Paul DiAnno

Here is the former singer for Iron Maiden

Birth name: Paul Andrews
DOB: 5/17/1958
Where: London, England

Trademark
-His bad boy persona on stage
-Wild singing style

Trivia
-Was replaced by Bruce Dickinson as singer for Iron Maiden
-Despite history of Iron Maiden, Paul DiAnno was not the original singer. There were two prior singers for Maiden before DiAnno came along
-Was with Iron Maiden from 1978-1981
-Was fired from the band for his unruly behavior, causing the band to miss concerts
-He was known for his operatic vocals and having a more gutsy, raw "punk" type of edge to his voice as well

Ian Hill

Here is the bass player and co-founder of Judas Priest

Birth name: Ian Frank Hill
DOB: 1/20/1951
Where: West Bromwich, Birmingham, England

Trivia
-Learned to play the double bass from his father, who play bass in local Birmingham jazz acts
-In 1970, along with fellow classmate Kenneth Kevin "KK" Downing, they formed the legendary heavy metal band Judas Priest
-He is the one who found their singer, Rob Halford. Hill was dating Halford's sister Sue and mentioned he needed a singer. She recommended her younger brother Rob, who was said to have sung in their church choir
-Ian Hill married Rob Halford's sister Sue in 1976 and divorced in 1984. Together they have a son named Alex, born in 1980

Dave Murray

Here is another of the guitarists for Iron Maiden

Birth name: David Michael Murray
DOB: 12/23/1956
Where: Edmundton, London, England
Height: 5'9''

Trademark
-Frequently uses Fender Stratocasters

Trivia
-Has been Iron Maiden's lead guitarist since 1976
-Owns a home in Hawaii
-Other than Steve Harris, Dave Murray is one of the only two consistent Iron Maiden members to appear on every album

Dave Holland

Here is one of the original drummers for Judas Priest. Sad to hear that in 2004, he was found guilty of attempted rape and indecent assault on students he was teaching music to. Hopefully fellow prisoners didn't find out he molested kids. Then things might take a turn for the absolute worst!

Birth name: David Holland
DOB: 4/5/1948
Where: Wolverhampton, England

Trivia
-Played with 1970s band Trapeze, which also ironically started the career for singer Glenn Hughes
-In 2004 was found guilty of attempted rape and indecent assault on students he tutoring in music. He was sentenced to 8 years in prison

Janick Gers

Here is another guitarist for Iron Maiden. Not much is known about these guys. I suppose they like to keep private lives. With that, I can't blame them :D

Birth name: Janick Robert Gers
DOB: 1/27/1957
Where: Hartlepool, England

Trivia
-Has a degree in Anthropology
-Played guitar in former Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan's band Gillan

Scott Travis

Here is the new drummer for Judas Priest, replacing former drummer Dave Holland. Not much is really known about him

DOB: 9/6/1961
Where: Norfolk, Virginia

Trivia
-Was previously with American rock band Racer X
-Auditioned for Priest in 1989 and won it, becoming the first non-British member of Judas Priest

Adrian Smith

Here is one of the many guitarists for Iron Maiden

Birth name: Adrian Frederik Smith
DOB: 2/27/1957
Where: London, England
Height: 5'10''

Trivia
-Guitarist for Iron Maiden
-Left Maiden in 1990, returned in 1999
-Formed his own band, Psycho Motel

Glenn Tipton

This is the lead guitarist for Judas Priest. If you know anything about Judas Priest, you'll quickly know this band has TWO lead guitarists, Glenn Tipton and KK Downing. Or rather Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner now. Cool, he was born in the same month as me, how awesome! Also, a good majority of the info on Glenn Tipton can be found on his own personal site, listed below. Didn't know he had one :D. You can honestly trust the info from his site, considering he's the one who owns it, lol. All the information will be accurate. For his age, I think he's in great shape

http://www.glenntipton.co.uk/default.asp
http://www.metal-archives.com/

Birth name: Glenn Raymond Tipton
DOB: 10/25/1947
Where: Birmingham, England

Trivia
-Recorded a solo album in 1997 titled Baptizm of Fire and in 2006 Edge of the World

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-Left school at 17 to work for British Steel. (Isn't it ironic how later in Judas Priest they would have an album titled British Steel?)

-Started playing guitar around 19 years of age
-His mother Olive was a piano tutor
-Has a brother named Gary
-When he's not shredding on his guitar with Judas Priest, he can often be found outdoors. His favorite hobbies include tennis, football (soccer to Americans), building and flying model airplanes, drawing and painting, however he considers his main passion to be fishing
-Some of his musical influences include: The Spencer Davies Group, Hendrix, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, early Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green era), Rory Gallagher, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles. He also finds inspiration in classical music, film music because he says it touches him emotionally.
-His first band was called Shave 'Em Dry, and consisted of Dave Sheldon (Ozzy) on bass, him on guitar, Barry Scrannage (Spence) on drums. Spence was even with him during his days in the Flying Hat Band.
-While with The Flying Hat Band, the band was working in Birmingham with an agency managed by Jim Simpson, who happened to work closely with Black Sabbath. This also happened to be the same agency where Judas Priest was with. Gull Records, who Judas Priest recorded through, was told to either get another guitarist or a keyboard player. They approached Glenn and asked him if he was interested. This was shortly before the May 1974 release of Rocka Rolla.
-Released a solo album called Baptizm by Fire. Helping Glenn out on it was drummer Cozy Powell, Billy Sheehan, Shannon Larkin, John Entwistle, Robert Trujillo, Brooks Wackerman. In 2006, he released his second album, Edge of the World. Cozy Powell helped out on this album, John Entwistle provided bass assistance. He thought that there might need to be a singer, but Cozy encouraged Glenn to sing and it worked out perfectly.

Personal Quotes
-[on Judas Priest] Everybody's got their own favorite Priest songs for different reasons. It could be a point in your life that was a low point where a Priest song helps you get through, or it could be a happy point in your life when you just enjoy Priest music. Or it could remind you of your college days. I've sort of given up being surprised by people's choices

July Birthdays

Since it's July, time to say Happy Birthday to the following people

Liv Tyler
-Birth name: Liv Rundgren
-DOB: 7/1/1977
-Where: New York City, New York
-Grew up thinking her father was rock star Todd Rundgren until she found out Steven Tyler was her father and she took his name

Sylvester Stallone
-Birth name: Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone
-DOB: 7/6/1946
-Where: New York City, New York
-Hates his name Sylvester; insists on going by "Sly" instead

Ringo Starr
-Birth name: Richard Starkey
-DOB: 7/7/1940
-Where: Liverpool, Merseyside, England
-Got his stage name "Ringo Starr" from the fact that "Starr" is a shortened version of his last name, Starkey and "Ringo" from the fact he wore a lot of rings

Ronnie James Dio
-Birth name: Ronald James Padavona
-DOB: 7/10/1942
-Where: Portsmouth, New Jersey
-DOD: 5/16/2010
-Where: Los Angeles, California (stomach cancer)
-Popularized the famed "Metal Horns" gesture, which is now seen at every hard rock/heavy metal concert

Mick Jagger
-Birth name: Michael Phillip Jagger
-DOB: 7/26/1943
-Where: Dartford, Kent, England
-His longtime girlfriend, fashion designed L'Wren Scott, was found dead in her Manhattan apartment on March 17, 2014

Eric Carr
-Birth name: Paul Charles Caravello
-DOB: 7/12/1950
-Where: Brooklyn, New York
-DOD: 11/24/1991
-Where: New York City, New York (cancer)
-Kiss' 1991 Revenge album is dedicated to him

Daniel Radcliffe
-Birth name: Daniel Jacob Radcliffe
-DOB: 7/23/1989
-Where: Fulham, London, England
-In August 2009, became involved with the Trevor Project, which is a national (US) suicide prevention line for LGBT teens

Geddy Lee
-Birth name: Gary Lee Weinrib
-DOB: 7/29/1963
-Where: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
-Known for his extremely high pitched vocals, which he says he does so he can be heard over the guitar and drums

Helen Mirren
-For her age, whatever that may be, she looks incredible! It's like she never ages :D
-Birth name: Helen Lydia Mironoff
-DOB: 7/26/1945
-Where: Chiswick, London, England
-Has a star tattoo on her left hand from a Native American reservation in Minnesota

Jean Reno
-Birth name: Juan Moreno y Herrera Jimenez
-DOB: 7/30/1948
-Where: Casablanca, Morocco
-Due to his tall build, he has always played villainous type roles. But due to his skills in acting, he had managed to land all types of roles

Geezer Butler
-Birth name: Terence Michael Joseph Butler
-DOB: 7/17/1949
-Where: Birmingham, England
-Earned the nickname "Geezer"(a British slang term for guy or dude) because he had a habit of referring to everyone as a geezer

Slash
-Birth name: Saul Hudson
-DOB: 7/23/1965
-Where: Hampstead, London, England
-Has dual citizenship to the UK and the US

Nicko McBrain

Here is the drummer for Iron Maiden

Birth name: Michael Henry McBrain
DOB: 6/5/1952
Where: Hackney, London, England
Height: 6'

Trademark
-Cockney accent
-Plays drums with one pedal
-Plays frequently with a large Premier drum kit with Paiste cymbals

Trivia
-Prior to joining Maiden, he played in Roger Chapman's Streetwalker, the Pat Travers Band and French hard rock band Trupti
-Formed  aside project with Dan Spitz of Anthrax and Vanilla Ice called 7x70
-Drummer for Iron Maiden since 1983