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, Halford’s 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 band’s first album, ‘Rocka Rolla,’ was issued on the small Gull label. By concentrating on the songs, some classic metal albums followed: 1976′s ‘Sad Wings of Destiny,’ 1977′s ‘Sin After Sin’ (now on CBS/Columbia), 1978′s ‘Stained Class,’ plus 1979′s ‘Hell Bent for Leather’ (titled ‘Killing Machine’ in the UK) and ‘Unleashed in the East. Halford’s image as a motorcyclist – dressed head to toe in leather and studs – was secured when he started driving a Harley-Davidson out on stage at each show. 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 1980′s ‘British Steel,’ 1981′s ‘Point of Entry,’ 1982′s ‘Screaming for Vengeance’ and 1984′s Defenders of the Faith. Priest were now one of the world’s 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 (1994′s ‘War of Words’ and 1995′s ‘A Small Deadly Space’) and an EP (1994′s ‘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 genre’s definitive vocalist. One word describes the man and his music: Eternal.
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