career suicide. But
Priest’s landmark 1980 album British Steel had more to do with
popularizing metal than any other band, including, arguably, Black Sabbath.
Priest’s twin lead guitars, pile-driver drums, outlaw lyrics and Halford’s
vocals were templates for every band from Iron Maiden to Guns N’ Roses. Judas
Priest also codified the metal dress code: long hair, tight pants and leather
galore.