This man at one time made an invaluable contribution to the development of metal culture, and for his powerful vocal data he received the nickname Metal God. Rob Halford is known as the frontman of the cult band Judas Priest. Moreover, he has a solo project, and also writes songs, music and is successfully engaged in producing.
Here will be presented photos of Rob Halford, made in the best of times, which are direct evidence that it was he who invented the image of the modern metalhead. From the article you will learn that this is a very interesting brutal character of foreign pop.
Rob Halford Biography
The real name of the musician is Robert John Arthur, and he was born in the English town of Sutton Coldfield on August 25, 1951. However, soon the family, along with little Rob, moved to Walsall, which is located near Birmingham. The house of the musician is now there.
Parents of a living legend were of average prosperity: my father worked as a steelworker at a factory, and his mother raised children in kindergarten. Soon, Rob Halford had a sister, Sue, and brother Nigel. Therefore, it became difficult for parents to devote enough time to their first-born.
Violent youth
Robert was a “so-so” student. What interested - taught, the rest defiantly skipping. Therefore, on the road of knowledge, he proudly rode on clumsy triples. Of course, he also had excellent marks, but he received them only for his favorite subjects: his native language, literature, history, and, of course, music. It was possible to characterize the youngster as a simple truant than a badass or a mess.
Robert's talent for music became noticeable when he was still an eight-year-old boy and sang in a school choir. However, he began to actively develop vocal abilities as a teenager.
He put together his first Thakk gang at the age of 15, with one of the school teachers becoming the lead guitarist. Most often, the guys performed cover versions of songs by bands such as Free, The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones and Jimmy Hendrix. At that time, Helford did not even dream that he would ever become a rock legend. After graduation, he did not know where to go and what kind of education to get.
Work searches
Since in his youth Rob Halford did not yet know his own destiny, he looked for work in a completely standard way - he leafed through newspapers in search of the desired advertisement. Once he came across an advertisement that there were vacancies at the Wolverhampton Bolshoi Theater. Having gone there, he was admitted to the state, where he became a student of the illuminator. Moreover, it was he who tried himself as an actor, having played several small roles in theatrical productions.
He stayed there for only a few short years. However, if you believe the words of Halford, then it was then that he felt an ardent desire to speak before the public. Simply put - his scene bewitched once and for all! But the fear of remaining unknown to Robert Arthur drove him further, forcing to think out a faster and more effective way to perpetuate his name.
Carier start
Rob Halford felt a certain craving for music, but after he left the theater, the future seemed vague and uncertain to him. He seemed to be standing at the crossroads and could not choose the right path. Soon, Robert assembled a team of musicians and named it Lord Lucifer, which was later renamed Hiroshima. According to the vocalist, this was his first real experience in the role of a rock musician. However, the group lasted only a year, after which Robert Arthur turned into a seasoned Rob Halford from Judas Priest.
Fate found her hero
The 73rd year passed, the musicians of “Judas” were looking for a new vocalist (to replace the departed Alan Atkins) and drummer (instead of Chris Campbell). It so happened that the sister of Robert (Sue) at that time was the bride of the bass player of the band, Ian Hill, and nominated her brother for the role of frontman.
The audition took place in one small Birmingham apartment, in which all the participants gathered. Hearing the voice of Rob Halford, the guys happily accepted him into their team. In addition, during the conversation it turned out that they had a lot in common, and the musical preferences coincided. A little later, Robert pulled his former Hiroshima ally John Hinch in place of the drummer.
After the squad was staffed with the “right” people, Judas Priest with particular zeal began creative work. During stubborn rehearsals at Holy Joe school, it suddenly turned out that Halford had good harmonica, and this could add a twist to their sound.
Time passed, and the guys wrote albums and gave concerts one by one, but Defenders Of The Faith, released in 1984, brought them real popularity. Vinyl gave them not only world fame, but also the largest profit that the Judas could ever earn. And the most difficult in sound and complex in terms of performance technique was an album called Painkiller, released in the 90th. In total, during the time of Rob Halford, Judas Priest musicians released 15 studio albums, which went around the world like hotcakes.
Leaving the group
In July 92nd, at a Judas press conference in Los Angeles, Rob suddenly announced the creation of his own team with the significant name Fight. And so, in '93, he said goodbye to his “comrades in the shop”, but, as it turned out later, only to return a few years later.
Before he left, an unpleasant incident occurred during a speech in support of Painkiller. Halford, as always pulled in leather and hung with iron, drove onto the stage in his Harley, but a cloud of dry ice knocked him off the right track and crashed into a drum kit elevator. The musician briefly lost his feelings from the blow, but nevertheless worked out the concert program to the fullest, and then went to the clinic on an emergency. After some time, he left the group, but before that he denied the newspaper duck that he had HIV infection.
Solo career
Since Halford left the Judahs just when the popularity of metal music was somewhat weakened, he decided to try himself in a new genre. However, the experiments did not lead to anything, since the fans did not accept Rob in a new role. Fight did not last long and did not find proper success. After the dissolution of his group, Robert assembled a new one, giving her the name "Halford", and again returned to heavy. Only after that he regained its former glory.
Judas Priest, on the other hand, went a little dead without it, so 2003 was the date of their happy reunion. But a solo project called Halford continued to exist.
Vocals
Rob Halford is among the strongest voices of heavy music, which are subject to the "counter-high" notes. A charismatic vocalist can work in a fairly wide vocal range - and this is exactly the quality thanks to which he once appeared in Judas Priest.
According to Roy Zee, Rob's producer, the singer can sing in 16 different voices. There is even a story that at one of the concerts there were problems with the microphone, but this did not stop Halford from shouting out the "Judas", playing at full power through the amplifier. Moreover, the vocalist’s high voice never breaks into falsetto, but it is worth a lot.
However, the aged Halford in his interview once mentioned that it was not easy for him to cope with complex compositions, he could not physically master some songs. Rob considers such rock stars of world scale as Robert Plant, Frank Sinatra and David Byron to be his teachers.
Contribution to metal culture
To whom do metalworkers owe their characteristic image? Not everyone knows that such an entourage arose thanks to Rob Halford. In the clips and on stage, he is pulled into black leather, decorated with rivets and steel chains. This was originally only available at a sex toy store.
In his youth, Robert worked part time in similar institutions. Thinking over his stage image, he decided that such a style would be successful for the warrior of the apocalypse. And he did not lose, because pretty soon all the adherents of heavy metal began to dress like that, and the adherents of the black direction went even further, adding black and white makeup and arm ruffles with giant nails.
Personal life
Rob Halford is a man with an unconventional sexual orientation, which he admitted back in '98. At that time this was a very bold and decisive step, but, in spite of everything, he discovered the truth about himself, breaking the hearts of his fans.
However, this did not affect the popularity of Halford and the Judas, but only increased interest. In 1986, the musician refused to use alcohol and drugs when he realized that he did not need them to write music.