In a recent interview with Rock 108, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford commented on retiring.
“I think if your desire is still there, if your passion is still there, if you can still deliver the goods, to quote a Priest song, if you’re moving along and the machine’s not too wobbly, you can still get from A to B on one wheel, as long as it looks good and sounds good and all the other pieces are in place, why would you wanna retire?,” the frontman said.
“I wouldn’t know what to do with my life if I suddenly couldn’t do this beautiful work,” he explained further. “I need to do it. It’s part of me that I need to do to live as a person because I love it so much. And I think I’m speaking for everybody in Priest. And that’s the leading light that pushes through. That’s what keeps you carrying on.”
“You marry that instantly with our glorious fans here in America and around the world that have kept this heavy metal machine rolling because we can’t do this alone,” Halford added. “We’d look pretty dumb going into an arena if there’s nobody in there. You need people there. That’s part of the experience. It completes you. A live show completes the love of your band. It’s like going to see your favorite basketball team or football team. You can watch them on the TV, you can get the shirt, you can see them on the Internet, but going to see them live, going to support them live is the ultimate commitment and dedication. So our fans are the biggest part of this story.”
Judas Priest has been around for over 50 years, and the rest of the members don’t plan on retiring either. “No, we have no plan to retire yet,” Ian Hill said in a separate interview. “We’re still able to perform. The time to think about retiring is when your performances start to dip and you’re not doing too well. You have to think about it then. We’re not stupid; we know that we’re not getting any younger and that there will be a time when we have to retire, but there’s no plans to do so just yet.”
“Well, it’s not for me to say, really. Those guys were the originators of Priest metal and they’re still doing it and it’s up to them, really” guitarist Richie Faulkner said in another when asked about retirement. “If they ever feel like they don’t wanna do it or they can’t do it anymore, that’s for them to decide.”
Halford was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2020 after having symptoms for a couple of years. In July of that year, he had surgery to remove his prostate and some surrounding tissue, including the seminal vesicles. After more cancer was found in 2021, he went through radiation treatment and later received the all-clear. He also had an appendectomy to remove a tumor from his appendix.
Faulkner experienced a severe cardiac aortic dissection during the band’s performance at the Louder Than Life festival in September 2021. He was rushed to UofL Health – Jewish Hospital, where doctors performed a surgery that took about 10 hours.
Even with health struggles, Judas Priest keeps releasing new music and touring. The band’s next show is on September 13 in Montreal, Quebec. Their tour is wrapping up on December 12 in Yokohama, Japan.