Rob Halford: “All Hell Would Have Broken Loose” If Judas Priest Lost 1990 Subliminal Message Trial
The 1990 subliminal message trial against Judas Priest was, frankly, dumb. For those of you who don’t know the story, here’s a brief summary: in December of 1985, two young men in Nevada, Raymond Belknap (18) and James Vance (20), made a pact to kill themselves. Belknap died instantly, but Vance survived after destroying most of his face and died three years later of a suspected drug overdose. The young men’s families sued Judas Priest, arguing that they were directly responsible for the deaths because they allegedly put subliminal messages in their music telling people to kill themselves. According to an article written for The Skeptical Inquirer by defense witness Dr. Timothy E. Moore, the judge in the case determined that there was a lack of evidence that subliminal messaging even worked that way, and that there was evidence of other factors in the men’s lives that led to their suicide.
In a recent interview with Record Collector (transcribed by Guitar.com), Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford looked back on the infamous 1990 trial, and he had some really good points to make about how nonsensical the trial was.
“Why would a band tell their fans to kill themselves? We’d be better off hiding messages like, ‘Buy more Priest records’ or ‘Buy more T-shirts’, wouldn’t we? But that’s the insanity of it. You think, how on God’s earth can something so ridiculous get so much traction that these lads have to come all the way over from England and sit in a courtroom in Nevada and defend themselves – and not only ourselves, but our music and the label and our fans.”
But later on in the interview, Halford raised an even more interesting point about what would have happened if Judas Priest had managed to lose the trial:
“If the judge had found completely on the side of the prosecution, all hell would have broken loose. Every time a radio station played a record, they’d have to say, ‘We disclaim any possible subliminal messages in today’s show.’ But if this happened again tomorrow, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised.”
If that had happened and bands suddenly became responsible for supposed subliminal messages, would I be able to sue The Lumineers for making me want to drive into oncoming traffic every time they come on my car radio? It’s not my fault; the music made me do it!
But just in case there are subliminal messages in Judas Priest songs, exercise caution when you catch them on one of the following dates on their Invincible Shield tour.
Wed, JUN 5 – Tampereen monitoimiareena – Tampere, Finland
Fri, JUN 7 – Sweden Rock Festival AB – Sölvesborg, Sweden
Mon, JUN 10 – AFAS Live – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Thu, JUN 13 – Sant Jordi Club -Barcelona, Spain
Sat, JUN 15 – Navarra Arena – Pamplona, Spain
Mon, JUN 17 – Palacio Vistalegre – Madrid, Spain
Jun. 19 – 22, 2024 – El Batel Park – Cartagena, Spain
Fri, JUN 21 – Plein Air – Dessel, Belgium
Sun, JUN 23 – Zénith de Nancy – Maxeville, France
Wed, JUN 26 – Royal Arena – Copenhagen, Denmark
Fri, JUN 28 – Tons Of Rock – Oslo, Norway
Mon, JUL 1 – Barclays Arena – Hamburg, Germany
Tue, JUL 2 – Max-Schmeling-Halle – Berlin, Germany
Thu, JUL 4 – Arena Nürnberger Versicherung – Nuremberg, Germany
Sat, JUL 6 – Rockharz Festival 2024 – Ballenstedt, Germany
Mon, JUL 8 – SAP Arena – Mannheim, Germany
Wed, JUL 10 – MESSE DRESDEN, HALLE 1 – Dresden, Germany
Fri, JUL 12 – Masters of Rock 2024 – Vizovice, Czechia
Sat, JUL 13 – Rockmaraton 2024 – Dunaújváros, Hungary
Wed, JUL 17 – Metalhead Meeting 2024 – Bucuresti, Romania
Fri, JUL 19 – Sofia, Bulgaria – Sofia, Bulgaria
Sun, JUL 21 – Release Athens Festival 2024 – Kallithea, Greece
Wed, JUL 24 – Parkorman – İstanbul, Turkey
Sep. 26 – 29, 2024 – Louder Than Life 2024 – Louisville, KY
Oct. 10 – 13, 2024 – Aftershock 2024
