Pop Talk by George Varga

From world-renowned metal god to mellow dude, Rob Halford has mastered the art of personal transformation.

When he's on tour as the lead singer in Judas Priest, a job Halford has had for nearly 30 years, he is a bigger-than-life heavy metal icon. Armed with a high-octane, near-operatic voice and wearing leather-and-studs-dominated stage attire, he has the chops and charisma to command the attention of rabid fans in a packed stadium or arena.

But when he's at home in his San Diego apartment, the soft-spoken British musician leads such a low-key lifestyle as to be all but anonymous. He comes and goes as he likes — be it on his extended daily walks or to grab a bite or go buy groceries — and virtually no one notices him.

"If I couldn't do that, I think I'd move somewhere else," said Halford.

"I don't want to be a recluse, but I need to be able to do what I want to do without being 'paparazzi-ed' to death," he said. "I need to be able to go to Ralphs and push my shopping cart up and down the aisles. I've never been attracted to the rock star persona. It's great if people want to think about the fantasy of what a rock star's life is like, but I don't want that."

Halford, who was born and raised in a large industrial town near Birmingham, England, chuckled.

"Maybe it's my working-class roots," he said. "But it's important I'm able to do my Ralphs and Ichibans" (restaurant visits).

The self-effacing Halford was just a teenager when he joined bassist Ian Hill and guitarist K.K. Downing in 1971 in the fledgling Judas Priest. (Their stage moniker was inspired by Bob Dylan's 1968 song "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest.")

The band released its debut album, "Rocka Rolla," in 1974, the same year guitarist Glenn Tipton came on board. Four albums later, the group's career took off with its 1980 classic, "British Steel." Along with such kindred musical spirits as Diamond Head and Iron Maiden, Halford and his bandmates helped pave the way for the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement that ignited in the early 1980s.

Recently embarked on the concluding leg of an extensive world tour that began last summer in Finland, Judas Priest is now performing "British Steel" in its entirety at each concert. The repertoire also includes selections from the 2008 concept album "Nostradamus" and a smattering of songs from throughout the five-man band's career, some of which are also featured "A Touch of Evil: Live," the band's newest album.

"All I remember about making 'British Steel' is that we had a contractual commitment to the record company to deliver the album on time," Halford said. "We'd just come out of a mixing session (in the studio) at John Lennon's former residence (at Tittenhurst Park), where Ringo (Starr) was living. We asked if we could write and record the album there, and Ringo said: 'Go ahead, do it.'

"The bulk of 'British Steel' was written in that house. We didn't have time to think. We were literally writing all day and night, and putting those ideas together as quickly as possible. ... Dare I say, it was the album that brought the band to a national level in America."

It's been nearly 30 years since Judas Priest's core members performed all of the "British Steel" songs together (Scott Travis, the band's drummer and sole American, joined the group in 1990). Halford admits that it's only now, after about a month of performing the album live at shows, that he feels reconnected with "British Steel" as a whole.

"I was finding my way around it. Now, I'm immersed in it and it's an amazing feeling," he said. "When you listen to the opening line of the first track, 'Rapid Fire' — Pounding the world like a battering ram — that just resonates in 2009.

The power of the music and the message in the lyrics absolutely still connects."

Halford left in 1992 to launch a solo career and to form his own bands: Fight, the industrial-oriented 2wo and, finally, Halford. After a hiatus, Judas Priest resumed operations in 1996 with a young American singer, Tim "Ripper" Owens (who had previously fronted an American Judas Priest cover band). In 1998, Halford became the first heavy-metal star in memory to disclose that he was gay.

This series of events provided much of the story line for the 2001 movie "Rock Star" (original title: "Metal God"), which starred former teen-pop idol Mark Wahlberg in a role modeled after Owens' rise from obscurity to hard-rocking stardom.

The movie, which also starred Jennifer Aniston, landed with a thud. But Halford, who rejoined Judas Priest in 2003, has thrived as the only openly gay member of a major metal band. There has been no discernible backlash from fans or musicians, despite metal's legacy of snarling macho men embracing a decidedly heterosexual (and often misogynistic) lifestyle.

"I thought that whole Proposition 8 (anti-gay-marriage) thing was a crock," Halford said. "Because we were hijacked by the religious fanatics, again. Why is marriage, by definition, a religious experience? I don't think it is. It's a contract between two people who love each other and want to show the world how they feel about each other."

As for the future, Halford, 58, plans to keep singing as long as the spirit (and his health) allow.

"If I lost my voice, it would be pointless," he said. "Fortunately, my voice is still doing the business, so I don't even think of retirement. Once you do, you start to decompress, and you can't do that in rock 'n' roll. You have to keep the fires burning.

"I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do drugs. All I've got is my metal and I'm happy with it."

SIDEBAR

Breaking the Mold

He may be a world-renowned heavy-metal singer, but Judas Priest's Rob Halford doesn't fit the stereotype. He collects paintings by such masters as Goya and Lichtenstein. His favorite singers include Janis Joplin, blues pioneer Bessie Smith and opera legend Luciano Pavarotti, while Mozart, Puccini and Ravel are among the composers whose music he most enjoys.

As for the records that made him want to become a rock singer when he was not yet a teenager, if you guessed Led Zeppelin or Deep Purple, guess again. The records that changed Halford's life are:

Bill Haley & The Comets, "Rock Around the Clock" (1954) — Although it had only minimal commercial impact upon its release 55 years ago, "Rock Around the Clock" became a worldwide smash after being featured in the hit 1955 movie "Blackboard Jungle." The song was also featured in "American Graffiti" in 1973 and as the original theme for the "Happy Days" TV series.

Little Richard, "Tutti Frutti" (1955) — The explosive breakthrough hit by one of the pioneers of rock 'n' roll, "Tutti Frutti" helped usher in a musical revolution with a song that would later be covered by everyone from Elvis Presley and Pat Boone to MC5 and Queen.

Elvis Presley, "Blue Suede Shoes" (1956) — Presley was already a rising star when he cut his red-hot version of Carl Perkins' best-known song. It was subsequently covered by artists as varied as Mary J. Blige, the Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen and The Residents.

Halford: "These were the first three records I got, when I was 10 or 11. When I heard them, they just electrified me. So, I think I had a good dose of what rock 'n' roll is all about, as far as the energy and excitement, and three very distinctive artists belting it out. Like Bessie Smith, Janis Joplin, Robert Plant and Pavarotti, they all make spectacular use of their voices; they each have distinctive styles and it's all real."

To find out more about George Varga and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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