Les Binks, the former drummer of Judas Priest, has died. He was 73.
The English heavy metal band posted about his death on Instagram on Monday, April 14. “We are deeply saddened about the passing of Les and send our love to his family, friends and fans,” the statement began.
“The acclaimed drumming he provided was first class – demonstrating his unique techniques, flair, style and precision -Thank you Les – your acclaim will live on…..” A cause of death was not revealed. A funeral notice noted that he died “peacefully at hospital in London.”
Binks was part of Judas Priest for two years and his drumming can be heard on the 1978 albums Stained Class and Killing Machine, along with their live record Unleashed in the East from 1979. Killing Machine features one of the band’s most well-known songs, “Take On the World.”
He ultimately parted ways with the band two years later over compensation disputes with Judas Priest’s manager. Dave Holland and Scott Travis would replace Binks throughout the band’s tenure.
Per Billboard, the drummer, whose real name was James Leslie Binks, was born in Ireland on Aug. 8, 1951. Before joining Judas Priest, Binks performed with the bands Animals and War and Fancy. He also played with Eric Burdon.
In 1969, Judas Priest formed in Birmingham and released their debut album Rocka Rolla five years later and had several drummers before Binks joined.
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
After his brief time with Judas Priest, Binks was part of several other bands throughout the 80s including Lionhearted, Tytan, and Raw Glory, per Rolling Stone. In 2017, he formed the Priest cover band Les Binks’ Priesthood.
Binks was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022 as a member of Judas Priest. During the induction ceremony, Binks joined bandmembers KK Downing, Richie Faulkner, Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton and Ian Hill onstage for a three-song set, marking his first time performing with the band in over 40 years.
The band, inducted by Alice Cooper, performed “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming,” “Breaking the Law” and “Living After Midnight” — one of Binks’ final public appearances before his death.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“I think there was some nervousness on the management side of things as to how the reunion with K.K. would go because there’s been a lot of anguish between the two sides,” Les told The Metal Crypt in 2022 following Judas Priest’s induction. “I spoke to K.K. before. We flew together to Los Angeles and flew back together.”
“We just decided, we are here at the invitation of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Let’s just be professional about this, just bite your tongue and just get on with giving the audience the performance they came to see. That’s what we did.”
“I hadn’t seen them for such a long time,” he continued. “I gave them all a big hug because I never fell out with anyone in the band. I fell out with the band’s management, but not with them. I never had any cross words or any problems with anyone in the band personality-wise or creatively.”
“I know there were issues that K.K. had, especially with Glenn and the management as well, but I didn’t have those issues. I was able to reunite with the guys in the band without any problems at all.”
Binks is survived by siblings Stephen, Movine and Irene.
Read the full article here
