JUDAS PRIEST's SCOTT TRAVIS On LES BINKS: He Has 'Always Been A Big Influence Of Mine'

In a new interview with Chris Akin, JUDAS PRIEST drummer Scott Travis spoke about the recent passing of former JUDAS PRIEST drummer Les Binks. Asked how he and the PRIEST fans reacted to the news of Binks's death, Scott said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, unfortunately, I never met the man. I wished I had met him when he was still with us, but I never had the privilege of meeting him. And to your point about fans, no one said anything to me personally about his passing, and I guess that's because he hadn't been in the band for so long. Obviously, I think he might've left the band in '79, maybe '80. I'm not sure. But that was a long time ago. So, like you said, sometimes fans, they have a short memory and they forget things."

Travis continued: "[Les has] always been a big influence of mine. And when I first heard JUDAS PRIEST, it was him with the band. In other words, it wasn't the Dave Holland version of PRIEST; it was the 'Unleashed In The East' album. And then I went back and listened to 'Stained Class' and the album 'Hell Bent For Leather'. Some people call it 'Killing Machine', but in America it was 'Hell Bent For Leather'. But anyways, I love his drumming. I think he just was so cool. He had such a good swing. He could play the double-bass stuff, the heavy metal stuff, but then he also, like I said, had the swing and had some of even little disco. He was doing a lot of cool stuff on the hi-hats, which we've tried to bring back in some of the newer songs on [PRIEST's latest album] 'Invincible [Shield]'."

Scott added: "It's never good when someone passes, a former bandmember. But it was a surprise. I can't even remember. I think we were on tour at the time. I'm not sure now. But, yeah, it's tough… I mean, honestly, it would've been Rob [Halford, PRIEST singer] and Ian [Hill, PRIEST bassist], who had a relationship with him at some point. But I don't even remember them saying or having any remorseful stories at the time. It had been a long time since he was in the band."

JUDAS PRIEST confirmed Binks's death in a statement shared in April 2025 on social media. A cause was not revealed, though a funeral notice said Binks died "peacefully at hospital in London."

Binks played drums on PRIEST's "Stained Class", "Hell Bent For Leather" (released as "Killing Machine" in the United Kingdom) and "Unleashed In The East" albums.

Following the release of "Unleashed In The East", Binks exited PRIEST and was replaced by ex-TRAPEZE member Dave Holland.

After leaving JUDAS PRIEST, Binks played with a number of other lesser-known bands, including LIONHEARTED, TYTAN and RAW GLORY. In the late 2010s, he began performing classic JUDAS PRIEST songs from his era in the band live.

Binks was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in November 2022 along with some of the other former and current members of JUDAS PRIEST.

At the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, Halford, Hill, guitarists Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton plus Travis were joined by former members Binks and guitarist K.K. Downing for a performance of a medley of three PRIEST classics: "Breaking The Law", "Living After Midnight" and "Youve Got Another Thing Comin'".