When we announced that January was going to be Queer Musical Artist month at OMG and Winterbird mentioned Rob Halford, I knew I had to do an Out Spotlight on him. Before Halford, if you had asked someone if a heavy metal singer could be openly gay, the answer would have been a resounding, "NO!" But Halford, the lead singer for the heavy metal band Judas Priest, came out in 1998 in an interview with MTV. Apparently his sexuality was somewhat of an open secret among fans and the heavy metal press. The response from the heavy metal community has been fairly supportive.
Halford is a pretty tough guy. At one concert, Halford rode onto the stage on a motorcycle and ran into a drum riser. He fell off the bike, broke his nose, and lost consciousness. When he came to, he performed the entire show! Halford spent 20 years with Judas Priest, and then formed the band Fight with his old drummer. Recently, Halford has been performing with the band Halford. He has also performed 3 shows as the lead singer for Black Sabbath. Halford is known as "Metal God" because of his legendary influence on metal.
Check out his website at http://www.robhalford.com/new/.
I just love this picture! :)
I remember seeing a interview with Rob Halford when he said, he would get his gear from leather sex shops and while his fans thought he was just being heavy metal, he was being out in the way he could, he was telling them if they wanted to see it.
ReplyDeleteKind of sounded like someone else who used (still does?) do that with his fans.
Wow, oh yeah - very impressive!
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard this song in 100 years either - but what a to start a Sunday! ;)
^^way, sorry ;)
ReplyDeleteThis is not Halford in the Song , it´s Ripper Owens , who replaced Halford when he left Judas Priest.
ReplyDeleteNot a heavy metal or leather fan myself but got to hand it to this guy. Being out in this particular field of entertainment cannot be easy. I have to admire someone who has the courage to do it.
ReplyDeleteI wanted to say it was awesome seeing Doogie and the bf on vacation. I hope we get to see more interest in the everyday lives of out couples.
Also on Wentworth his series "Prison Break" is a big hit. It def caters to str8 men. He must be under tremendous pressure to stay in the closet. Thats not saying its right but we all know the system by now.
Priest-Fan, oh well, shows you what I know about heavy metal! Thanks for the correction. I'm still enjoying the song.
ReplyDeleteRock on, Rob!
ReplyDeleteIt proves that if you aren't ashamed of being gay, others most likely won't.
very funny about him buying leather gear in sex shops! :P
You really do have to admire him.
ReplyDeleteI was reading some interesting interviews with him and thought I'd post a couple of his words here.
From Contactmusic:
JUDAS PRIEST frontman ROB HALFORD is proud he'll be immortalised in history as the first heavy metal singer to come out as a homosexual.
Halford - who shocked fans in the mid-1990s by subtly announcing his sexuality during an MTV interview - has never once regretted the risky move that threatened to alienate much of his following.
And the GRINDER star is urging other gay heavy rockers still in hiding to follow his example.
Halford credits his brave coming out with helping secretly gay rock fans to realise they're not freaks destined to "burn in hell".
He says, "A lot of cool things happened because of it. I've had feedback from a lot of people, particularly teenagers who were going through tremendous hardships with family and at school.
"I know when I was 12 or 13 I was thinking, 'Oh God, I'm a freak, I'm gonna burn in hell,' and all that c**p - and it's a horrible experience to live through if you don't have support.
"But looking at the bigger picture, I'm not the only metal homo. There are many more statistically speaking. And they can stay in the closet or come out, it's entirely up to them. I feel proud that I'm the first person to do it on that level."
From Planetout:
Metal fans might be the last to admit (or know) it, but they've got a gay legend on their hands. Rob Halford, formerly of the metal rock sensation Judas Priest, is not only proudly out, he claims he's always been comfortable about his sexuality and figured everyone around him always knew he was gay. While that might not be the case, Halford has become decidedly more gay-focused these days. After leaving Judas Priest, he started his solo band Fight, inspired by such fellow head-banging wonders as Metallica and Skid Row. He also produced A Small Deadly Space, an album that deals with AIDS.
When asked about his heavily leather attire, Halford claims it's just part of the act. "I was never into that part of gay culture," he says, "but obviously I was aware of it. ... It's the irony of ironies."
Even though I like some heavy metal, I've never been a Judas Priest fan, but I'll always love Rob for having the courage to come out. However I can't help noting that this is yet another case of someone coming out in their 40s and after many years in the business.
ReplyDeleteOT, I was reading a profile of Brandon Jacobs who plays for the NY Giants, in the the NYT this morning. The writer was describing how he has a very suburban life with his family, which in addition to his wife and son includes a golden retriever named Jake and a puggle named Reese! I nearly fell off the sofa when I read that. Who knew it wasn't safe to read the sports page.
A pleasant surprise to have some heavy metal featured as Out music.....The album Hell Bent for Leather was the sound track to my early teen years. Not as much later, but I always had a soft spot for Judas Priest. Mind you, I probably was far from understanding any sub-text for the title song at the age of 12 ;-)
ReplyDeleteDestiny, I'm now worried that Brandon Jacobs is one of our trolls!
ReplyDeleteWhat's interesting to me about Halford is that his sexuality was an open secret among his fans and the press. People in the press knew and didn't out him.
This question is completely OT and would have made more sense with yesterday's post: Did we ever figure if there was some kind of saying or picture on Austin's inside out T-shirt in the bedhead photos?
ReplyDeleteAs I know quite a few people here like him, you may be interested in the spread that John Barrowman has in today's Scotland on Sunday. He's on the front cover of the review, its mainly dealing with the new series of Torchwood but he says some interesting things about being an out actor and potential fatherhood etc. I've never rated the guy (probably because I don't like Dr Who or Torchwood0, but reading this he's gone up in my estimation.
ReplyDeletehttp://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/spectrum/I-go-to-work-every.3633905.jp
I hope that link works, if not, google Scotland on Sunday and you can link from there, (apolgies in advance if this newspaper seems a bit parochical, Scotland's a small country and this is about as good as we can muster, media wise).
Fantastic article about John Barrowman, Meg. It mentions that he has an autobiography coming out soon. I can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteOT. I attended a birthday party for a friend lat evening. The women who gave the party picked "Some Loke it Hot" as the party theme because it was the birthday boy's favorite all time movie. The movie was shown on a large screen HDTV during the party. I struck up a conversation with a nice lady that I had never met before. She knew nothing about my interest in the movie Brokeback Mountain or my interest in Jake. During the movie I commented to her how good looking Tony Curtis was when he was a younger guy. She then told me an interesting story about her aunt who had passed away several years ago. Her aunt lived in the HW area and worked in the movie industry. Her aunt told her that she attended a party one night with a male companion who was a friend of hers. Her aunt told her that several celeberties had attended the party and one happened to be Tony Curtis. She then said that her aunt was very attracted to Tony and was very dissapointed when Tony came on to her male companion big time. The reason I am telling the story here is that Tony Curtis was a huge critic of BBM. Tony publicity stated that he would not even watch BBM let alone vote for it as best picture due to its homosexual content. I quess hyprocity has existed in HW for a long long time.
ReplyDeleteI'm getting Jack Twist from this song for some reason - "You ain't gettin' this one to sit around tyin' knots all day, and I ain't settlin' for beans neither! ;)
ReplyDeleteTom, your story is why I don't understand people who say that [insert name of actor] would never lie. It's been going on for years, and it won't stop because it's seen as the only way to handle being gay in HW. And it will continue to be seen as the only way to handle being gay in HW until someone successfully comes out.
ReplyDeletelol Wicked, maybe his wife is gyllenbabble poster.
ReplyDeleteGreat story Tom, thanks for posting it.
What do they say about people who hate homosexuals? - they are most likely a closeted gay themselves. People like Tony Curtis (isn't it ironic that his daughter is Jake's god mother?) is the old-guard of Hollywood, they don't want anyone to "rock" the boats.
ReplyDeleteit's sad... when you think Hollywood is practically run by gays and jewish people, but yet, they are totally homophobic and would finance films like "Passion of the Christ"...
Good on Rob, I've always admired him for that. I have an ex-boyfriend who remains a close friend who was a huge heavy metal fan in his teens (and still is a bit). I remember asking him if he had heard that the lead singer of Iron Maiden had come out. He was rather stunned but entirely cool about it. I then realised my gaffe and said, "No! Sorry, I meant the lead singer from Judas Priest!" He laughed and said, "Oh, you mean Rob Halford? Pffft. You're only several years late with that news!" So I guess the fans did indeed know for the most part!
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of out heavy metal artists, did Gene Simmons from KISS officially come out, or was it just rumoured? This is a few years back, too.
I think Tony Curtis got more speculation and rumors for in his role in Spartacus.
ReplyDeleteIn the original version included a scene where Marcus Licinius Crassus (Laurence Olivier) attempts to seduce Antonius (played by Tony Curtis)but Antonius only has eyes for Spartacus (Kirk Douglas). The Production Code Administration and the Legion of Decency both objected.
Winterbird, Jamie Lee seems very liberal and not like her father. She has seemed to support liberal and gay causes and was at the LA premiere of Brokeback with husband Christopher Guest. I wouldn't lump her with her father.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I forgot to mention in the famous bath scene from Spartacus is when Crassus asks Antonius if he prefers snails or oysters.
ReplyDeleteThat's one way to put it.
special k, why would Tony Curtis get speculation for a role in a movie? Does play gay make you gay? Is it then why everyone cannot get past Jake is gay? Sorry but I need stories like the one Tom mention to believe Tony Curtis might be attracted to men, certainly not him playing someone likes it hot.
ReplyDeleteSomeone, everyone here seems to be able to separate the characters from the actors; doesn't mean we can love the characters and know that they are distinct from the actor who plays them. One can discuss speculation without it meaning that the speculation is true.
ReplyDeleteOne can discuss speculation without it meaning that the speculation is true
ReplyDeleteHello? You just said that Tony Curtis is a self hating gay, then you revisit movie history and now you come nad say oh but we don't really say speculation was true? Pleaze.
doesn't mean we can love the characters and know that they are distinct from the actor who plays them
yup, doesn't mean.
^^someone
ReplyDeleteAt least have the balls to come out from behind the anonymous button there, 9:53.
ReplyDeletePics of Jake and Tobey on Flynet. They are both still in LA. Tobey with his daughter, wife and father in law, head of Universal pictures.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flynetonline.com/2008/01/its-a-small-town-after-all/#more
Awww - the baby's adorable, looks like Jake's talking to her. And I can see a bit of a resemblance between the Brothers. :)
ReplyDeleteLove Jake's grin for Ruby Sweetheart.
ReplyDeleteIs that Reese in the photo with her back to the pic? I would think that if reese was there, flynet would mention it.
ReplyDeleteNasty troll harrassing WFT today. Glad they did not bother us here.
troll patrol go back to sleep since I did have 'the balls' to come out from anonymous. Maybe you should have 'the balls' to read before making useless statements.
ReplyDeletethe person in the pic, m, looks nothing like Reese, hair color is different, different built and posture
ReplyDelete^^The person in the pic, sorry to disappoint the trolls, is Tobey's wife.
ReplyDeleteHey the Taco Bell run this late at night is never good.
ReplyDeleteToo much late, get all bloated and then a hurl that has to be taken care of either in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning.
I know its tough not to engage with the trolls, but you will feel better in the morning, and I will be much happier if I don't have to clean up troll hurl first thing on a Monday morning.
11:28, I am talking about the person in the gray sweater. 4th pic down. Tobey's wife has a different outfit and purse on than the one in gray. Could be one of Jake's staff. The one that often gets mistaken for Reese.
ReplyDeleteAt this point I think flynet would recognize Reese even if it was dark out and she had a bag over her head.
ReplyDeleteM -
ReplyDeletethat's not Reese -- not blonde enough and remember from every sighting "she's so tiny" -- this woman is taller (look how tall she is compared Ron Meyer, and then compare him to Jake's heigth - even with heels Reese would not be that tall) and broader than Reese. I think it might one of assistants that Jake is seen with.
Destiny is very funny girl ! :D
ReplyDeleteDoes it show her and him together?The #2 blonde woman could be a total stranger or someone Jakes doesnt even know really. and wow I had no idea Tobey was married to Universal ceo daughter. Jackpot. or not. And now I see why Jake has the haircut. its prolly thwe only one that would really make he and tobey look like brothers. they do, they really do.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't like about the siting is Flynet says it was in Brentwood, Reese's territory. makes it sound like Reeke is still alive. :(
ReplyDeleteAustin also lives in Brentwood, believe it or not.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of Rob Halford, but big up to him.
ReplyDeleteDestiny, good work on WFT - I just nipped in for a read and had to set a few wrong assumptions right on the ID issues.
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't like about the siting is Flynet says it was in Brentwood, Reese's territory. makes it sound like Reeke is still alive. :(
ReplyDeleteAustin also lives in Brentwood, believe it or not.
There's that as well as the fact that Reese is on set in SF right now anyway.
And I really don't think we would see Jake smiling if he really had just been at her place/on his way to her.