K. K. Downing (born Kenneth Downing, Jr.; 27 October 1951) is an English Grammy Award winning guitarist, songwriter and founding member of the British heavy metal band Judas Priest. (More from Wikipedia)
Judas Priest sounds like another band name with Satanic tinges, but actually, the phrase is sometimes used as a euphemism for the oath “Jesus Christ”. The popular English heavy metal band formed in 1969 and is still going strong. They are generally regarded as being one of the best in the business, with MTV ranking Judas Priest second on their list of “best metal bands”. Wikipedia says of the band: “Their influence, while mainly Rob Halford’s operatic vocal style (widely considered as one of the most unique vocalists in the genre) and the twin guitar sound of K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, has been adopted by many bands.”
Rob Halford is the first hard rock musician to come out as a gay man that I can recall, during an interview on MTV News in 1998.
(October 2014)
