In a new interview with The Guardian, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford discussed the hidden record the band refused to release.
Judas Priest collaborated with Stock Aitken Waterman for an album back in 1988. However, it was shelved and no one but the two parties heard any songs from it.
During the recent conversation, the frontman answered questions about the album. He was asked why it was never released and whose idea it was to work with SAW. Halford said it was ‘his gayness’ that made the collaboration possible:
“That was my gayness coming to the front – I think there are certain things that come from my identity that wouldn’t be there if I was a straight bloke. And one of them was taking this adventure with Stock Aitken Waterman. I love pop – I’ve just been listening to the new Olly Alexander song for Eurovision, it’s brilliant.”
Halford explained why Judas Priest decided not to release the songs:
“That’s what I love about this band: we never say no, we’re always about having a go. We went to Paris for a couple of days, and it was extraordinary to see how SAW made music. We did the Stylistics’ ‘You Are Everything’ and a couple of other bangers they made there and then. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves but when we came back, not the doubt, but the preservation came in. At that time, we felt there would have been pushback if we’d dropped those tracks, and we didn’t want that to happen. Pete Waterman’s still got them hidden away in his safe somewhere. It was heavy stuff, but it had those trademark Stock Aitken Waterman vibes.”
Halford Wants To Leak The Songs
Judas Priest and Waterman spent four days in the studio to record three tracks. These tracks include a cover of ‘You Are Everything’ by The Stylistics and two original songs.
In an earlier interview, Pete Waterman stated that the cover would be the band’s ‘biggest ever hit’ if it was released. Months later, Halford recalled Waterman’s words in a separate interview. He responded to the comments:
“I kind of agree with him, ’cause I’ve got that on my phone somewhere, and it sounds great. I mean, look what happened to Kate Bush with ‘Stranger Things’ and ‘Running Up That Hill’, one of the greatest songs ever written. That’s what I’d love to see with those Stock, Aitken and Waterman tracks. […] I still love those songs even now. And it would be… in my lifetime, I would just love to see ’em get leaked. Leak ’em for all I care. Let’s just see where those songs take us.”
The tracks weren’t released, but Halford and Waterman once performed the song live. You can see the short video of the live performance below.
