Rob Halford: I wanted to put Priest, Maiden, Sabbath and Motorhead on the road together

Judas Priest singer Rob Halford has revealed that he wanted to put a UK metal "Big Four" package together, with Priest playing live shows with Black Sabbath, Motorhead and Iron Maiden.

The singer, who is currently promoting his Celestial Christmas album, spoke about the idea – based on thrash metal's Big Four of Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax – during an interview with Consequence Of Sound.

“My dream had always been to have like ‘The Big Four of the UK’, without turning this into a kind of depressing way,” said Halford. “I’d always dreamed of Black Sabbath and Motorhead and Priest and Maiden as ‘The Big Four’ doing something in the UK.”

He continued, referring to the death of Lemmy and Black Sabbath's retirement, saying, "Sadly, two-fourths of that has gone, but the music lives forever. That’s the main thing.”

Last week, Judas Priest's Glenn Tipton thanked Priest fans after what's been a tough year for the guitarist. He issued a statement addressing his ongoing battle with Parkinson’s disease in March 2018, with his Priest bandmates then setting up the Glenn Tipton Parkinson’s Foundation in the summer of last year which has now raised more than $150,000.

Also last week, it was confirmed that Judas Priest would headline the UK's Bloodstock Open Air in 2020 to celebrate their 50th anniversary.

At the weekend, former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing played a one-off set of Priest classics alongside Megadeth's David Ellefson in Wolverhampton. 

Fraser Lewry

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 38 years in music industry, online for 25. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.