Rob Halford Kicks Fan’s Phone During Judas Priest Concert
During Judas Priest's concert at the Rosemont Theatre in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Ill., earlier this week, frontman Rob Halford kicked a phone out of the hands of a fan in the front row. It's the latest in a series of high-profile incidents where acts have had issues with concertgoers filming portions of the show.
The moment happened during "Judas Rising," the sixth song of the set and, as you can see in the video below, Halford deliberately singles out this fan, even though there are plenty of other people holding up their phones in the front row (to say nothing of the one that shot the video). Our sister site Loudwire notes that some YouTube commenters suggested that the fan was shining the light from his phone on Halford. They reached out to the singer, who didn't specify what caused him to punt the phone, but said he mostly had no problem with fans recording the show.
"The facts are we love our fans and you can film us all you like and watch our show on your phone rather than in the flesh," he said. "However, if you physically interfere with the Metal God's performance, you now know what will happen."
In 2013, Art Garfunkel walked offstage when someone in the front row's cell phone went off. A year later, Peter Frampton dealt with a fan who kept violating his "no video or flash photography" rule by asking for the camera and throwing it into the rafters.
"It's not so much what happened that night as to where we've come to," he later said. "If one percent of the people who take iPad or iPhone videos of concerts watch them, I'd be very surprised. ... When I go to do a show, it's my time, it's all about me. You've come to see me. You haven't come to see me if you're in an armchair watching a video. It's very distracting."
Don Henley has long banned cellphone use at Eagles concerts, with fans being thrown out by security. "The madness, the rudeness, the thoughtlessness must stop," he wrote. "Constantly looking at the world through a viewfinder is not seeing. Listening to live music while recording on a 'smartphone' (or texting every 5 seconds) is not hearing. Experiencing life second-hand is not living. Be here now."