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Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford has revealed the best piece of advice he’s ever received was from Kiss‘ Gene Simmons.
Speaking in a new interview, Halford talked about the wisdom he’s collected over the years, including the time Simmons offered him some gems about the music industry.
“We have a great friendship with Gene [Simmons] and Paul [Stanley] from Kiss,” Halford told Twisted Sister‘s Jay Jay French on The French Connection podcast. “And Priest were out on this big tour – we were invited to open up for Kiss – and I was just talking to Gene about the music business, and he goes, ‘Let me just say this: It doesn’t matter what they say about you, as long as they’ve got your picture and they spell your name right.'”
Halford elaborated: “Especially in music, there are so many opinions, and there are so many different points of view, it’s out of your control, and you really have to figure things out, because the way that some of the negativity can intrude into your own personal life – ‘You suck’; ‘I hope you die of cancer’; all this horrible stuff – you’ve gotta learn how to deal with that. You see it particularly in popular music with younger people.
“When young people get famous quickly, how can they handle it? You need experience. You need wisdom. And so that simply message from Gene, I still remember it: ‘It doesn’t matter what they say about you, as long as you get your picture in and they spell your name right.’ And that has some validity.”
Back in September, Halford revealed he is currently working on a blues album.
Speaking to the Paltrocast With Darren Paltrowitz podcast, the metal icon confirmed the album would be recorded with the same team he collaborated with for his 2019 Christmas LP ‘Celestial’, including his brother Nigel and the son of bassist Ian Hill.
Meanwhile, Kiss are set to ‘Kiss 2020 Goodbye’ with a special livestreamed gig on New Year’s Eve.
Gene Simmons and co. will take to the virtual stage on December 31, promising “the biggest & baddest concert event and pyrotechnics show of the year.”
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