Almost any Judas Priest fan knows about the famed case where two kids made a suicide pact, claiming that there were backwards lyrics telling them to kill themselves. The song in question was "Better By You, Better Than Me" from their album Stained Class.
This song was not even their song. It was a song called "Better by You, Better Than Me" by an art rock band called Spooky Tooth. The song debuted on 1/27/1978, it was the lead off single to the band's Stained Class album. In 1977, after releasing Sin After Sin, Judas Priest had moved onto Columbia Records, who insisted the band have a cover song on each album. Sin After Sin had the band covering "Diamonds and Rust" by Joan Baez. The US release of Hell Bent for Leather included a cover of the Fleetwood Mac song "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)".
In between those albums was Stained Class, with its song "Better by You, Better Than Me". It didn't chart as some thought it would. It did sit in obscurity for 12 years. It gained fame for all of the wrong reasons in 1990. Two teens, Raymond Belknap and James Vance, made a suicide pact and killed themselves. The parents of the two teens claimed there were subliminal messages in the song convincing the men to kill themselves. On 12/23/1985, just two days before Christmas, 20 year old James Vance and 18 year old Raymond Belknap attempted suicide by shotgun. They had been drinking heavily, consuming marijuana and listening to the Stained Class album on repeat for hours on end in Belknap's bedroom at his house in Sparks, Nevada. Belknap died instantly while Vance survived, but was left disfigured. He later died of a methadone overdose in 1988. Prior to that, Vance wrote a letter to Belknap's parents stating "I believe that alcohol and heavy metal music such as Judas Priest led us to be mesmerized."
The families sued Judas Priest for a combined total of $2.6 million and included accusations of including subliminal messages, such as "Try suicide", "Sign my evil spirit", "F--- the lord, F---all of you". The families stated that "Better by You, Better Than Me" contained messages from Rob Halford to "do it" if played backwards. In his 2020 memoir Confess, Halford states "When the band and I first heard that this is what we were charged with, we could not believe it. What was this bulls---? It was so far-fetched that we were baffled; Why the h--- would we ever do that? Surely nobody in the world could take this rubbish seriously?"
Despite the subject matter, the attorney's for the plaintiffs treated the case with little reverence. Halford stated "As soon as the case began, it became evident that, where British courts are all about soberly finding the truth, American trials are essentially an adjunct of showbiz. It was clear from their lead attorney's opening statement. 'Your Honor, this case is all about these poor families screaming for vengeance!' he said to the judge. 'They have come to defend their faith! They don't want to be left in the sad wings of destiny!'"
Judas Priest was certainly not the first musician to go to trial over lyrics. Ozzy Osbourne was called into court over lyrics in his song "Suicide Solution". This song was accused of forcing a teenager to end his life. The judge in that case ruled the lyrics were under the protection of the First Amendment. Judas Priest couldn't use the same defense since judge Jerry Carr Whitehead said "subliminals" didn't constitute actual speech and were not protected
Instead of worrying about the First Amendment, the band dissected their songs before the court to prove there was nothing suspicious. Halford, on the stand, sang the chorus to "Better by You, Better Than Me" and played other songs accused of having "subliminal" messages. While the judge sided with the band, there was not an immediate victory. Judge Whitehead stated "The 'do it's' on the record were subliminal because they were only discernible after their location had been identified and after the sounds were isolated and amplified. The sounds would not be consciously discernible to the ordinary listener under normal listening conditions." Halford, meanwhile, was "dissatisfied with the verdict. I still am. The judge's summary, to me, merely stated that their lawyers hadn't proved their case adequately. It wasn't the total vindication we needed and deserved."
The closing of the case allowed Judas Priest to remove their suits and put on the studded leather once more. When 1990 came around, they released Painkiller. They kicked off this tour by playing "Better by You, Better Than Me", the first time they played it since 1979
No comments:
Post a Comment