Watch: Judas Priest's Rob Halford kicks mobile phone out of fan's hands at gig
With a foot like a traction engine, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford booted a phone out of a fan's hands at a recent concert.
Judas Priest were performing their 2005 track ‘Judas Rising’ six songs into their set at the Rosemont Theatre in Illinois last Saturday (25th May) and – as is oft the norm at gigs nowadays - numerous people in the sell-out crowd were filming with their phones rather than enjoying the moment.
It’s reported that one particular gig-goer at the front had their light turned on on their phone, which was distracting Rob Halford.
As footage below shows, Rob took a step backwards and ran to the front of stage where he kicked the phone out of the fan’s hands with great gusto.
The offending phone was propelled several metres into the air and landed about six rows back in the audience as Rob seamlessly carried on singing.
Watch footage of the incident - somewhat ironically filmed by fans on their phones - right here:
UPDATE: Rob Halford issues defiant statement in response to phone-kicking incident
Rob’s phone-kicking incident echoes a Slipknot concert three years ago where singer Corey Taylor slapped a phone out of a fan’s hands.
Speaking in 2014, Corey said he loathes seeing people absorbed in their phones: "So many people have their faces glued to their phones and they're not paying attention, I point and laugh anytime I see somebody trip walking down the street, and I'm brutal - I mean, I'm brutal. It's loud, it's obnoxious, there's a lot of pointing, I'm asking people, 'Did you see that?' I love it. I think it's funny.
"Get off your phones and pay attention to what they hell you're doing."
> pic.twitter.com/tmQaZkeDD9 > > — Slipknot (@slipknot) July 10, 2016
Back in 2012, Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson lambasted a fan for texting during a concert calling him a “w*nker.”
And last year, former White Stripes singer Jack White took the bold move to ban phones at his two London Eventim Apollo shows.
White utilised a patented system from San Francisco-based technology firm Yondr to create completely a phone-free space. Upon entry to the phone-free area of the venue, fans’ phones were placed into a Yondr case that then locked.
Judas Priest’s gig in Rosemont was part of their sprawling North American tour with support from Planet Rockstock headliners Uriah Heep.
As reported yesterday, Priest bassist Ian Hill said it would be "great" if Judas Priest and Iron Maiden toured together again for the first time since the early eighties.
Judas Priest are special guests on Ozzy Osbourne’s No More Tours 2 arena tour in January and February 2020. Tickets are on sale from Planet Rock Tickets now.
They play the following shows:
JANUARY 2020
Nottingham Motorpoint Arena – Fri 31st
FEBRUARY 2020
Dublin 3Arena – Sun 2nd
Manchester Arena – Wed 5th
Newcastle Utilita Arena – Fri 7th
London The O2 – Mon 10th
Glasgow SSE Hydro – Wed 12th
Birmingham Resorts World Arena – Fri 14th