Halford finds his long-lost novel

Rob Halford recently rediscovered a novel he’d written in the 1970s and thought was lost – but he’s not sure he’ll ever publish it.

The Judas Priest frontman describes Library Of Tears, which resurfaced after he ransacked his UK home, as “very child-like” but containing “a pretty cool story.”

Halford tells Classic Rock Revisited: “It’s about this evil kind of guy who steals people’s emotions by capturing their tears. He has this library, and instead of books he has these little glass vials of humanity.

“I wrote it out longhand and then I typed it. I haven’t re-read it yet – I read the first few pages. I don’t know if anything will come of it. I’m just relieved that, having thought it was completely lost, I now have it.”

Meanwhile, he’s revealed that he finds lyrical inspiration from unusual places, including household appliances.

The Metal God says: “The song Heavy Duty on Defenders Of The Faith came from a washing machine at the house. As a lyricist, I soak everything up as far as ideas for different song titles, or content, or whatever it might be.

“I think you have to have the open mind for any possibility for the idea of a song story. When it comes along you grab it – whether it’s a coin or a washing machine, and you use it.”

Priest last year released 17th album Redeemer Of Souls. They tour Europe with Five Finger Death Punch this summer.

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.