Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford has opened up about feeling like he’s “letting fans down” when performing the band’s hit ‘Painkiller’.
Speaking on the Talk Is Jericho podcast (via ultimateguitar.com), Halford revealed how his vocal ability has changed as a result of ageing.
“It’s tough for me now because I love to sing ‘Painkiller,’ but I can’t do it as well as I did in 1991… And I always feel like I’m letting the fans down,” he said.
He continued: “We all want to give our fans the best show that we can give, and with your voice, it’s such a part of your body, and as your body gets older your voice gets older, you can’t really do the stuff you want to do.”
Halford went on to reveal that he “struggled” until he noticed how artists like Freddie Mercury made adjustments to songs in order to do them justice live.
“He would make the necessary adjustments to cover the songs, and I think as long as you’re doing your best and as long as you’re getting to the places you can get to comfortable and it’s sounding good and strong, that’s all that matters,” he said.
“Having said that, as music became important to me, and as we know for most of us music becomes important as you get into your early-mid teens, you have the world, you hate your mum and dad, you hate school but you love the music… so I was listening to everybody,” he concluded.
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Halford also mentioned that The Beatles were a “great inspiration” when it came to growing as a vocalist.
“I didn’t really understand the voice that much [growing up], but I know I must’ve been soaking that in, how voices can do extraordinary things, particularly the harmonies that The Beatles used to do.”
Check out Rob Halford performing Judas Priest’s ‘Painkiller’:
