Judas Priest singer performs Saturday at 4th&B with his other band.

By George Varga

Judas Priest singer Rob Halford launched his own band, Halford, 10 years ago, a well-documented fact that recently came as a surprise to him.

“Wow. Has it been 10 years?” asked the veteran heavy metal singer, a longtime Hillcrest resident, who performs Saturday with Halford at downtown’s 21-and-up 4th&B. “In my (heavy) metal life, careening about as much as I do, I tend to lose track of things.”

For the record, “wow” also captures the reaction of many fans to the Dec. 7 announcement that Judas Priest will embark on its “farewell tour” in 2011. The tour, which Halford predicts will stretch into 2012, comes 40 years after the band was formed near Birmingham, England, where he grew up.

With estimated worldwide album sales of more than 40 million and an enduring status as one of metal’s longest-lived and most popular bands, Judas Priest’s members hardly seem like candidates for the retirement home. Or do they?

“There really are a lot of reasons, (including) I suppose, retirement or slowing down, if you want to call it that,” said Halford, 59, from a tour stop in Chicago last week.

“I think you have to face mortality, that’s for sure. Some bands keep going and going, some ease off a bit and some stop altogether.

“It happens to all bands, eventually, and now this is something we’re facing in Judas Priest. So, what we want to do is leave on what we feel are respectable terms, musically.”

In the meantime, Halford — a San Diego resident since 1999 — is eager to make his debut at 4th&B.

“I’ve got some friends who are in the Navy coming by,” said Halford, who proudly noted that he regularly gives free tickets, T-shirts and backstage passes to men and women in the military for many of his concerts with Judas Priest and Halford alike. “I also have friends in the San Diego Police Department coming to the show, so we’ll have a diverse array of San Diego metal heads on hand.”

Originally posted at:  http://www.signonsandiego.com/