ROB HALFORD – My memories (the final part 3)

[Continued from previous post]

February 2, 1991 – Sheraton Hotel, Stockholm

It was a very cold day and I felt sorry for the poor rocker guys who were standing outside the hotel freezing their butts off, waiting for a chance to get their Judas Priest-albums signed.
I knew what it was like to stand out in the cold like that. I had done it myself on a few occasions. But this time, I actually had an appointment with The Metal God.

My friend Janet was with me as moral support, cause I was pretty much crapping my pants, if you pardon the expression.  I was only 21 and I had never met Judas Priest before – and this band had changed my life 8 years earlier. It’s a big deal. And now, I was about to meet Rob Halford, it was mindblowing. I couldn’t have been happier if anyone had offered me a million bucks.

We walked into the hotel-bar/restaurant and I immediately spotted the people from CBS (now Sony Music) and Jayne Andrews, who I had met in Copenhagen two days before, who had arranged this interview for me.

Just as we were about to walk over to the CBS-table, I noticed two familiar faces in the bar. Anders Tengner, a well known Swedish journalist who wrote for musc magazine OKEJ, and…Rob Halford. I was struggling with myself, cause I had to remind myself of one very important fact:

I was there as a journalist, not a fan, I had to fake that typical “journalist-look”.
The “I’m not-impressed“-professional-expression. But believe me, that was the LAST thing I felt like. I felt like I was 13 years old all over again.

Janet and I took a seat at the table with the CBS people and Jayne, for a casual conversation while we were waiting for Rob to finish his interview. I was dead nervous and probably said my “yes” and “no’s” in the totally wrong places but I wasn’t really listening to the conversation. I couldn’t, my heart was racing.

Then, I saw Anders packing his things. He shook hands with Rob and left. I was next…

I wasn’t doing the interview alone – and thank god for that! I felt a lot more confident with the other dude being there, for a change. Normally I would want an exclusive, but in this case, I probably needed Valium more than anything…! :-D

I’m surprised I even managed to say anything at all. And another short piece of info that I still remember very clearly before moving on to the actual interview:

Rob and I

 

We originally only had about 15-20 minutes to our disposal, and when we were running out of time, I saw Jayne walking towards our table. But for some reason she stopped half-way and went back to the CBS-table.

Later, I asked my friend Janet, who had been sitting there with them, if she knew what that had been all about. She said that Jayne’s intention had been to tell us to finish off the interview, but when she saw the expression on my face, she couldn’t bring herself to interrupt me. So she gave me another 10 minutes. I must have looked like I was talking to god or something. Heck – I WAS! :-)

So, not only did we talk for almost 40 minutes (5 minutes were edited out though, off the record stuff) then there was photos taken, albums signed – and Rob didn’t care that Janye was stressed to get him to the sound check.

He calmly walked out to the fans who had probably turned to ice outside, signed their stuff and talked to them. Then he came back, totally cool, and said he was ready to leave.

Needless to say, I couldn’t sleep for DAYS.
I’ve met Rob many times since, and we are now on a first-name basis, which is totally weird to me. I still look up to this man a lot. This was my first meeting with him but hopefully not the last.

ROB_HALFORD91ORIGINALINSP11.mp3
Listen on Posterous

 

From one of my more recent conversations with Rob – 17 years later, many Priest-interviews later :)

 

http://www.facebook.com/InTheRearviewMirror

ROB HALFORD – My memories (part 2)

Sometimes it’s good to not take “no” for an answer.
My first meeting face-to-face with “The Metal God” Rob Halford (Judas Priest), was thanks to determination and a big, fat chunk of luck!

I guess the story actually begins in September, just when “Painkiller” had been released. I got a promo-cassette from CBS (which is Sony Music today) and was offered an interview with KK Downing.

I wasn’t home the day that he called, so my mother took a message. When I came home that day, there was a note on the kitchen table. I had to save that note, just because I could not believe that for the first time in my life, an opportunity had been given to me, to call the guitarist of my favorite band.
My mom, of course, didn’t have a clue who he was, hence the funny spelling. The note says:

“Daniela call – Sept 27, 1990, 12.30 PM, Spain (phone number) “Kej Kej Downing” (or KK Downing) Judas Priest.

I did the interview with KK, was so nervous I could die, but it went well. I have no idea where that tape is, when and if I find it, I’ll post it.

Here’s a short message from KK to the fans in Sweden, that was for my radio show MCB – if I find the rest of the interview, well, here’s where you’ll find it – eventually.

01_01_01_MCBKKDOWNING.mp3
Listen on Posterous

A few months later, Judas Priest were coming to Scandinavia with the Painkiller-tour. It was in February 1991.
I had been calling CBS like crazy to get a face-to-face interview with Rob Halford but they kept stalling and let’s face it – I’ve never been a big fan of record-companies. You often find yourself dealing with people who should never be allowed to even ever get anywhere near a musician. But what can you do, it’s the way the business works. Thank god they are not ALL like that. Some of them became good friends, but most of them are a pain in the B-hind…

I was tired of the “ifs” and “maybes” so when Judas Priest came to Copenhagen, I went straight to their hotel. I don’t even remember how I found out where they were staying, but it was right next to the train station. I had prepared a short letter that could be handed over to anyone in the band, whoever, crew, management, whatever, where I simply asked for a chance to talk to Rob.

I really didn’t know where to begin or what strings to pull, but I had to start somewhere. I knew what my goal was, and it was going to happen, one way or another. I never really saw another alternative. Rob was there, and I wanted to meet him – it was as simple as that.

So I went to the reception desk. There was nobody in the lobby, I must have picked a perfect time of the day to show up. I asked the guy if he knew of a rockband that had checked in there recently… guys with long hair…? I pulled out any name I could think of, but he was just shaking his head saying he didn’t know. I was in the middle of explaining what Rob looked like, “you know – bald guy? Leather jacket probably…? Rob, Robert…Halford..? No?” when a blonde lady with a long white/grey fur walked up to me. Apparently she had heard me.


– Excuse me – I overheard you. Who are you looking for? she asked.

I explained the situation. That I was a reporter from the newspaper Kvällsposten and I had been trying to set up an interview with Rob through CBS but they still hadn’t been able to give me a yes or no and I REALLY wanted the interiew.

She reached for her purse and gave me her business card. It said “Jayne Andrews”. Judas Priest’s management. There’s the miracle I knew would happen.

– Call me tomorrow and I’ll see what I can arrange, ok?

And you bet I called. This time from Stockholm, where Priest were playing – I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Like magic, suddenly, I was one of the few reporters that got to speak to Rob that day! I was also the reason why Judas Priest were late for sound check but that’s a totally different story.

I did the interview together with another journalist from Svenska Dagbladet, right after celebrity-reporter Anders Tengner had finished HIS interview with Rob in the bar.

Well okay, there is a whole story to that too, but there will be a part 3 here – with the actual interview (it’s long! I never realized that I had the un-edited version, cause I haven’t listened to it for the past 20 years!)

I might have to divide it into 2 segments for the upload-tool to accept it, but stick around…! :)

 

http://www.facebook.com/InTheRearviewMirror

ROB HALFORD – my memories (part 1)

As I was digging through my boxes of old cassettes, I found another, rather precious tape last night: My very first ROB HALFORD (Judas Priest)-interview!

I was so nervous, I could barely breathe that day. I was only 21 when that interview was made, and to this day, I still think of Rob as a “Metal God”. My love and respect for the man cannot be described in words.

But the truth is that the 1991 interview wasn’t really the first one I did with Rob. Indirectly, I “spoke” to him already 27 years ago, in 1984.
I was a 14-year-old fan and I used to listen to the only hard rock show there was on Swedish national radio back in those days – Rockdepartementet. I got in touch with one of the hosts, Marianne Christensson, and we became penpals. I’ve still got most of her postcards with the Rockdepartementet-logo on, and the letters.

I knew that Priest were coming, so I sent her a letter and asked her if she could maybe ask Rob some of my questions.
One evening, the phone rang. I still remember that grey plastic phone we had in the kitchen, it looked exactly like this:

Dialog (telefon) – Wikipedia

It was Marianne. She said that she was meeting Rob in Gothenburg and figured why don’t I just come along and ask Rob whatever I wanted, myself?!

Seriously, I almost dropped dead! There I was, 13 years old, a HUGE MEGA SUPER-FAN of Judas Priest…A school-girl with no connections to the rock world whatsoever, other than sitting alone in my room listening to records in all my spare time.

And she tells me that there is a chance to actually MEET this guy? That was unbelievable. Her offer was like winning a million bucks in the lottery, but better!

My legs were shaking when I asked her to hang on for a second, as I went into the living room where my mother was watching TV.

– Marianne….Rockdepartementet….Rob Halford… Judas Priest… interview…. Gothenburg. Can I go?

– No you can’t. Are you out of your mind?? she said.

I begged and pleaded, promising that I would do ANYTHING if she just let me go. The answer was a coldhearted NO, she thought I was way too young, I could not just travel alone and that was the end of that discussion.

To this day, I still haven’t forgiven my mother for that. If I had had my own money, I probably would have eloped and met Rob anyway. But I was totally helpless, had no money and I realized I would not be able to go.
I went back to the phone and told Marianne that I was very grateful for her offer but I was not allowed to go.

God, I still remember how heartbroken I was. It was terrible. So close, yet so far away.

Well, Marianne was super-cool. She asked Rob every single question I sent her. The ones that hadn’t been on the air, she wrote down as a transcript and sent them to me. I was happy anyway.
It was quite a feeling to hear my name mentioned on the radio for the first time ever, in the same sentence as Rob Halford! I couldn’t sleep for days!

Here it is… Rob Halford, 1984. Note how he states that he’s 32 years old! And now, in 2011, it’s time for the Epitath-tour and for Judas Priest to retire. It’s been a long journey. Not just for Priest but also for many of their fans, myself included.

RobHalford1984_-_RobAnsweringDanielaQuestions1984.mp3
Listen on Posterous

So far, I’ll be seeing 6 Priest-shows this summer. I just hope they will be back in the fall to do an arena tour as well.

I can’t believe that I’ve loved this band for 27 years. And their music still moves me, goes straight to my heart. Seeing Rob at Madison Square Garden back in December was fantastic. I was so glad to see him on stage again, I was crying throughout his whole set! I don’t do that with any other band or artist. But there’s something that triggers it when I see Rob live, I just love that music so much and it has meant the world to me.

Part two coming up soon – my very first in-person interview with Rob, done during the Painkiller-tour 1991. It was amazing finding that original tape – because I had a Judas Priest special on my own radio show that year, where the interview was included.
I’ve only been listening to the edited radio version of it ever since, cause I didn’t want to wear out the original tape. This is the FIRST TIME I listened to the original since then, and I realized that there was still a lot more that I hadn’t been able to include in the show because of the time limit. I don’t even remember most of this, and nobody else has ever heard it either!

So – 20 years later it sees the light!

Bookmark the page, subscribe to it, or add me on Twitter, MySpace, or Facebook and get the updates as they happen. :)

http://www.facebook.com/InTheRearviewMirror

In bed with VIXEN (part 2)

Roxy: You’re into MEN now??
Share: He’s not a man, he’s a rock’n’roller!

Found the Vixen-interview “part two”, the one with the stupid questions. :-)

I actually had a lot of fun with those stupid questions. The artists did too, it gave them an opportunity to just relax for a second and laugh a bit instead of constantly repeating the same thing about their new album or tour or commenting on some rumor, whatever it happened to be at the time.

You know, the sort of thing where people ask “…so Ozzy, did you really bite the head of a bat on stage?” or “…so, Bruce, what’s it like to be back in Iron Maiden?”.

You get the idea. The same sort of thing that every other rock-mag is going to write about too for months.

ROXY AND SHARE (VIXEN) Copenhagen 1990
The “Stupid Questions”
[the trailer they’re doing in the beginning was for my show on Radio MCB]

VIXEN_INTERVIEW_-_RoxyNShare2.mp3
Listen on Posterous

The “stupid questions” was a way to lighten things up a bit and it always worked. The Vixen girls were laughing, David Coverdale was pretty serious but gave really interesting answers. Either way, it’s something I’m glad worked so well every time. :)

I was digging through piles and piles of old cassettes last night. Found interviews I even forgot I ever did…! I was happy to find the one with Arerosmith’s Joe Perry that I did back when “Pump” was released. There’s a pretty funny story behind that one too, just goes to show how much I really wanted to do what I was doing, interviewing all those people, no matter how or when or where.

I was just a kid when I did most of these “In The Rearview Mirror”-interviews, and when I listen to some of those conversations now it’s amost embarrassing, but it was an important part of my journey. Without those experiences, I wouldn’t still be here today.

We’ll see how much of those 20 year-old cassettes that I can save and turn into mp3’s before they get ruined. You’ll be the first to know. :-)

 

http://www.facebook.com/InTheRearviewMirror 

In bed with VIXEN

Who would have thought that I would ever end up in bed with Roxy and Share from Vixen??

Alright, it’s not as naughty as it sounds, let me see how much I can remember now 20 years later!

It was in March 1991 and Deep Purple were playing at Forum in Copenhagen. It was the Joe Lynn Turner-lineup, and opening for them was Vixen.

I was so excited because I was a big fan of Vixen. I still love their two first records, “Vixen” and “Rev It Up“, they were a huge inspiration to any female rocker out there back in the day.

As a matter of fact, one of the very first interviews I did was with Roxy in 1989 (or 1988?) when Vixen were opening for Scorpions, also in Copenhagen. She was so easy to talk to, and you bet I was grateful for that, cause I was just a teenager and I barely knew what I was doing!
She made it very easy on me, so I was looking forward to doing THIS interview.

 

The record company had confirmed an interview with Roxy and Share, at their hotel. I think it was Sheraton. The funny thing is that I remember what it looked like when I walked into the lobby that day. There were GUYS everywhere with Vixen-vinyls, waiting for the girls. What a weird sight. Back in 1991 the only thing you would normally see, was female groupies. THESE guys were… well I won’t know, male groupies? :)

Either way, it was like stepping into Twilight Zone, what’s wrong with this picture? ;P

I went to Roxy’s and Share’s room and they were like two teenagers, laughing and kidding, just very easygoing and cool to be around. There were no chairs in the room, only a king size bed. Soooooo…. We all got up there, got comfortable and did the interview – IN BED!

That would be the first and only time I ever interviewed anyone like that. I can recommend it though, it was fun!

After the first initial “serious” questions (such as these two audio files) it got pretty giggly. As usual, I had a “part two” of the interview where I just bombarded them with stupid questions and they were laughing, just having a good time. I would say that this was one of the most enjoyable interviews I’ve ever done.

I will post the funny part of the interview soon enough. I’ve got it on a USB-stick somewhere, god only knows where. I’ll use the weekend for that. :)

So if you like Vixen, stick around.

When we were done with the interview, the door opened and Jan and Janet came in, they had just finished their interviews in the other room, right next to ours. When I left and walked through the lobby, I saw a guy proudly flashing his brand new Vixen-logo tattoo…

The girls kicked ass on stage! They were young, hungry, damn talented and had a lot to prove! What a huge difference between their set and Deep Purple’s…. We got..what..30-45 minutes or pure raw energy from the Vixen-girls, and THEN we got a tired and uninspired Deep Purple only a half hour later. One of the few times where I actually prefered the opening act.

Well, Vixen split up, like so many other bands but got back together again. I just miss their glitz and glam-period, but at least I was lucky enough to have been around when they were in their prime!

Here are two short clips from the SERIOUS part of the interview. I’ll get back with the giggly one soon. Keep checking back.

ROXY AND SHARE @ SHERATON COPENHAGEN MARCH 1991 (1)

Vixen1.mp3
Listen on Posterous

ROXY AND SHARE @ SHERATON COPENHAGEN MARCH 1991  (2)

Vixen2.mp3
Listen on Posterous

 

 

 

http://www.facebook.com/InTheRearviewMirror