Why the only openly gay heavy metal superstar, Judas Prit's Rob Halford, hid his sexualy

Judas Prit's Rob Halford has marked Pri month by reflectg on the moment he me out as gay on televisn. * rob halford is gay *

Judas Prit ontman Rob Halford has always lived a loud and proud heavy metal life, but only 1998 durg an MTV terview did he bee the first metal in to announce he is gay.

“I thk that every gay person has a bigger story to tell than jt, 'Hello, I'm out, 's me, '” Halford, who turned 69 last month, told me a phone terview ahead of the book’s publitn on Tuday.

He wanted to sce Iron Main sger Pl Di’Anno, and he sported bandanas onstage that were a lor-d ve to gay amid the lorful stori are darker moments, both terms of dtry algs and pecially keepg himself closeted for so long. Halford was born 1951, and homosexualy was illegal the U. While a few mastream metal ontwomen like Otep and Lzzy Hale have been open recent years about beg gay or bisexual, Halford remas the only major gay male metal fans are often attracted to the aggrsive and theraptic nature of the genre — ’s a great way to let out pent-up tratn and feel empowered — and many skew more to the right than some of their ins.

ROB HALFORD LOOKS BACK ON G OUT AS GAY ON MTV: “IT’S A GLOR MOMENT”

Judas Prit ontman Rob Halford rells the story of when he me out as gay durg an MTV terview 1998. * rob halford is gay *

Judas Prit‘s Rob Halford has marked Pri month by reflectg on the moment he me out as gay on televisn.

“And I said somethg to the effect of, ‘Well, speakg as a gay man, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. It was one of those gay sharp tak, ‘Oh my God, he’s e out.

ROB HALFORD RELLS WHEN HE CAME OUT AS GAY

'We always knew Rob was gay,' K.K. Downg said. * rob halford is gay *

I thk if I’d…I still say today, if I’d have really thought this through, like today’s the day I’m gog to e out, maybe I even wouldn’t… maybe I may not have e out per se, bee ’s still a big moment for so many of , wh a close iend, wh someone at school, wh Mum and Dad, wh whomever, to actually say, ‘Hey, I’m a gay guy or I’m a gay girl. “So wow, was jt this enormo feelg of eedom, and the prsure was gone, and there’s no more talkg behd your back bee you have all this ammunn of power as a gay person now, as an out gay person.

“Mentally, on top of beg the gay man the closet, I had all the extra piec piled onto my life at that time.

HE BEME METAL'S FIRST OPENLY GAY MEGASTAR 1998. WHY IS HE STILL THE ONLY ONE?

Judas Prit’s Rob Halford marks Pri month by sharg his memory of g out as a gay man * rob halford is gay *

Unlike his famo peers, Halford was navigatg heavy metal’s bchero, dg-fueled 1980s heyday and the heights of his own band’s stratospheric populary as a closeted gay man who was petrified about the potential nsequenc of revealg his te self. “What if got out that I was gay, fans didn’t want anythg to do wh a band onted by a queer, and killed Judas Prit stone ad?

“IN THOSE DAYS, YOU DIDN’T TALK ABOUT THOSE KD OF THGS”. ROB HALFORD'S REACTN TO BEG METAL’S FIRST GAY IN

* rob halford is gay *

” He soon had to open a new office Arizona to handle all of the grateful letters om queer fans thankg him for givg them the strength to live their own Halford CostelloNow, after livg the public’s electric eye for most of his life, heavy metal’s most famo tattooed leather daddy (who’s actually been as good as hched for 30 years and scrib his own sex life as “vanilla”) proudly refers to himself as “the stately homo of heavy metal.

JUDAS PRIEST'S ROB HALFORD ON HIS LIFE AS GAY MAN: 'IN SOME PARTS OF THE WORLD, PEOPLE LIKE ME GET THROWN OFF BUILDGS'

In honor of Pri Month, Judas Prit ontman Rob Halford — one of the first metal micians to e out as gay and certaly the most well-known at the time — has relled the story of how he announced his sexual orientatn to the world durg an MTV terview 1998, explag that he hadn’t planned to make the reveal that day but found an immediate relief. I thk if I’d… I still say today, if I’d have really thought this through, like today’s the day I’m gog to e out, maybe I even wouldn’t… maybe I may not have e out per se, bee ’s still a big moment for so many of , wh a close iend, wh someone at school, wh Mum and Dad, wh whomever, to actually say, ‘Hey, I’m a gay guy or I’m a gay girl.

The gay, leather-lovg sger reveals his “totally ndid” memoir — “Confs: The Autobgraphy, ” out Tuday — that California ps vered up for his long-ago arrt for “public cency” at a Venice Beach rtroom.

Stupid, and ashamed, but also angry — that, this late the century, gay men still had to live fear like this, ” ntu Halford, who publicly me out on MTV 1998 and rned wh the band 2003. And while the young man knew he was gay om childhood, th far, his only timate experienc were trmatic on.

ROB HALFORD REFLECTS ON BEG A CLOSETED GAY MAN DURG 1980S ANDROGYNO 'GLAM METAL' ERA

But Confs n’t be rced to a llectn of salac gay enunters, e bg or romanticized rock’n’roll horror stori. Yeah, pecially when we talk about the acceptance of my sexualy, which every gay person go through.

ROB HALFORD DISCS SEXUALY PUBLICLY FOR THE FIRST {FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.25 "GRAVY",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#FFFFFF;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}{FONT:NORMAL 800 1.2REM/1.25 "GRAVY",SANS-SERIF;TEXT-TRANSFORM:NONE;LOR:HER;DISPLAY:LE-BLOCK;PADDG-BOTTOM:6PX;POSN:RELATIVE;TEXT-TRANSFORM:UPPERSE;}{BACKGROUND:#FFFFFF;BOTTOM:0;NTENT:'';DISPLAY:BLOCK;HEIGHT:2PX;LEFT:0;POSN:ABSOLUTE;RIGHT:0;-WEBK-TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;TRANSN:ALL 0.2S EASE;WIDTH:100%;}{LEFT:51%;RIGHT:51%;WIDTH:0;}MICBY MTV NEWS STAFFFEBARY 5, 1998/5:00 {HEIGHT:HER;DISPLAY:-WEBK-BOX;DISPLAY:-WEBK-FLEX;DISPLAY:-MS-FLEXBOX;DISPLAY:FLEX;POSN:RELATIVE;-WEBK-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-MS-FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;FLEX-WRAP:WRAP;-WEBK-ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-ALIGN:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-ALIGN:CENTER;ALIGN-EMS:CENTER;-WEBK-BOX-PACK:CENTER;-WEBK-JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-MS-FLEX-PACK:CENTER;JTIFY-NTENT:CENTER;-WEBK-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;-MS-TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;TRANSFORM-ORIG:CENTER;} IMG{HEIGHT:100%;WIDTH:100%;OBJECT-F:VER;}{HEIGHT:574PX;WIDTH:1020PX;}BY MTV NEWS STAFFFEBARY 5, 1998 / 5:00 PM{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"NEWSARTICLE","HEADLE":"ROB HALFORD DISCS SEXUALY PUBLICLY FOR THE FIRST TIME","THUMBNAILURL":","DATEPUBLISHED":"1998-02-05T22:00:00.000+0000","DATEMODIFIED":"1998-02-05T22:00:00.000+0000","IMAGE":{"@NTEXT":","@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1920,"HEIGHT":1080},"URL":","THOR":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","NAME":"MTV"},"MAENTYOFPAGE":{"@TYPE":"WEBPAGE","@ID":"},"PUBLISHER":{"@TYPE":"ORGANIZATN","@ID":","NAME":"MTV","URL":","LOGO":{"@TYPE":"IMAGEOBJECT","URL":","WIDTH":1280,"HEIGHT":720}},"CREATOR":"MTV NEWS STAFF","ARTICLESECTN":"MIC"}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}FORMER JUDAS PRIT ONTMAN ROB HALFORD IS BACK WH A NEW BAND, A NEW ALBUM, AND A NEW OPENNS ABOUT MORS AND SPECULATN THAT HAVE LONG SURROUND {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"I THK THAT MOST PEOPLE KNOW THAT I'VE BEEN A GAY MAN ALL OF MY LIFE, AND THAT 'S ONLY BEEN RECENT TIM THAT 'S AN ISSUE THAT I FEEL FORTABLE TO ADDRS, AND AN ISSUE THAT HAS BEEN WH ME EVER SCE REGNIZG MY OWN SEXUALY" [400K AUD], HALFORD TOLD MTV NEWS RECENTLY, ADDRSG THE SUBJECT PUBLICLY FOR THE FIRST {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}IT'S SOMETHG THAT I'VE BEEN FORTABLE WH FOREVER, SOMETHG THAT I FEEL HAS A MOMENT, AND THIS IS THE MOMENT TO DISCS AND TO GO TO THE REASONS, AND THE WHYS AND THE WHEREFOR AS TO THE STATEMENT, THE SO-LLED G OUT {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}HALFORD REACH THIS PHASE JT AS HIS REER IS TAKG YET ANOTHER TURN. THE SGER, WHO HELPED TO SHAPE THE FACE AND SOUND OF HEAVY METAL DURG THE 70S AND 80S WH JUDAS PRIT,{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}WILL SOON RELEASE THE US OF HIS LATT ENAVOR, THE GROUP TWO. AS WE REPORTED EARLIER THIS WEEK, TWO WILL RELEASE S FIRST ALBUM, "VOYRS," ON TRENT REZNOR'S NOTHG RERDS NEXT MONTH (THE ALBUM EVEN BOASTS AN EXECUTIVE PRODUCG CRED FOR REZNOR).{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"A LOT OF HOMOPHOBIA STILL EXISTS THE MIC WORLD, ALL KDS OF MIC," HALFORD SAID. "I WOULDN'T SAY 'S ANY MORE PHOBIC METAL OR RAP OR WHATEVER THIS MIC IS THAT I'M DOG NOW, BUT THAT¹S JT SOMETHG THAT I THK WE ALL HAVE TO ADDRS OUR OWN LIV. IF WE HAVE A PROBLEM WH , I THK WE SHOULD SEEK HELP AND FD OUT WHY WE DO HAVE A PROBLEM WH " [300K AUD].{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}IN OPENLY DISCSG HIS SEXUALY NOW, HALFORD SAID THAT HE HOP HE'S HELPG OTHERS TO DO THE {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}"I THK 'S DIFFICULT FOR EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, MAKG THE CISN TO E FORWARD AND BE WHO YOU ARE, BASED {BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;PADDG:24PX 0;} A{LOR:#F3F3F3;-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;TEXT-RATN:UNRLE;} A:HOVER, A:FOC{-WEBK-TEXT-RATN:NONE;TEXT-RATN:NONE;} B, STRONG{FONT-WEIGHT:700;}PEER PRSURE, PECIALLY IF YOU'RE A TEENAGER," HALFORD SAID. "THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF THE ANXIETY BEGS, AND SO MAYBE PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF AND OTHERS THAT DO STEP ONT OF A MERA AND LET THE WORLD KNOW, MAYBE 'S OF SOME HELP, WHERE THERE'S AN DIVIDUAL THAT'S BEEN SUCCSFUL, THAT'S BEEN ABLE TO ACHIEVE DREAMS AND VISNS AND GOALS LIFE AND NOT LET THE ISSUE OF SEXUALY BE SOMETHG TO HOLD THEM BACK, SO I THK 'S AN IMPORTANT THG" [450K AUD].{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;CLEAR:BOTH;}{BOX-SIZG:BORR-BOX;MARG:0 TO;WIDTH:90%;M-WIDTH:288PX;MAX-WIDTH:1440PX;M-HEIGHT:194PX;}LATT NEWS

And unls you’re a gay person, you n’t unrstand that, you n’t prehend . Well, no ’s nothg to do wh the S&M world or other subcultur the gay world! But years later when you started g the Handkerchief Co on stage (a system ed gay culture the 70s), that was a ltle different, right?

My trips to Ameri really opened my ey as far as what the gay world is about.

We had our own style of the UK, but at the time, the early 70s, you uld still be thrown jail for beg a gay man. At one pot you said how you’d be on the b and read the Bob Damron gui — which highlighted gay-iendly bars across Ameri — and fantasize about gog to the plac, but you jt uldn’t do .

ROB HALFORD RELLS ‘ENORMO FEELG OF EEDOM’ AFTER G OUT AS A GAY MAN

One of them is jt gog to a gay bar and seeg somebody and hangg out and havg a drk and a cuddle the rner, not jt go back and wam, bam, thank you man.

JUDAS PRIEST'S IAN HILL: 'WE KNEW' ROB HALFORD WAS GAY BEFORE HE PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGED IT

”“I thk that every gay person has a bigger story to tell than jt, 'Hello, I'm out, 's me, '” Halford, who turned 69 last month, told me a phone terview ahead of the book’s publitn on Tuday.

The Judas Prit ontman helped to map out the blueprt of the sound and look of metal throughout the 70s and 80s, and a later he beme the first openly gay metal ontman. “I thk that kd of experience is somethg that every gay guy go through – feelg isolated and feelg that you’re the only person the world who has those kd of feelgs.

ROB HALFORD SAYS BEG GAY IS NOT A CHOICE: 'IT'S IN YOUR DNA'

”Halford is a trailblazer that regard, and told Metal Hammer that he’s glad he helped to break assumptns about gay people workg metal. “There’s still a very bigoted attu towards homosexualy.

”Halford don’t see himself as a gay in, though – to him, he’s a heavy metal sger a band. ” He fds amg that he has no relatnship wh the gay media, he stated, opg that they n’t stggle to nnect wh the world of heavy metal.

“I’ve never been approached by any of those kd of publitns bee I thk heavy metal is still viewed by the wir media as still beg this very macho, male environment, ” he said, “and the gay media still treats wh some tachment. "I'm the gay guy the band, " he began. Judas Prit lead sger Rob Halford, who is set for a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ductn, is openly gay and is a relatnship wh an ex-Mare named Thomas Pence.

ROB HALFORD Says Beg Gay Is Not A Choice: 'It's In Your DNA'

Recent Posts

Tags

Contents: