It’s no secret that the glam rock scene of the ’70s and ’80s held massive queer appeal. Defined by fluid, campy portrayals of gender and sexuality, bands like Poison and Motley Crue wowed audiences with their long hair, makeup, and glittery, platform shoe-laden wardrobes. But as gay Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford pointed out while celebrating the band’s induction into entering the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, there was something of a double standard at play during the era’s heyday.
“I could never quite figure that out, because of the homophobic stuff that was going on in the ’80s,” Halford said during a recent interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, timed to the release of his new book Biblical: Rob Halford’s Heavy Metal Scriptures. “And there’s all these guys with makeup on … everybody else is like, ‘Yeah, man, they’re really hardcore.’”
For Halford, who was closeted at the time, the era’s legacy of androgyny and sexuality was full of contradictions.
He continued: “It’s like, ‘Am I missing something here? How am I not allowed to come out for fear of losing my career and my band, but these guys are going out there looking like they do, and everybody’s falling all over them?’ … It [was] a remarkable time in heavy metal and rock to think about in a broader sense.”
Still, Halford acknowledged the small pathways that his peers at the time opened up for the LGBTQ+ community in terms of freedom of expression.
“Maybe there was a sense of opportunity within the LGBTQ community because these guys were there then, doing what they did. Maybe they opened a little tiny chink in the door for acceptance,” he added. “Because a lot of guys would go to the shows looking like that … the makeup on and the hair and everything. So in terms of the anthropological aspect, the social connection between looking like that and it being cool and accepted without any pushback was quite remarkable.”
Luckily, the self-described “stately homo of heavy metal” has been able to continue his legendary rock career, while being open about his sexuality. The rock star came out as gay in a 1998 MTV interview, saying, “It’s a wonderful moment when you walk out of the closet. Now I’ve done that and I’ve freed myself. It’s a great feeling for me to finally let go and make this statement.”
These days, Judas Priest is still traveling the globe on their 50 Heavy Metal Years Tour. They were finally inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this weekend, where Halford performed the iconic 1973 song “Jolene” with another gay icon: Dolly Parton. During the ceremony, Halford, Sheryl Crow, Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon, Annie Lennox, Pat Benatar, and Pink joined the country legend for a group rendition of the track.
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During Judas Priest’s induction, Halford introduced himself as “the gay guy” in the band, and ended the group’s speech with a message of rock-and-roll inclusion.
“We call ourselves the heavy metal community, which is all-inclusive,” Halford said. “No matter what your sexual identity is, what you look like, or what you believe in or don’t believe in. Everybody’s welcome.”
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