Although Halford is indeed a band, it is understandable that the main focal point of this heavy metal quintet is legendary vocalist Rob Halford (Robert John Arthur Halford, 25 August 1951, Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, England). Halford first rose to prominence as the leather clad frontman of UK heavy metal act Judas Priest. During his tenure with the band (from 1973-93),
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Formed in the north of England in 1976, Saxon were originally known as Son Of A Bitch and spent their early days paying dues in clubs and small venues up and down the UK, with Peter ‘Biff’ Byford (5 January 1951, Barnsley, England; vocals), Graham Oliver (b. 6 July 1952, Mexborough, England; guitar), Paul Quinn (guitar), Steve Dawson (b. Steven Dawson, 1951, Englan
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Formed in London, England, in 1975, Iron Maiden was from the start the brainchild of Steve Harris (Stephen Percy Harris, 12 March 1957, Leytonstone, London, England; bass), formerly a member of pub rockers Smiler. Named after a medieval torture device, the music was suitably heavy and hard on the senses. The heavy metal scene of the late 70s was widely regarded as stagnant,
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Ronald Padavona, 10 July 1940, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, USA. Dio was raised in New York, USA, and served his musical apprenticeship in the late 50s with school-based bands such as the Vegas Kings, Ronnie And The Rumblers and Ronnie And the Redcaps (one single, ‘Lover’/’Conquest’, in 1958). From 1961-67 he led Ronnie Dio And the Prophets, not solely as a
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This German heavy rock quintet originally comprised Udo Dirkschneider (vocals), Gerhard Wahl (guitar) and Wolf Hoffman (10 December 1959, Mainz, Germany; guitar), Frank Friedrich (drums) and Peter Baltes (bass). Formed in 1976 in their home town of Solingen, Jorg Fischer replaced Wahl in 1978. The band’s power metal sound was characterized by Dirkschneider’s guttur
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Group members Terry ‘Geezer’ Butler (17 July 1949, Birmingham, England; bass), Tony Iommi (b. Anthony Frank Iommi, 19 February 1948, Aston, Birmingham, England; guitar), Bill Ward (b. William Ward, 5 May 1948, Aston, Birmingham, England; drums) and Ozzy Osbourne (b. John Michael Osbourne, 3 December 1948, Aston, Birmingham, England; vocals) were originally known as
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In 1975, Lemmy (Ian Fraser Kilmister, 24 December 1945, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England; vocals/bass) was sacked from Hawkwind after being detained for five days at Canadian customs on possession charges. The last song he wrote for them was entitled ‘Motörhead’, and, after ditching an earlier suggestion, Bastard, this became the name of the band he form
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John Michael Osbourne, 3 December 1948, Aston, Birmingham, England. In January 1979 this highly individual and by now infamous vocalist and songwriter left Black Sabbath, a band whose image and original musical direction he had helped to shape. His own band was set up with Lee Kerslake, formerly of Uriah Heep, on drums, Rainbow’s Bob Daisley (bass) and Randy Rhoads (b.
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This thrash metal quartet was founded in San Francisco, California, USA, by guitarist Dave Mustaine (David Scott Mustaine, 13 September 1961, La Mesa, California, USA) after leaving Metallica in 1983 (he co-wrote four songs on the latter’s debut album, though he did not actually appear on it). Recruiting bass player Dave Ellefson (b. David Ellefson, 12 November 1964, Ja
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This seminal black metal act was formed in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1980 by vocalist King Diamond (Kim Bendix Petersen, 14 June 1956, Copenhagen, Denmark) and guitarist Hank Shermann (b. Rene Krolmark, Denmark; ex-Brats). Benny Petersen (guitar), Old Nick (drums), and C. Volsing (guitar) appeared on early demos, but the original line-up coalesced around Diamond, Shermann, Mic
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This theatrical shock-rock troupe was formed in 1982 in Los Angeles, California, USA, their name apparently an acronym of We Are Sexual Perverts. Outrageous live performances included throwing raw meat into the audience and the whipping of a naked woman tied to a ‘torture rack’ as a backdrop to a primitive metal attack. The band, formed by singer Blackie Lawless (S
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Paul Bruce Dickinson, 7 August 1958, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England. Dickinson left the heavy metal band Samson to join pioneering contemporaries Iron Maiden, replacing Paul Di’Anno in 1981. By the following year Dickinson had fully established himself within the line-up through his performances on the road and on 1982’s UK number 1 album, The Number Of The Beas
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When popular metal act Mercyful Fate split into two separate factions in March 1985, vocalist King Diamond (Kim Bendix Petersen, 14 June 1956, Copenhagen, Denmark), Michael Denner (guitar) and Timi Hansen (bass) decided to pursue their obsession with Satanic heavy metal and the occult, while the others sought a more mainstream direction. King Diamond’s music is characte
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This traditionalist heavy metal quartet from the USA (whose motto is ‘Death To False Metal’) was formed in 1981 by bass player Joey DeMaio (Auburn, New York, USA, a former Black Sabbath roadie) and ex-Shakin’ Street and Dictators guitarist Ross ‘The Boss’ Funicello (b. Ross Friedman, New York City, New York, USA). Recruiting vocalist Eric Adams and d
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