English heavy metal group Judas Priest was established in Birmingham in 1969. They regularly rank among the top metal bands of all time and have sold more than 50 million albums.
The band suffered from mediocre record production and a lack of significant commercial success until 1980, when they found financial success with the album British Steel, despite a body of inventive and pioneering work in the latter half of the 1970s.
The band’s lineup has undergone a lot of change, including the resignation of lead singer Rob Halford in 1992 and a rotating cast of drummers throughout the 1970s.
Before Halford rejoined the group in 2003, Tim “Ripper” Owens, previously of Winter’s Bane, replaced Halford in 1996 and worked on two albums with Judas Priest.
Why did Rob Halford quit Judas Priest?
Although he started this band to venture into uncharted musical waters, he was forced to stay with Judas Priest until May 1992 because of contractual responsibilities.
Halford claimed in his 2020 autobiography Confess that he left the band accidentally rather than with the intention of doing so.
