Judas Priest have released a statement informing fans of the passing of much loved former drummer for the band, Les Binks [far left in our pic].
The statement reads: “We are deeply saddened about the passing of Les and send our love to his family, friends and fans. The acclaimed drumming he provided was first class – demonstrating his unique techniques, flair, style and precision.
"Thank you Les - your acclaim will live on..."
MESSAGE FROM THE BAND RE LES BINKS:We are deeply saddened about the passing of Les and send our love to his family, friends and fans. pic.twitter.com/vAR22hQEHtApril 15, 2025
Binks played drums on some of the band’s biggest hits, helping carve a name for the band which saw them inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
Albums bearing his work include Stained Class, Hell Bent For Leather (aka Killing Machine) and their Unleashed In The East live album.
Binks joined the band in 1977, giving up session work to focus on Priest completely. “I think a lot of it had to do with Roger Glover, the bass player from Deep Purple,” Binks told The Metal Crypt in 2022.
“I had played on a solo album that he made called The Butterfly Ball. Roger was hired to produce Judas Priest's first album for CBS, which was Sin After Sin. There were problems when they started to record it. They had a bust-up with the drummer, who walked out. Suddenly, they're in Ramport Studios in London, I think, and have no drummer to record the album.
“Simon Phillips was hired. We were both doing the session scene at the time in London. Simon was brought in to record the album and he was going on tour with the Jack Bruce Band that he was committed to.
“He wasn't interested in joining the band permanently. He just did the album, took his session fees for it, and got on with other things. They had a British tour lined up, and then a trip to America for the first time, and still no drummer.
"I went along, they sent me a pre-release copy of the album to learn the material. I had to learn all Simon's parts. We went off on tour together. That was the first time.”
However, after finding his feet and fame in the band it was their famous live album, Unleashed In The East, that led to Binks leaving the band.
On the road to ruin
“I wasn't directly contracted to CBS. When we went into the studio to make an album, I would sit down with the management. We would work out how I was going to receive payment for each piece of work I did. It's different for a live situation.
“We went on tour in Japan, I noticed that apart from the PA guys setting up mics and stuff on stage, there was another lot at the back of the venue with a 24-track mobile studio that were running cables and setting up mics to record the gig.
“When I got back to the hotel, their manager, who was staying with us at the hotel in Tokyo, was a guy called Mike Dolan. I said, 'I believe they're going to record the show tonight.' I said, 'We haven't discussed recording. This is separate from the tour.' He said, "Don't worry about it, Les. It's just for CBS/Sony's sake. If they want to do anything, we'll sort it out later on."
“After we'd finished touring, we always took a break and then we would discuss writing new material and going back in the studio to make the next album. The management called me into the office and I sat down with Mike Dolan and he said, 'Les, the guys are all down at Startling Studios in Ascot, listening to the live recordings from Japan… It's all sounding really good and we think that it could be the next album.'
"I said, 'Well, how come I wasn't invited down to the studio to listen to the performance? My drumming's on it.'
“I felt like a glorified roadie rather than a member of the band. Then he comes out with the bone crusher; the thing that made me see red. He said, "Les, after the British tour, the band’s ended up in the red financially, so we think it would be a nice gesture on your behalf if you were to waive your fees on this occasion."
“In other words, not take any payment for the live album, which was the ultimate insult to me. I just saw red and I thought, 'All right, that's it.'
“I just walked away. I was very angry. No words were spoken between me and the band. I was a little disappointed as well. No one phoned me. They never contacted me and I thought, 'Well, I'm not going to bother contacting them either.'
I just felt so angry. I thought, 'I've had enough of this, it's time to do something else.'
Ultimately, there was a happy ending of sorts, as Binks' input was deemed pivotal to the band’s success and he was included in the band’s line-up when, in 2022, Judas Priest were inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. Binks rejoined the band to play three songs that night.
"It was a bit surreal because this all came out of the blue,” Binks told The Metal Crypt. “Priest had been nominated three times in total. The first two times, they didn't get through. Third time lucky. It's up to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame to decide who they're going to induct. They looked back on the band's career.
"It has to go back as far as 25 years. They say who's been influential on the creative side of things and they included me on that. They recognized me on that level, which is good. Of course, K.K. [Downing] who was one of the finer members of the band, left in 2011. We were both included."
The two ex-Priest members subsequently played together with Downing describing Binks on his website as "one of the greatest drummers in the world and a good friend and a great guy."
