Power Trip: Why Rob Halford of Judas Priest is an icon in the LGBTQ leather community

When Palm Springs resident James Holjes was 6, he saw Rob Halford on the back of one of his father's Judas Priest records dressed in leather. It became a defining moment in his life.

Holjes recalled thinking "That's what I want to be." And that's exactly what he became. Holjes is now the lead singer of a metal band and is the 2023 Mr. Palm Springs Leather titleholder.

"(Halford) broke into a market that was very cisgender and straight male, and not only was he a gay frontman for a metal band, but he was over the top. It was different than what (Queen vocalist) Freddie Mercury was wearing with jeans and a white t-shirt, which is still part of the leather community, but Rob was in full leather gear with heavy studs, like 'I don't take s--- from nobody,' and that was empowering for a lot of the queer community."

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Due to a hectic schedule, Holjes doesn't know if he'll be at at the Empire Polo Club on Saturday when Judas Priest performs at Power Trip, but he described the band being included in the lineup alongside Metallica, Guns N' Roses, AC/DC, Tool and Iron Maiden as "amazing."

"There's going to be a lot of the younger generation going to this, and it's cool when you break it down in your head because these kids are going to have kids, and those kids might get into metal, and they're going to show them who Judas Priest was. It's just carrying the tradition again and the same thing my father did for me will still be happening 10 to 20 years from now. That's awesome," Holjes said.

Ron deHarte, the president of Greater Palm Springs Pride, said the presence of an LGBTQ performer at a high-profile metal festival in the Coachella Valley is great for queer representation.

"(Halford) is not ashamed of his identity, is very outspoken and extremely talented. It all comes together in one package. If you're a fan of heavy metal, I hope you will go out and support," deHarte said. "He's helped break down barriers known and unknown, which I think is great."

Leather as a 'brotherhood'

According to a 2018 article by VICE, leather culture emerged after World War II when combat veterans found camaraderie in motorcycle clubs, which appealed to gay men who were often pigeonholed as "effeminate." A Finnish World War II veteran and artist, Touko Laaksonen, aka Tom of Finland, began sketching erotic imagery of men who were bikers, lumberjacks, Mounties and policemen. These images also popularized the subculture.

Many stereotype the gay leather community as X-rated debauchery and eroticism. Holjes said leathermen are often classified as deviants or sadistic, but emphasized "it's a brotherhood."

"It's always going to have that undertone of sex, but it goes further than that to the people who see themselves as leathermen," Holjes said. "It's about integrity, honor and doing things to give back to the people around you and your community. I always say your leather journey is whatever you want to be. If you want to dress up in full formal leather, parade in the streets and hand out pamphlets about AIDS or donate to a charity, it's whatever you want it to be as long as it's safe for you and the people involved."

The Palm Springs Leather Order Of The Desert was established in 1994, and according to its website, has raised over $250,000 for local nonprofits such as the AIDS Assistance Program, DAP Health, Desert Women for Equality Mammogram Program and Well in the Desert. Its annual PS Leather Pride event held every October features vendor markets, leather education seminars, dance parties and the annual Mr. Palm Springs Leather Contest.

Randy Carmenaty, the former chair of The Palm Springs Leather Order Of The Desert, told The Desert Sun in 2019, "There's professionals who are doctors, lawyers, teachers, truck drivers, you name it" among the community.

"The most interesting thing about it is the leather community is a community that embraces our elders," Carmenaty said.

Heavy metal fans can relate to the leather community on being stereotyped — metal music and its fanbase have been labeled as violent and Satanic. In 1990, Judas Priest was embroiled in a civil lawsuit brought by the families of two fans, James Vance and Raymond Belknap, who died by suicide in 1985 after listening to the band's 1978 album "Stained Class." The parents of the boys accused the band of including subliminal messages saying "Do It" on one of the songs. The case was later dismissed.

"That was a craze back in the '80s. Metal was the devil's music, (rock band) KISS promoted Satanism to children and blah blah blah," Holjes said.

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The band boosted the culture and image of leather

When Judas Priest formed in 1969, Halford was not open about his sexuality. He and the rest of the band didn't start wearing leather until 1978, and even though his ensembles resembled the appearances of men in the LGBTQ leather communities around the globe, he remained closeted during his first tenure with the band. Halford officially came out in 1998.

"My parents never talked about that stuff, but I remember hearing (about Halford being gay) later in life," Holjes said. "I was like, 'Holy s---, that's amazing!' I started finding all these other gay singers or people in the music industry. I feel like Rob and (Queen vocalist) Freddie Mercury gave queer people an identity within a heavier music scene. It's evolved into this all-inclusive scene for everybody, and that's what punk rock and that kind of stuff has always been about. We're the outcasts of society and don't fit into the norm. This is our norm, and we accept everybody."

But according to Halford himself in his 2020 autobiography, "Confess," he has no interest in leather, S&M, domination or the world of leather and chains. Without intending to, Halford popularized leather in heavy metal during the '70s and '80s as other bands such as Motley Crue, Iron Maiden, Motorhead, Whitesnake, W.A.S.P. and many others incorporated leather into their images.

"The biggest myth about this new stage gear is that I had somehow masterminded the image as a cover and a vent for my homosexuality — that I was getting a thrill from dressing on stage as I’d like to dress in the street, or the bedroom,” Halford wrote in his book.

Holjes said even though Halford may not identify with the morals and values of the leather community at large, he added his own flair to the leather style with his studded jackets and combat boots.

"If you look back at leather contests, it went from more of a direct formal leather attire (during the '70s) to the '80s when the attire started changing and became more extreme with studded harnesses, cod pieces and all of that, which changed leather culture," Holjes said.

To many, Halford was an icon for the leather community and was the first metal musician to come out as gay. There have been other metal musicians in the LGBTQ community to come out since, such as Otep Shamaya, King's X frontman Doug Pinnick, Death drummer Sean Reinert and Cynic frontman and guitarist Paul Masvidal. In 2011, Life of Agony vocalist Mina Caputo came out as transgender, which she discussed in the 2021 documentary, "The Sound of Scars."

But Holjes said Halford is a good example of why there's a documented history of the leather community.

"This new generation doesn't know, and hasn't been taught, they just see the leather community as, 'Oh, this is how it's always been,'" Holjes said. "It's good younger kids can come onto the scene, start a queer band and everybody loves them. They don't realize back in the day, that wasn't as accepted, and people had to put in the work to get to the point where it's at now."

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Tickets are still available for Power Trip, which will be held Oct. 6-8 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. Visit www.powertrip.live for more info.

Brian Blueskye is the arts and entertainment reporter for The Desert Sun, where he covers all the music festivals in the Coachella Valley. Email him at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Mr. Palm Springs Leather cites Judas Priest vocalist as an inspiration