Rob Halford is a musician with an unusually strong voice. He made a great contribution to the development of metal culture and became the founder of the stage image of metalworking, bringing into fashion leather rivets with rivets, heavy chains.
Childhood and youth
Rob Halford was born on August 25, 1951 in the English city of Sutton Coldfield. His real name is Robert John Arthur. When Rob was young, his family moved to Walsall, where the musician currently resides.
Robert's father was a steelmaker, and his mother worked in a kindergarten. Three children were growing up in the family. Rob Halford didn't do well in school. He enjoyed visiting only those subjects that he liked: his native language and literature, music. He often skipped other lessons. His character was rebellious, but sometimes the boy retreated into himself and became shy, quiet.
His family discovered his addiction to music at a very young age, when Rob sang in the school choir. But he began to develop abilities as a teenager. At the age of 15, he founded the group "Thakk". One of the school teachers became the guitarist in the team. The musicians rehearsed actively, performed in front of the public, but their work was not successful.
After leaving school, Rob Halford did not know who he wanted to be, which path to choose. Leafing through the newspaper, he found an advertisement that the Great Theater in Wolverhampton needed workers. He worked there for several years helping to customize lighting equipment. In the theater, he managed to take part in crowd scenes and after that he realized that he would very much like to connect his life with show and music.
Musical career
After leaving the theater, Robert Arthur tried to work with several groups:
- Lord Lucifer;
- "Hiroshima";
- "Judas Priest".
Participation in "Judas Priest" was a real success for him. Together with this rock band, he subsequently conquered the world. In 1973, the founders of the group were looking for a new vocalist and Robert's sister was dating one of the musicians at that time. She advised me to consider the candidacy of her brother. They liked Rob immediately. In the "Judas Priest" band, he took with him a guitarist from the previous band, in which he sang.
Already in 1974 the first song "Rocka Rolla" was recorded. Soon the musicians recorded an album of the same name, and after it other collections:
- Sad Wings of Destiny;
- "Stained Class";
- "Stained Class";
- "Point of Entry".
The band's ninth studio album was "Defenders of the Faith". This disc was a resounding success. Despite the fact that the musicians played in a very heavy style, their albums sold well. In some compositions, they used guitar synthesizers in the recording.
The pseudonym Rob Halford appeared just at the beginning of the musician's collaboration with "Judas Priest". Fans liked not only heavy music, but also Rob's unique style, his love of shocking. Halford can be called the trendsetter of the time. Leather jackets with rivets, leather pants, chains and other attributes of people who love hard rock - all this was invented by Rob.
In the early 90s, at one of the concerts, the musician drove onto the stage on a motorcycle and crashed into a drum rack. After the concert, he was hospitalized and even then the first rumors about Rob's departure from the group began to appear. In 1994, this event actually took place. Halford announced his desire to perform on his own.
After Rob left the popular band, he created the group "Fight". Interest in melall music began to wane at that time and Halford tried to try himself in something new. It was not a drastic change in image and musical style, but still his band's performances were not like those that his fans were used to seeing.
Feeling the disappointment of his fans, Rob left Fight and formed a new group, Halford. The musician returned to heavy metal. He began to collaborate with famous musicians of the time, performing heavy music.
The "Halford" collective and its work were very popular, but this team was far from the former glory of "Judas Priest". Talk of reuniting with a rock band has been going on for many years. In 2003, this happened and Rob Halford began performing again with "Judas Priest", which delighted the fans. But he did not leave his own project and still continues to release solo compositions.
Rob Halford's success lies in his charisma and excellent vocal skills. A musician can sing over a wide musical range. He even hits ultra-high notes and his voice is considered one of the most prominent heavy metal performers. The musician's producer told how at one of the concerts there were problems with the microphone, but Rob sang without him and his voice could be heard even against the background of the sound coming from the speakers.
Rob Halford is not only a successful musician, but also a versatile personality. He starred in films, wrote a book and launched his own clothing line in 2009. T-shirts from the "god of metal" are in constant demand not only among fans, but also among young people who want to dress fashionably and stylishly.
Personal life
In 1998, Rob Halford announced on the largest music channel that he was an adherent of non-traditional sexual orientation. It was quite a daring act, considering that the musician played heavy music. But, as he himself admitted, this information did not in any way affect his popularity and the attitude of fans towards him. In the group, all the participants knew about the orientation of the soloist from the very beginning.
Rob Halford does not advertise his personal life and little is known about the musician's love affairs even to those closest to him. Previously, his name appeared in scandals, because the musician used illegal drugs and alcohol. But in 1986, he gave up his addictions, declaring that now he can create without it.
