LGBTQ+ Icons in Music – Rob Halford

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Legendary Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford was the first heavy metal singer to openly come out as gay when he confirmed his homosexuality in the late 90s, subsequently quipping “I’ve become the stately homo of heavy metal”. Whilst early Metal influences such as Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer and Deep Purple never saw themselves as a ‘Heavy Metal band’, Judas Priest would change all of this by fully identifying as such, with Halford helping define the band’s sound and look throughout the 70s and 80s with his classic operatic screaming, leather uniform and tongue-in-cheek humour. Halford is considered one of Heavy Metal’s greatest vocalists of one of the genre’s most important bands, and despite the Heavy Metal being seen as a very macho, male environment in the media, Halford’s sexuality has been widely accepted, he is still the Metal God.

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Here’s a link to the original article for Leeds Student Newspaper, The Gryphon.

https://www.thegryphon.co.uk/2019/02/15/lgbtq-icons-in-music/

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