JUDAS PRIEST Book Author: 'I'd Still Love To Write ROB HALFORD's Autobiography'

Sweden's Metalshrine recently conducted an interview with Neil Daniels, the UK-based author of the unauthorized JUDAS PRIEST biography "Defenders of the Faith: The True Story of Judas Priest". A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Metalshrine: First of all, introduce yourself! Where are you from and what got you into the world of metal?

Neil: Well, my name is Neil Daniels and I live in the North West of England. I got into metal rather late at the age of 18. Before that I was into BRYAN ADAMS, MEAT LOAF, QUEEN and other rock acts; I'm still a big fan of those artists but the older I got the heavier my tastes in music got but now, I find that I don't really care how heavy a band is I just like a good melody, a good riff, strong vocals and some well-written lyrics. I like lots of bands/singers: SABBATH, CREAM and THE WHO; NWOBHM bands, prog metal bands and AOR bands like JOURNEY and TOTO. I'm just a rocker. Everything about me; the magazines I have contributed to and info about forthcoming books is on my new website: www.neildaniels.com.

Metalshrine: How come your first book became one about JUDAS PRIEST?

Neil: I believe the saying is: a good story is always worth telling. The PRIEST story is certainly one that is interesting and it has never been told properly and in full. There was an official book released in the mid-eighties by Steve Gett, which was enjoyable, but as it was an illustrated one and authorised by the band lots of detail was missed out especially on the early years and their controversial contract with Gull Records. Being a fan and wanting to get into writing books I proposed the idea to Omnibus Press and they thought the idea was marketable enough so they agreed to it. The contract was signed and over a year later the book was published.

Metalshrine: How long did it take to put the book together and how did you pick the cover photo? And how did you go about finding photos for the book?

Neil: It took a year to research and write the book. Because the band opted not to take part, the angle I took was on the pre-Halford years; the Al Atkins years had never fully been explored so I wanted to go into depth about that period from 1969 to 1973.

I got in touch with various musicians who had played in JUDAS PRIEST. I owe a great deal to: Al Atkins, John Ellis, Ernie Chataway, John Hinch, Bruno Stapenhill and Simon Phillips. I also got in touch with former friends of various current band members. Bands that had supported PRIEST at certain points were also helpful such as ANTHRAX, ANNIHILATOR, DORO and QUIET RIOT.

The publishers chose a photo by Ross Halfin for the cover; it's a great shot of the trio of Halford, Downing and Tipton.

For the pictures: I got some of the earlier shots from Al Atkins and various people who had worked with or knew the band during the years '69-'70. But for the Halford and Tim Owens photos, that was down to Omnibus; they have photo researchers who look for obscure/rare photos that will appeal to die-hard fans. We came to a compromise. I'm really pleased with the photo sections — Omnibus did a great job!

Metalshrine: Was there a lot of stuff that you didn't know about the band, that you found out while writing the book?

Neil: Yes, lots of stuff. As I said, I was really keen to explore the Al Atkins years so I found out lots of information which I didn't know. I also learned a lot about PRIEST's career from 1974 to 1976 when they were signed to Gull Records; I have included contributions from ex-drummer John Hinch and the co-founder of Gull, David Howells. I would have liked to have added more anecdotes from the PRIEST tours of the USA in the Eighties but without band input and due to time constraints it wasn't easy.

Metalshrine: Why do you think JUDAS PRIEST's management came down so hard on the book as soon as they knew about it?

Neil: I don't blame them and don't have anything bad to say; they're just doing their job by looking after the band. But sometimes I think they act like the CIA! I mean, their website has not been updated for over a month! They should be more forthcoming with fans, like MAIDEN. The fans want to know more but they keep everything a closely guarded secret which has not always worked out well. It took them a while to get a MySpace page when every other band seemed to have one.

The management said other rock writers — famous ones — had approached them about a book but they'd always been declined. Obviously being a newcomer to the world of book writing I was not going to get picked to write their official band biography. It was worth a try on my part. They said the band are waiting for the right time to publish a book — c'mon, there's over 30 years of heavy metal to write about. Now is the time!

I'd still love to write Rob Halford's autobiography. I doubt that will happen now...

Read the entire interview at this location.