Alan John Atkins (born 14 October 1947) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

heavy metal

vocalist Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

, best known for being the original lead vocalist and founder of

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

Biography

Atkins formed what would become

in 1969. With a wife and young daughter to support, Atkins was forced to drop out of Judas Priest "to get a 9-to-5 job" in May 1973. Atkins' position as lead vocalist was succeeded by

Rob Halford Robert John Arthur Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English heavy metal singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Perform ...

. With Atkins out of the group, no founding members of the band remained (original members Brian "Bruno" Stapenhill, and John Partridge had left the band in 1970, and John Perry committed suicide in 1969). Atkins received writing credits on the first two Judas Priest albums ''

Rocka Rolla ''Rocka Rolla'' is the debut studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 6 September 1974 by Gull Records. It was produced by Rodger Bain, who had made a name for himself as the producer of Black Sabbath's first thre ...

'' and ''

Sad Wings of Destiny ''Sad Wings of Destiny'' is the second studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 26 March 1976 by Gull Records. It is considered the album on which Judas Priest consolidated their sound and image, and songs from it suc ...

''. As of 2012, Atkins fronts the band Atkins/May Project, which also features guitarist Paul May. A press release dated 21 May 2011 stated that Atkins would be contributing session vocals for the heavy metal opera project, Lyraka.
In 2013, Atkins recorded a solo album of his favorite songs written between his days in

and his ''Holy Rage'' days.

Discography

Judas Priest

* ''

'' (1974) (credited for writing "Winter", "Never Satisfied", and "Caviar and Meths") * ''

'' (1976) (credited for writing "

Victim of Changes "Victim of Changes" is a song by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, featured on their 1976 studio album '' Sad Wings of Destiny''. Adrien Begrand, writing for ''PopMatters'', claimed the song changed the course of metal history. Vocalist R ...

" and "

Dreamer Deceiver "Dreamer Deceiver" is a power ballad by English heavy metal band Judas Priest, featured on their 1976 studio album '' Sad Wings of Destiny''. Unlike other songs on the album, the song is a "spacey ballad."Huey, Steve. Sad Wings of Destiny revi ...

Solo

* ''Judgement Day'' (1990) * ''Dreams of Avalon'' (1991) * ''Heavy Thoughts'' (1994) (released in 2003 with two bonus tracks) * ''Victim of Changes'' (1998) * ''Demon Deceiver'' (2007) * ''Demon Deceiver... Plus'' (re-release with two bonus tracks, 2009) * ''Reloaded'' (re-recorded "best of", featuring Ian Hill, Ralf Scheepers, Roy Z and more special guests, 2017)

Holy Rage

* ''Holy Rage'' (2010)

Atkins / May Project

* ''Serpents Kiss'' (2011) * ''Valley of Shadows'' (2012) * ''Empire of Destruction'' (2014) * ''Anthology'' (compilation, 2015) * ''The Final Cut'' (2020)

Albums (guest sessions)

Lyraka *''Lyraka Volume 2 (not yet released)''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkins, Al 1974 births 20th-century English male singers 21st-century English male singers English heavy metal singers English male rock singers English male songwriters Judas Priest members Living people People from West Bromwich Singers from Birmingham, West Midlands