‘Music has nothing to do with sexuality’, says Judas Priest’s Ian Hill

“Music has nothing to do with sexuality,” he said Ian Hill in an interview with Rolling Stone Brazil — but the leather from the clothes worn by members of the Judas Priest may have. Leather culture is part of the history of the LGBTQIA+ community, which, after the Second World War, separated itself from the idea of ​​effeminate gays and created a counterculture movement.

The leather on Nazi uniforms conveyed power and, therefore, fearful of marginalization, gays began to adopt the material as a way of feeling less vulnerable. Motorcycle clubs also helped to create a sense of identity among those who were dissatisfied with the way they were seen in society (via Deputy).

Rob Halfordvocalist of Judas Priestcame out as gay in the late 1990s. White, bald and with a long white beard, Halford showed that not even heavy metal restricts its audience and limits them to gender or sexuality, but that was never its intention. Although he was one of the first of the English group to adopt the leather look, back in the 1970s, the singer admitted that he was not involved in Leather culture. In fact, the person who encouraged him to wear leather was K.K. Downingformer guitarist of the band.

“The biggest myth about this new stage costume is that I somehow orchestrated the image as a cover and escape for my homosexuality,” the artist wrote in his autobiography Confess (2020).

“That’s complete bullshit. I had no interest in S&M, domination, or the whole leather-and-chains queer subcult. It just didn’t appeal to me. My sexual preference was for men, of course, but I was, and still am, pretty traditional. I’ve never used a whip in the bedroom in my entire life. Or have I? Wait a moment, let me think…”

“People are much more open today than they were 50 years ago. It was a very different time and place,” he explained Hill. But the bassist doesn’t believe that Rob he is alone and even quoted Freddie Mercury to exemplify how gays are involved in all types of music. For Hillnowadays, “it’s perfectly normal to be gay”, whereas, in the last century, the topic was “treated with a bit of suspicion and wasn’t as widely accepted”.

That said, we never prevent the Rob to come out, if he wanted. He was perfectly capable of doing this, we never stopped him. But the Rob, like me, is a bit of a pragmatist and kept it a secret all these years, probably thinking it might have an adverse effect on our fans if they knew he was gay, but when he came out, it must have been a huge relief for him. he. I mean, everyone who knew the Rob I already knew, and I think most fans knew it too. But it must have been a huge weight off his shoulders to be able to officially say “I’m gay and that’s what I am” instead of pretending to be someone else. It was a big step to take. But that shouldn’t affect his musical taste. Well, no, it shouldn’t.