Confess: The Autobiography

by Rob Halford

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the influential heavy metal band Judas Priest, Rob Halford—the lead singer with incredible vocal range and a penchant for wearing leather and studs—details his life's struggle through addiction, bad behavior and the consequences of his bad decisions. But the worst of it, as Halford would tell it, is being in the closet for decades. This book is a soul-baring exercise told with his trademark wry sense of humor. It's a history of metal and rock and roll that's better than any playlist.

The legendary frontman of Judas Priest, one of the most successful heavy metal bands of all time, celebrates five decades of heavy metal in this tell-all memoir.

Most priests hear confessions. This one is making his.

Rob Halford, front man of global iconic metal band Judas Priest, is a true "Metal God." Raised in Britain's hard-working, heavy industrial heartland, he and his music were forged in the Black Country. Confess, his full autobiography, is an unforgettable rock 'n' roll story-a journey from a Walsall council estate to musical fame via alcoholism, addiction, police cells, ill-fated sexual trysts, and bleak personal tragedy, through to rehab, coming out, redemption . . . and finding love.

Now, he is telling his gospel truth.

Told with Halford's trademark self-deprecating, deadpan Black Country humor, Confess is the story of an extraordinary five decades in the music industry. It is also the tale of unlikely encounters with everybody from Superman to Andy Warhol, Madonna, Jack Nicholson, and the Queen. More than anything else, it's a celebration of the fire and power of heavy metal.

Rob Halford has decided to Confess. Because it's good for the soul.

Named one of the Best Music Books of 2020 by Rolling Stone and Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306874932
Publisher:	Hachette Books
Publication date:	09/28/2021
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	215,519
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Rob Halford is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the Grammy award-winning heavy metal band, Judas Priest, which will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. The band have released twenty albums to date and continue to tour together today. Halford lives between The Midlands in the UK, and Arizona in the US.

Table of Contents

Introduction-I'm suffocating! 1

1 Speed, bonnie boat… 5

2 Giving your mates a hand 17

3 Six barley wines and a Mogadon 34

4 Joining the Priesthood 50

5 Not even a bloody fiver! 64

6 Superman in a fur coat 86

7 The Shirley Bassey leather years 98

8 A whip-round for Marie Osmond 110

9 Mine eyes have seen the glory hole 125

10 By the time I get to Phoenix… 141

11 I love a man in uniform 149

12 Ladies and gentlemen, take your seats! 162

13 This is the one. This is love! 177

14 In the court of the King of Philadelphia 191

15 The smell of cordite 210

16 We should be so lucky! (Lucky, lucky, lucky…) 225

17 I-I-I asked her for a peppermint! 240

18 Loose lips sink ships 260

19 Knocking on Sharon Tate's door 278

20 The Queen and I 301

21 The April Fool that wasn't 321

22 The fire and power of heavy metal 332

Epilogue-Screaming my tits off forever 347

Metal Blessings 357

Song Credits 358

Picture Credits 360

Editorial Reviews

"For nearly half a century, Halford has been the voice of Judas Priest, screaming for vengeance against nonbelievers."
—Rolling Stone

"Rob Halford though is one of the few metal musicians who actually has a story worth hearing....Confess, true to its title, doesn't hold back....Confess manages to be both dark and at times endearing. Halford's openness, despite some dark themes, allows for his humor to shine through....It may have taken a while for Halford to tell his story, but it was certainly worth the wait."
—New Noise

"Raw and searingly moving, Confess will delight metal heads and music fans alike."—GQ

"Confess can't be reduced to a collection of salacious gay encounters, cocaine binges or romanticized rock'n'roll horror stories. It's a cautionary tale that offers redemption through courage and the changing of times. It's a treasure-trove of heavy metal nuggets and anecdotes that any rock-blog dork would lose their mind over. But most importantly, it's a beautiful exploration of the human condition and one man's capacity for love and self-love."—Forbes

“Salacious revelations….The most hotly anticipated hard-rock autobiography of the year, Rob Halford’s Confess is gossipy, good natured, and hilarious, often unintentionally. It’s also gloriously and relentlessly filthy….With a breezy, down-to-earth frankness…Confess is much more personal story than music memoir…Halford is winningly unpretentious and self-deprecating….In its final stretches, Confess becomes a moving meditation on family, friendship, personal growth, and social progress…[a] revealing and entertaining book.”—Classic Rock Review

"[Halford] didn't pull any punches and he didn't leave anything out. I thought that was very courageous...very heartfelt and very real."—Buzz Osborne, Melvins

"Rob Halford led Judas Priest, and heavy metal itself, out of the Midlands and into the bigtime."
—The Guardian

"Deliciously readable...Confess is a warts-and-all rock'n'roll confessional."—Esquire

"Confess is no hyperbole: Halford bares his soul."—Revolver Magazine

"[Halford's] language is vivid and personal...and his tale is compelling. As he tells the story of Judas Priest...he weaves in any number of funny, heartbreaking, and interesting tidbits about the obstacles he encountered and the many famous people he has met along the way."—Rolling Stone

"Confess is a must-read for Judas Priest fans as it is written from a place of honesty and passion while done with integrity....a page-turner."—Sonic Perspectives

"Essential reading for any fan of hard rock."
—Jewish Journal

"Whether guiding the reader through the highs and lows of the Judas Priest machine, or through harrowing struggles with his sexuality and cocaine addiction, Halford's ability to let his humble working-class British upbringing and a wisecrack poke through the events depicted in his autobiography, Confess, gives an uplifting aura to even the darkest parts of his life story....It's that sense of introspection that drives what ends up being the most compelling, and inspiring parts of Halford's story....It's the introspective — and brutal honesty — of Halford's off-stage struggle that truly lifts his autobiography from a library checkout to a must-purchase."—Blabbermouth

"Confess digs deeper... and provides useful context."—AllMusic.com

"Rob Halford has written one of the most candid and surprising memoirs of the year. . . Confess is a riproaring tale, a funny, often shocking and genuinely emotional story."—The Telegraph

"The Metal God shares stories from a life like no other, spending over 50 years in the heavy metal bubble, facing adversity head-on but always with a wry smile and horns held firmly aloft."
—Kerrang

"A unique and deeply revealing insight into the extraordinary life he has led."
—Metal Talk

"When it comes to metal memoirs, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford's aptly titled and long-awaited Confess: The Autobiography certainly has enough sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll to satisfy voracious readers of, say, Motley Crüe's The Dirt or Keith Richards's Life. But a great deal of sorrow also permeates the just-released page-turner."—Yahoo! News

"The Metal God has written his bible."
—The Oakland Press

"A must-read for pop-culture lovers and metalheads alike."—The Baltimore Sun

"With its courageous, truthful delivery and the depiction of Halford truly rising above difficulties, perhaps the greatest aspect of Confess is the book's ability to inspire readers to rise above their challenges and come out on top. 10/10."—Audio Ink Radio

"His memoir recounts the highs and lows of his history in a medley of comical, candid, and heartbreaking stories about obstacles and experiences...Confess is a fascinating portrait, dripping in Halford's polite yet brutally honest demeanor and personal slang: equal parts legendary metal icon and every-day humble Walsall lad."—Phoenix New Times

"Confess...takes readers on a unique journey... Halford is candid and direct."—Media Mikes

“Free of the demons of his past, Halford chronicles his unique rock and roll journey in this compelling autobiography…. Rock fans will naturally enjoy this book, but it is also a significant contribution to LGBTQIA+ nonfiction.”—Library Journal

“Rob tells his story without holding anything back. Some truly incredible accounts.”—NPR’s Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

“The full, frank, and shocking autobiography of Judas Priest's Metal God….[T]his book celebrates five decades of the guts and glory of rock-n-roll.”
 —Rough Trade

“An incredibly candid look at one of the biggest metal vocalists of all time….Full of great stories and great jokes.”—Metal Injection

“The book is well-crafted, detailing Halford's early years and initial forays into the music biz. Fans will love the details of the rise of Priest along with the peaks and valleys along the way…Everything… included helped show a real informative blueprint of [Halford’s] background.”—Anti-Music

From the Publisher

09/25/2020

"Metal God." That's what Judas Priest fans have called frontman Halford for decades—and also what he calls himself. The title is well deserved. The band's wild success and acclaim are owing in great part to Halford's immense talent and showmanship. His achievements are all the more remarkable given that he spent much of his career hampered by severe alcoholism and living as a closeted gay man in a decidedly macho and often homophobic music genre. Free of the demons of his past, Halford chronicles his unique rock and roll journey in this compelling autobiography. Despite his prideful moniker, Halford is humble and personable. He describes the discovery of his vocal talent, at the age of eight by a music teacher, as a moment whose significance he did not understand until later on. He explores his identity as a gay man, discussing, with sensitivity and hard-earned self-awareness, incomprehensible same-sex crushes and fear of encountering violence. Of course, tales of rock and roll excess and debauchery are here in heaps. VERDICT Rock fans will naturally enjoy this book, but it is also a significant contribution to LGBTQIA+ nonfiction.—Brett Rohlwing, Milwaukee P.L.

Library Journal