Exclusive Interview: Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford – “Raw Deal” was my “Born This Way” in 1977

“At the same time, I’m really proud of the Tom of Finland correlation of that Leather look. I’m proud of that part of who we are in our culture—the Leather part of the Gay world—and of that type of look and feeling. I love how we as Gay people can accept and express ourselves without being judgmental because, let’s face it, we’ve been judged.

Judas Priest. Photo credit: Fin Costello, Redferns/Getty Images.

Sam Dunn and Tom Morello’s rousing and reflective documentary The Ballad of Judas Priest, which world premiered at the 76th Berlinale, compellingly chronicles the pioneering heavy metal band’s history from its inception in the UK in 1969, through to its induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. Featuring some electrifying archive footage of live performances and candid new interviews with band members and their contemporaries including Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne, the film is a loving tribute that celebrates Judas Priest’s vital place in shaping heavy metal and its continuing legacy.

Following the film’s premiere in Berlin, Rob Halford spoke exclusively with The Queer Review’s editor James Kleinmann about why he entrusted Dunn and Morello to tell the band’s story, how advice from Andy Warhol at Studio 54 had made him want to wait to watch the finished film with fans, what it was like to have to conceal his sexuality for three decades, and how he had been “hiding in plain sight” in expressing himself both lyrically and with his Tom of Finland-inspired look.

Judas Priest lead vocalist Rob Halford at the Berlinale press conference ahead of the world premiere of the Ballad of Judas Priest. Courtesy of Berlinale.

What was it like to feel that you couldn’t publicly come out for decades?

Even now as Gay people we’re still constantly being judged. They took the Pride flag down at Stonewall. It makes you roll your eyes and take a deep breath and go, “Has anything really changed that much?” But as we saw, love wins, the flag went back up and that’s great. I am still really in love with everything that we are about in the Gay community.”

I’m so happy that’s now all at the forefront of who we are and that those on the outside looking in don’t just see us as one particular dynamic, they see us as many things. That’s really important.”

READ THE COMPLETE INTERVIEW

Published: 8th April 2026

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