Posted on 09/22/2020 5:52:45 PM PDT by DoodleBob
In his new autobiography "Confess", JUDAS PRIEST's Rob Halford reveals that he was once arrested for cruising Venice Beach toilets (in a case of police entrapment), yet the cops didn't release the information to the media because they were PRIEST fans. Asked by NME what effect he thinks being "outed" would have had on him, the singer who came out as gay on his own terms in 1998 on MTV said: "The police did me a favor by keeping it out of the press because it would have been big news. I always refer to that, slightly tongue in cheek, as my George Michael moment. I was lucky, because the sad thing is it makes people who don't understand the gay community just go, 'Obviously, they're all just a bunch of perverts.' And that's horrible.
"I'd like to think for the most part if that incident had broken into the press, then a great proportion of my fans would have said, 'We'll support you and stand with you.' A few years later, when I came out on MTV, that was a proven fact because the feedback from around the world was positive they just wanted me to continue being the singer for JUDAS PRIEST and get on with the job."
A few years ago, Rob told The Press Of Atlantic City that he expected metal fans to alienate him when he first spoke about his sexual orientation. "I probably deluded myself into thinking I would get rejection," he said. "Nothing could have been further from the truth."
...
In April 1998, Michael was caught engaging in a sexual act by an undercover police officer in a public toilet in Beverly Hills...The Sun famously running a front-page story headlined "Zip Me Up Before You Go Go."
(Excerpt) Read more at blabbermouth.net ...
Consider Bobby Steele, who fronts The Undead, a horror punk band and was the guitarist for the Misfits in their heyday. Bobby got clean and is a Born-Again Christian. He used to be the leader of the worship team at a church in Paramus NJ. He also wears eye makeup live and swears a little on stage.
Vinnie Martell is the guitarist for Vanilla Fudge. He still gigs solo and with the Fudge but is also Born Again and gives talks about his conversion (I've heard him). He can still play a mean guitar, too (I've hear that, too). He seems to lead a fairly normal life.
Mike Keneally got his start as the touring guitarist for Frank Zappa in 1988. Since then, he's released scores of solo albums, tours solo and as part of Joe Satriani's backing band. Mike lives in San Diego with his third wife and daughter, and from what I can surmise leads a pretty sedentary life.
Speaking of Zappa, Frank's son Dweezil lives in a modest home in California with his second wife and kids. While Frank had a wild touring life, Dweezil spends his free time while on tour practicing and he spends his time off tour with his family.
Russell Allen is the lead singer for Symphony X. I saw him when he was with Adrenelin Mob before that fatal accident in Florida that took their bassist and tour manager's lives. He has an autistic son and when off the road, "Sir Russell" (he used to work at Medieval Times) is a family man...on stage he swears like a sailor.
Finally, of course, is Alice Cooper. He's a wild man live but spends his life off stage playing golf.
I suspect there are more "normal" entertainers. But keep in mind, entertainers are, almost by nature, open books. There is a sampling bias insofar as we know more about their lives than we do our co-workers. How do we know that Bob in accounting isn't into wearing a panda outfit after work? How do we know that Mary in accounts payable isn't a cutter? How do we know that Ralph isn't wearing knickers? How do we know that Magenta doesn't snort detergent? If they were in the public eye and the press was rifling through their garbage looking for a story, maybe we'd see that they are freak shows, too.
I am not saying that there aren't a lot of whack jobs in the arts. There are. I'm not saying that Halford's "Mr Hand" story isn't creepy. It is. But I am saying that there may be just as many "degenerates" in the office as there are on the screen or stage.
Just sayin'...
That said, I wouldn't invite either of them my barbecue, but Bobby and Russel and Alice would be welcome.
JP has some great tunes, thats for sure but does Halford even regret cruising for gay sex and disease or is it just a cool story to tell that the cops covered for him?
I think (not sure) that Dave Grohl does lead a normal life.
Are Judas priests like the Jesuits?
Yep, same here. I was kinda shocked at first and then remembered the outfits he wore. Crystal clear after that.
London Leather Boy!
Still listen to them and think he has actually gotten better with age. Bruce is better though in my opinion.
As an artist, his vocals have a unique and singular style. And yeah, even at his age... He can still belt it out. He recently went in a collab with Maria Brink's In This Moment. The songs ok... the video was a bit dorky/over the top... It was a mashup of Billy Idol's White Wedding and re-titled... Black Wedding.
Zero foxtrot on who he spends his nights with... Just don't be obnoxious about it.
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