Judas Priest's Rob Halford issues defiant statement in response to phone-kicking incident
Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford has issued a short, defiant statement in response to the now infamous mobile phone kicking incident at a recent concert in Illinois.
As we reported yesterday, Rob Halford powerfully kicked the fan’s phone several metres into the air as Priest performed 2005 track ‘Judas Rising’ at the Rosemont Theatre last Saturday night (25th May).
It’s reported that the fan in question at the front of the crowd had the phone’s light switched on while they were filming and taking photos, which was distracting Rob.
The original story was the biggest of the day on planetrock.com and it sparked a mass debate amongst our listeners about whether Rob’s actions were fully justified or he took it too far.
In a statement issued to Loudwire, Rob has now clarified that he has no problem with people using their phones at Priest gigs – however, he issued a stark warning to those who "physically interfere" with his performances.
“The facts are we love our fans and you can film us all you like and watch our show on your phone rather than in the flesh,” Rob explained.
“However, if you physically interfere with The Metal God's performance you now know what will happen.”
Phone users - consider yourselves warned.
Judas Priest’s gig in Rosemont was part of their sprawling summer North American tour with support from Planet Rockstock headliners Uriah Heep.
Priest are also special guests on Ozzy Osbourne’s rescheduled No More Tours 2 arena tour in January and February 2020. Tickets are on sale from Planet Rock Tickets now.
They play the following shows together:
JANUARY 2020
Nottingham Motorpoint Arena – Fri 31st
FEBRUARY 2020
Dublin 3Arena – Sun 2nd
Manchester Arena – Wed 5th
Newcastle Utilita Arena – Fri 7th
London The O2 – Mon 10th
Glasgow SSE Hydro – Wed 12th
Birmingham Resorts World Arena – Fri 14th