In an interview with Kerrang! earlier this year, we asked Roddy if the rock community is as tolerant a place today as it was when he came out back in 1993, to which he responded: “I certainly did feel that the rock community was a tolerant place when I came out. But the rock community was not why I made that gesture – in fact, it was the least of my worries. It was more important for me to make that statement and make that gesture for the gay community and for the unrecognised people of that time. Back then, Judas Priest’s Rob Halford wasn’t even out of the closet.
“My statement was a provocative statement for the straight world in general, but more important to me was the fact that it needed to be said for the gay community, for my community. It needed to be said, and to be heard as a way of signifying gratitude and compassion for my people.”
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