Rob Halford Counts Blues Album, Musical Among Items To Do

Judas Priest continue to rock along as one of metal's most enduring acts, but as Rob Halford gets older, he admits he still has a few items he'd like to check off before he retires.

Speaking with Pure Grain Audio's Paltrocast (as heard in the player below), the singer discusses projects he'd like to take on. At the top of the list is a blues album. "I've got this blues album in me that needs to come out. I love the blues. I listen to blues nearly every day, and I've done that for a while, so I feel like my internal clock is heading towards the blues in some respects," says Halford. "I don't know what kind of blues record it would be, because the blues is very eclectic and varied, much like metal, to a certain extent. So there's that."

He went on to add, "I had a call many, many years ago from Elton John's people who wanted me to be in Aida. And I couldn't do it, because I was really, really busy. And I was just talking to a friend earlier about this guy's musical I'm gonna go and see, Wicked, which I can't wait to see, because I've read the books by a great author. So I think the stage, the musical, the showbiz, Broadway side of the stage is something that I'd like to kind of get my toe in the water for, regardless of how small it is."

He continues,"When I left school, I worked in the theater for a couple of years — I was about 15 or 16," he added. "And I stood on the side of the stage under the lighting guy. I went really quickly from working on the side of the stage to actually operating all the lights for all the shows. So I saw all the greats — the British greats — in all shapes and sizes, whether it was big operatic productions, whether it was variety/vaudeville, and I just love that element of the singing performance wrapped up in theater. So that's kind of still on my bucket list, which I hope to achieve at some point."

Both will have to wait for the time being. Halford recently revealed that Judas Priest will start writing sessions for their next album in early 2020. The band also expects to do extensive touring next year to mark their 50th anniversary as a group. At present, that will start in June.

Rob Halford Speaks With Pure Grain Audio's Paltrocast

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