JUDAS PRIEST Frontman Opens Up About His Sexuality, Being A Recovering Alcoholic

John Doran of The Quietus recently conducted an interview with JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

On how it upsets him to hear about young gay people getting bullied:

"If you could tell that lad that I understand what he's going through and he's not alone. I've become something of a figurehead in metal for all the gay metalheads and it's something that I take very seriously. He should be able to go on the Internet; there are some networking things that are there or hopefully find a friend who you can talk to when you need to. That's it, though. Look, it's 2008 and there's this young metalhead guy and he's going through exactly what I went through when I was a teenager and coming to terms with myself. It's a very difficult, painful, lonely experience, and you feel like a freak and you ain't. You're not a freak, you're perfectly normal — you're OK. But you feel so isolated that in some instances it can be very dangerous. So it's important for him to understand that he's not alone and the people who pick on him are a bunch of twats. They're just stupid and fucking ignorant. So he should do whatever he needs to do to look after himself."

On being a recovering alcoholic:

"I remember the first-ever show I did sober with PRIEST at the Tingley Coliseum in Albuquerque, New Mexico and that was in 1986. It was the first date on the 'Turbo' tour and it was the first time I'd walked on stage without having quite a few drinks under my belt. Before I would have had three or four vodka and tonics or whatever and I'd have a bit of a buzz before I even got on stage. But for the first time I went on stage clean and sober and I had the best show of my life because the music had suddenly become my drug. The music was giving me all the things I hadn't realised it was giving me because I was pissing all over it with booze and drugs. But you can do it. I've got loads of mates out there who drink; everybody in PRIEST drinks but it doesn't affect me. I certainly steer clear of the temptation because I'm a recovering alcoholic and there aren't any other alcoholics in PRIEST. So when they want to have a drink they have a drink but with me I'd have to have a drink to get pissed and everything else."

On whether he is glad that JUDAS PRIEST took a gamble on something as ambitious as the "Nostradamus" concept album when other bands may have been tempted to stick to the formula:

"Well, I don't think we thought it was a gamble. I think we were just excited about finally getting round to doing something and we had wanted to do it for ages. Because of our ongoing ritual of writing, recording and going on world tours it took forever to get round to having enough time to do it because it was a two year project. And also to find the right subject matter. And then finally 'Nostradamus' appeared and we had all the goods for making it a good record. So really we did it for ourselves. We'd wanted to do it for ages and we finally made it happen. The overall reaction has been solid and sure, it's been mixed in some quarters — some metal heads just want to see 'Painkiller', 'Painkiller', 'Painkiller' or 'British Steel', 'British Steel', 'British Steel', but that's not what being in a band is about, especially not for us. We want to see what we can do. This is a fantastic time for PRIEST and our fans and we're still enjoying going through the opening stages of introducing the music of what will become a full-fledged stage show, playing all of it in concert."

On whether he can see himself doing this indefinitely:

"Well, you have to be practical. We're not getting any younger but it's not slowing us down. The energy and excitement are still there. We still love playing together as a band. We're good mates. We know that we can write good music. The team of writers is very strong as everyone has just experienced with 'Nostradamus'. We have a will and a determination. If and when we decide it's over it's not going to be broadcast, we're not going to say we're knocking it on the head. We'll probably just . . . fade away (burst out laughing). But we're not fading yet we're bright and shining in the metal sky! (more laughter)"

On whether he thinks PRIEST is going to do another album like "Nostradamus" next time around:

"Speaking personally, no, I think we've done it and some things you can only do once and I don't know what we're going to do next but it will be another JUDAS PRIEST metal record but it's an exciting thought to know that something's going to be on the horizon."

Read the entire interview from The Quietus.