ROB HALFORD: Why JUDAS PRIEST Will Never Release Tell-All Band Biography

In a brand new interview with Esquire magazine, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford was asked how the guys in the band maintain their privacy in the age of the Internet and social media, when everything is out there now. "It's a very good question, and it's basically trust and respect for each," Halford replied. "I would never say anything about Glenn [Tipton, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist], even about the music to a certain respect. But as far as the dirty laundry that some bands are very, very open about displaying, the most important thing for PRIEST is the music. We really treasure it. And I'm only speaking for myself, but once you get beyond that and you get deeper, digging in the dirt, it can really dilute what you're about and what you're trying to be with your music. So we're very, very protective of that. We've also been fortunate in that we're surrounded by people outside of the band who are very protective of us as well."

He added: "You get these tell-all book from agents and managers that don't really know the truth: We've been lucky. We're constantly asked if we're going to do a book. Well, it seems the only way you can get a book to be successful is to dig up the dirt, and I don't want to do that, personally. I think it's also part of the magic and mystery of the band, isn't it?

"In today's world, everybody knows what everybody's doing. It's all in one ear and out the other and doesn't have any value. So for us, it's about keeping the privacy and the mystique. The band is called JUDAS PRIEST and this is our music."

In a separate interview with ABC News Radio, Halford — who has been openly gay for the past 16 years — repeated the sentiment, saying: "Time and time and time again, 'Can we have a book from JUDAS PRIEST?'...I don't think we'll ever do it. We've always pushed back. We know what people want — an exposure of the band," adding that that's not going to happen. "If you want to know about JUDAS PRIEST, put on that record from 1974 and listen to everything to 2014 — there's the life of JUDAS PRIEST," he said. "We don't feel as though we need to say anything more beyond the music."

Halford, however, seemed to be more receptive to the idea of one day telling his own story in an autobiography. "That's...a personal journey and I think that I'd probably have less of a problem with that [than with a band tell-all] because it would be coming from my mouth," he said before adding he'd keep it personal. "I wouldn't say anything about Richie [Faulkner, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist], I wouldn't say anything about Glenn. I wouldn't bring anybody else into that part of my life because... it's not cool."

Halford went on to say that his story is "of its own life compared to what I am, I'm a singer in a heavy metal band. Oh, by the way, he's also gay. That's...simplistic, but I know it's a very deep story, it's a very interesting story."