In a new interview with Fugues JUDAS PRIEST Singer Robert Halfordwho already declared his homosexuality in 1998 during an appearance in MTV Newswas asked if other gay musicians had asked him for advice about coming out over the past few decades. He replied, “Yes, that has happened, but I’m not going to name names because everyone comes out when their time comes. As we all know, you have to break free. That’s so difficult for us, even now in 2024, because we still face this ongoing challenge of hate, bigotry, intolerance and division. You think it would be a lot easier, but it’s not. The struggle is still very real for young people, and I hope that any conversations I have with others do some good.”
He continued: “You know, I recently read a story about a man in his 90s who came out just before his last breath. Glory hallelujah! It’s never too late to break free because as we know, once you’re out, the attacks go away. I’m fucking here. I’m gay. Get the fuck used to it.”
Asked when and how he met his life partner Thomas, Halford said: “Let me just say that in my autobiography, ‘Confess’I talk about how a man in uniform still makes my little gay old man heart beat faster. So that was part of the connection. I only found out later that Thomas is a decorated veteran. He never talked about that side of his life, about things he’s done and seen in certain parts of the world. You wait for it to come to the table, you know. But we met in a beautiful way, before the Internet and before texting and dating sites and all that stuff. We’re the old gays. We’ve been together since 1995. For our 30th anniversary, I’m buying him a Twinkie.”
In November 2022 Halford reflected on what it was like to be an out man in the 1980s while so many other rock musicians at the time were dipping their toes into the glittering waters of glam androgyny. He told Ultimate Classic Rock: “When you think about the glam rock movement, there were two bands in particular that really pushed that forward for me: MÖTLEY CRÜE And POISON — and to some extent CINDERELLAmaybe some WINGER, LA WEAPONShe said. “At that time, a lot of stuff was coming through in the glam rock era. And definitely Sebastian (BachThen-Skid Row – The Last Chance singer), you know, when the boys looked like the girls. And that worked. And I could never quite understand that because of the homophobic stuff that was going on in the ’80s. And there’s all these guys with makeup on that look… I have to watch my words here, but you know what I mean? They look a certain way so that everyone else is like, “Yeah, man, they’re really hardcore,” and all that stuff. And then me, as a gay man who’s not out, I’m like, “Am I missing out on something here? How can I not come out for fear of losing my career and my band, but these guys go out there and look the way they look and everyone’s all over them?” Not everyone, but, you know, the general perception of the images was just that everyone has to look like that. Everyone has to dress like that. It was a remarkable time in heavy metal and rock to think about in a broader sense.”
He continued, “And I love those guys. As we’re talking, I have to get the message across that I love those guys. I love their music, I love what they accomplished and everything. They’re very, very important. And maybe there was a sense of opportunity within the LGBTQ community because those guys were there back then, doing what they were doing. Maybe they opened a little crack in the door for acceptance. Because a lot of guys went to shows that way. One of my friends here in Phoenix in the ’80s would put on makeup and hair and everything. They’d look like that and then go out to see those bands. As far as the anthropological aspect, the social connection between looking like that and being cool and accepted without resistance was pretty remarkable. It’s a really interesting part of that time in heavy metal. And I include myself – not entirely in that respect, but if you look at (PRIEST‘S) ‘Turbo’ (Album), you see how we look, see how Glenn‘S (Tipton, PRIEST guitarist) got his hair and Ken‘S (KK DowningThen-PRIEST guitarist) got his hair, we were all really in the same melting pot. The 80s were a remarkable time for metal, glam rock, rock, whatever you want to call it. The visual presentation was extraordinary.”
Four years ago Decline confirmed at a performance on MACHINE HEAD Frontman Robb Flynn‘S “No damn regrets with Robb Flynn” Podcast that he, the other members of the group and PRIEST Management knew about Halford‘s sexuality and accepted, although Robbery At that time, given the macho-hetero nature of the metal world, discretion was advised.
“We always knew Robbery was gay” KK said. “Because back then – in the ’60s and especially early ’70s, when everything was still kind of behind closed doors and stuff – people felt a little more comfortable around us because we hung out in groups and gangs and always knew that this guy is different from us and this girl is different.”
Accordingly KK, RobberyHe didn’t care about sexuality and the rest PRIEST. “The main thing is … For me it is obvious, Robbery being gay, apart from having a great voice, I thought Robbery wanted to stay in the band forever, and he was obviously going to be theatrical, he was obviously going to be articulate – and he was; he was all of that,” Decline he said. “Sensitivity and all that and the showmanship – all those ingredients were great qualities for a frontman. And I was right.”
KK also addressed the revelation in Halford‘S “Confess” Autobiography that the singer spent a lot of time on tour in the 1980s and early 1990s looking for one-night stands in gay bars, public toilets and other gay hangouts. Asked by Flynn if he knew that Robbery have done it, KK said: “Yes. Absolutely. My eyes have seen a lot. (Laughs) Even in the mid-70s, when you come off the stage and Robberyis in the shower with one of the crew members doing stuff. I mean, it is what it is. You don’t have to go in there until it’s over and whatever. It is what it is. Because Robbery had to put up with a lot of things from us. It’s the same – no different… It’s the same – fair is fair. We’re all in the van. We’re ready to go. “Okay. Where the hell is Dave? Okay. He’s still in there with a girl. Somebody get him. We have to go. We have to get to the concert or get away from the concert. And things like that happen. It’s rock and roll. A lot of things have been attributed to rock and roll because it Was Rock’n’roll in those days.”
Elsewhere in the interview: Decline talked about it HalfordEfforts to maintain the image of heterosexuality in the media – especially through PRIESTs biker outfits made of studs and black leather that defined the look of the heavy metal genre for years to come – even though he was simultaneously leading a secret double life as a non-homosexual man.
“To be fair Robbery, Robbery was a team player”, KK he said. “He knows that his image and the way he was back then and everything appealed to boys (and) girls. And he thought that was cool. The same goes for me, because your audience is your audience. We had so many people who did were aware of it back then. But we are entertainers and we are performers. But (we had) great faith in the music and the image and everything that went with it. I was still incredibly proud of Robbery as a great frontman and entertainer and as a great singer. And he played the role as well as we thought he would, in the macho, macho, WasJUDAS PRIEST. Because we had done the outfit, the leather and the studs, and I think anything that had to do with anything else incidental – sexuality or anything – was just not part of it… it wasn’t on the stage. In Robbery‘s opinion, it was maybe here and there, but for us, it was so wild and intense to deliver that music the way we did, for me, I was so proud of all the band mates. Because we had made the uniform, and it was unique at the time, and it was such a strong feeling. Because what we had turned us on. The audience could feel it, I think. And that’s why we were never afraid to play with any band, because we had the uniform that nobody else could wear at the time.”
In “Confess”which was published in September 2020, Halford detailed the struggle of being gay while writing about how he and his bandmates began attracting groupies when PRIEST became more commercially successful. “Well, I didn’t do it,” Halford clarified. “Of course, none of our fans knew I was gay at that point. If any misguided girls tried to hit on me, I could politely turn them down. But if I wanted some action on the road – and I really, really did – how the hell was I supposed to do that? For straight men, the ritual was simple. They could ask a girl backstage. Do you want a drink? Do you want to come to our hotel? Do you want to see my room? I couldn’t do any of that.”
Halford continued: “If I liked a guy in the audience, how did I go about it? What were the chances that he was gay (or, if so, that he would admit it)? What if I was wrong, made an ill-advised advance and got punched in the mouth? And of course the all-consuming fear that would limit my existence for decades: What if it came out that I was gay, the fans wanted nothing to do with a band whose frontman was a gay man, and it killed JUDAS PRIEST stone dead? PRIEST was the most important thing in my life, and even if I was willing to sacrifice it for my sexuality – which I was not – I simply could not do it to Ken (KK), or Glenn (Tipton) or Ian (hill). It wouldn’t be fair to them. It was my problem, not theirs.”
Robbery also wrote about how PRIEST came to embrace his iconic leather look, saying: “The biggest myth about this new stage gear is that I had somehow invented the image as a cover and outlet for my homosexuality – that I got a kick out of dressing on stage the way I would like to dress on the street or in the bedroom. That’s utter nonsense. I had no interest in S&M, domination or the whole queer subcult of leather and chains. It just wasn’t for me. My sexual preference was of course men, but I was – and still am – pretty boring. I’ve never used a whip in the boudoir in my life. Or have I? Wait, let me think for a minute…”
In 1998 Halford was the first metal icon to emerge during the above-mentioned MTV Interview, although he had known about his sexuality since he was ten years old.
