Maillist
FOCUS ON: Halford
- Official Website >>
- Label: Frontiers Records >>
- Genre: Metal
Born on August 25, 1951, in Birmingham, England, Rob Halford began singing as a teenager, fronting a local rock band, Hiroshima, and working as a theatrical lighting engineer.
In 1973, Halfords sister was dating Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill, and one day a few members were over at the Halfords house when they overheard Halford singing along to the radio. Priest, which included Hill and guitarists K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, asked Halford to join. Priest, now with Halford, moved toward a more metallic sound, and in 1974 the bands first album, Rocka Rolla, was issued on the small Gull label. By concentrating on the songs, some classic metal albums followed: 1976s Sad Wings of Destiny, 1977s Sin After Sin (now on CBS/Columbia), 1978s Stained Class, plus 1979s Hell Bent for Leather (titled Killing Machine in the UK) and Unleashed in the East.
In the 1970s Judas Priest were a huge cult band, but constant touring and superb songs brought them mainstream success. Gold and platinum albums included 1980s British Steel, 1981s Point of Entry, 1982s Screaming for Vengeance and 1984s Defenders of the Faith. Priest were now one of the worlds top metal bands, but by 1992 Halford announced he was leaving the group after nearly 20 years of service.
Halford formed Fight which recorded two albums (1994s War of Words and 1995s A Small Deadly Space) and an EP (1994s Mutations). He then moved on to a more industrial unit called Two recording one album called Voyeurs in 1997.
In 2000 he returned to his metal roots as a solo artist. Resurrection was followed by Live Insurrection in 2001 and Crucible in 2002. Halford then re-joined Judas Priest in 2003. The re-energized band released the career-spanning box set Metalogy in 2004 and followed with European and US tours. The new studio album Angel of Retribution was released in early 2005 to universal critical acclaim, and a massive world tour was begun.
For well over three decades, Rob Halford has stood firmly at the top of the metal mountain as the genres definitive vocalist. One word describes the man and his music: Eternal.
