Latest news with #KillingMachine
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Judas Priest and Alice Cooper Plot Heavy Co-Headlining Tour
Judas Priest and Alice Cooper are bringing a legendary co-headlining tour across 22 North American cities late this summer and into the fall. Kicking off in September in Mississippi, the trek will take the pair of hard-rock acts across the U.S. and Canada until the end of October. Corrosion of Conformity will join them on the tour and will appear on all dates except for the Sept. 18 show in Georgia. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time, with artist presale tickets available beginning Wednesday. More from Rolling Stone Les Binks, Former Drummer for Judas Priest, Dead at 73 Judas Priest's Richie Faulkner 'Struggles' to Play Sometimes Because of Brain Damage Alice Cooper Once Tossed a Chicken Into an Audience. A New Doc Captures the Mayhem The tour announcement comes shortly after news broke that former Judas Priest drummer Les Binks died. Binks played with the band for two years, appearing on the albums Stained Class and Killing Machine as well as the live record Unleashed in the East. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alongside the rest of the band in 2022 and even played alongside them at the ceremony. Judas Priest released their 19th album, Invincible Shield, last spring and toured in support of it. Cooper's most recent album is 2023's Road. This summer, he will embark on a solo headlining Too Close for Comfort Tour in support of it. Judas Priest and Alice Cooper Tour Dates Sept. 16 – Biloxi, MS @ Mississippi Coast ColiseumSept. 18 – Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre*Sept. 20 – Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music PavilionSept. 21 – Franklin, TN @ FirstBank AmphitheaterSept. 24 – Virginia Beach, VA @ Veterans United Home Loans AmphitheaterSept. 26 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts CenterSept. 27 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Broadview Stage at SPACSept. 29 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser StageOct. 1 – Burgettstown, PA @ The Pavilion at Star LakeOct. 2 – Clarkston, MI @ Pine Knob Music TheatreOct. 4 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music CenterOct. 5 – Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 AmphitheatreOct. 10 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Broadmoor World ArenaOct. 12 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Utah First Credit Union AmphitheatreOct. 14 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline AmphitheatreOct. 15 – Wheatland, CA @ Toyota AmphitheatreOct. 18 – Chula Vista, CA @ North Island Credit Union AmphitheatreOct. 19 – Los Angeles, CA @ Kia ForumOct. 22 – Phoenix, AZ @ Talking Stick Resort AmphitheatreOct. 23 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta AmphitheaterOct. 25 – Austin, TX @ Germania Insurance AmphitheaterOct. 26 – Houston, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion * Without support from Corrosion of Conformity Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Les Binks, Former Drummer for Judas Priest, Dead at 73
Les Binks, who spent two years drumming with Judas Priest during the late Seventies, has died. He was 73. Judas Priest confirmed Binks' death in a statement shared on Instagram. A cause was not revealed, though a funeral notice said Binks died 'peacefully at hospital in London.' More from Rolling Stone Max Romeo, Reggae Great Behind 'Chase the Devil' and 'Wet Dream,' Dead at 80 Nicky Katt, 'Dazed and Confused' and 'Boiler Room' Actor, Dead at 54 Ted Kotcheff, 'First Blood' and 'Weekend at Bernie's' Director, Dead at 94 'We are deeply saddened about the passing of Les and send our love to his family, friends, and fans,' Judas Priest wrote. 'The acclaimed drumming he provided was first class — demonstrating his unique techniques, flair, style and precision. Thank you Les — your acclaim will live on.' Though his tenure in the band was short, Binks left an indelible mark on Judas Priest. His exacting, dynamic style of play — as swift as it was pummeling — helped define the sound of Judas Priest's 1978 album Stained Class, 1979's Killing Machine (also known as Hell Bent for Leather), and their live album Unleashed in the East. When Judas Priest was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, Binks was on hand to accept the prize and perform with the band. Binks was born and raised in Portadown, Northern Ireland, and began drumming when he was five. After playing in various bands throughout his adolescence, he moved to London in 1972 and quickly found work as a touring and session musician. He drummed for Eric Burdon of the Animals; scored a couple of minor hits with the English pop band Fancy; and played on The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast, an ambitious concept album/rock opera spearheaded by Deep Purple's Roger Glover. It was through Glover — who co-produced Judas Priest's 1977 album Sin After Sin — that Binks was tipped to join the burgeoning metal greats for a world tour that same year. (Binks stepped in for Simon Phillips, who'd replaced Alan Moore during the Sin After Sin sessions.) Following the tour, Binks stuck with the band and was soon contributing to the sessions for their next album, Stained Class. He notably earned a writing credit for 'Beyond the Realms of Death,' after coming up with the track's lead guitar riff. As Binks recalled in a 2017 interview, he felt that all the songs Priest had been writing were 'up tempo,' and they 'needed to introduce some light and shade with a big rock ballad that started softly with acoustic guitar and built up to an explosive metal riff.' Following the success of Stained Class — it reached Number 27 on the U.K. album charts, and was certified Gold in the United States — Judas Priest returned to the studio for Killing Machine (which was released in the U.S. as Hell Bent for Leather). That album featured the band's most successful single to date, 'Take On the World,' a 'We Will Rock You'-inspired anthem that prominently featured Binks' drumming. 'The rhythm is just multi tracked foot stomps and hands slapped on thighs for the back beat, but it worked so brilliantly,' he said. '[ I came up with a simple rhythm part which is basically sixteenth notes on double bass drums, eighth notes on the floor toms and the snare on two and four for the first bar then two, three and four for the second bar repeated. I think we double tracked that four times so it's the equivalent of four drum kits.' Along with the two studio albums, Binks also drummed on Judas Priest's wildly successful 1979 live album Unleashed in the East, which was recorded in Tokyo in February of that year. But, according to Binks, tensions between him and Judas Priest's manager, Mike Dolan, emerged, with the drummer claiming that Dolan did not want to properly compensate him for his work on the live record. 'Contrary to what you may have read, we had no musical or personal differences at all,' Binks said of his relationship with his former bandmates. 'We shared the same musical direction and goals for the future of Judas Priest, and the reason I left was nothing to do with the band, but a lot to do with the despicable con man and rip-off merchant Mike Dolan.' After leaving Judas Priest, Binks continued to drum with a variety of bands, including Lionhearted, Tytan, and Raw Glory. In the late 2010s, he began performing classic Judas Priest songs from his era in the band live, including some shows with other former Priest members, like K.K. Downing and Tim Owens. One of Binks' last live performances was with Judas Priest at the 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Best of Rolling Stone The 50 Greatest Eminem Songs All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
Forbes
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Former Judas Priest Drummer Les Binks Dead At 73
Les Binks, former drummer for the legendary heavy metal outfit Judas Priest has died at age 73. Binks was the drummer for Judas Priest between 1977 to 1979, and he performed on the band's iconic studio albums Stained Class (1978) and Killing Machine (1978), as well as their revered live album Unleashed In The East (1979). The current members of Judas Priest put out a statement on social media regarding Binks' death stating: "We are deeply saddened about the passing of Les and send our love to his family, friends and fans. The acclaimed drumming he provided was first class - demonstrating his unique techniques, flair, style and precision - Thank you Les - your acclaim will live on....." The last time Binks had made a public appearance with his former band members was when he, Rob Halford (vocals), Ian Hill (bass), Glenn Tipton (guitar) and Scott Travis (drums), along with other former members KK Downing and Dave Holland were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022. According to Binks, he had left Judas Priest in 1979 after a rift developed between him and the band's manager during the making of the live album Unleashed In The East. In an interview, Binks stated that it 'caused a rift between me and [Judas Priest's] In 1989 Unleashed In The East became certified platinum. After Binks' exit in 1979 Dave Holland would take over as the band's drummer until 1989. Since then Scott Travis has become Judas Priest's longest standing drummer having over 3 decades behind the kit and 6 studio albums with the band.
