Rob Halford was born on Aug. 25, 1951. We all know he would go on to front Judas Priest, but here are 20 things you might not know about him:
1. Halford was influenced by the likes of Little Richard, Aretha Franklin and Robert Plant.
2. Before joining Priest, Halford was the vocalist for bands named Athens Wood, Abraxas, Thark and Hiroshima.
3. One of Halford’s pre-Priest jobs was as a manager of a movie theatre.
4. Among the instruments Halford can play are guitar, bass, harmonica, keyboards and drums.
5. Halford wound up meeting co-founding Priest member Ian Hill because he was dating his sister.
6. In 1978, Priest released their fifth album, Killing Machine, which was known here as Hell Bent for Leather. After its release, Halford changed his style from gothic robes to leather and studs.
7. After the release of 1990’s Painkiller, Halford shaved his head because he said his receding hairline was getting annoying to keep up with.
8. During a 1991 show in Toronto, Halford rode onstage on a Harley Davidson and crashed into a drum riser, falling off the bike and breaking his nose. Once he regained consciousness, he finished the show.
9. During his time out of Priest between 1991 and 2003, Halford formed the bands Fight And Halford, and the Trent Reznor-produced industrial-influenced project 2wo.
10. In 1986, Halford OD-ed on painkillers following a long period of drug and alcohol abuse. Since then, he has been clean and sober.
11. In 1998, Halford revealed he's gay. He said hiding his sexuality caused him lots of depression and after coming out, he’d “freed himself.”
12. Halford has filled in for Black Sabbath singers a few times. Twice in 1992 when then Sabbath singer Ronnie James Dio didn’t want to open a show for Ozzy Osbourne, and once in 2004 when Osbourne had bronchitis.
13. Halford plays a sex shop clerk in the 2002 film Spun, which stars Mickey Rourke.
14. Halford appeared as a priest in a commercial for Virgin Mobile. His line in the ad was “Let us pray.”
15. Halford voiced himself in an episode of The Simpsons. On it, he sang a version of “Breaking the Law.”
16. It took to the age of 38 before Halford got a driver’s license.
17. Halford owns a number of classic cars including an Aston Martin and a Corvette.
18. Halford one day hopes to do a death metal album.
19. Halford lives in Phoenix but owns homes in San Diego, Amsterdam and England.
20. Along with his singing career, Halford also has a record company and a fashion line.
Original article by Dave Basner at iHeartRadio