FORMER JUDAS PRIEST DRUMMER DAVE HOLLAND HAS PASSED AWAY


22nd January 2018



dave holland

The death of former Judas Prest drummer Dave Holland has been confirmed by Spanish newspaper El Progreso. Dave was 69 years old and passed away on Tuesday 16th January at Hospital Universitario Lucus Augusti in Lugo, Spain. The cause of his death has not been revealed, but his body has already been cremated, according to the newspaper.

Several websites reported the news over the weekend but due to the nature of the reports and the fact that no 'recognised' media reported it, it was widely believed to be a hoax and further complicated by Dave being confused with a jazz musician of the same name.

Holland was living in Fonsagrada, a town and municipality in the province of Lugo in northwest Spain, after spending several years in a British jail for attempting to rape a teenage boy. He was sentenced to eight years in January 2004 of trying to rape the 17-year-old in his cottage in Northamptonshire while giving the boy drumming lessons. The abuse was revealed in a letter written by the teenager to his parents.

Holland served the full sentence but always denied any involvement in the attempted rape of the special needs student and was at one point said to be planning to write a tell-all biography of his life and career.

El Progreso say he lived discreetly in the secluded part of Spain and was described by his neighbours as "very kind and polite".

He joined Judas Priest in 1979 and was in the band for a decade, playing on classic albums 'British Steel' (1980), 'Point Of Entry' (1981), 'Screaming For Vengeance' (1982), 'Defenders Of The Faith' (1984), 'Turbo' (1986), and 'Ram It Down' (1988). He left the band in 1989 and was replaced by Scott Travis.

He was also a founding member of Trapeze alongside Glenn Hughes and Mel Galley, his bandmates from a previous group named Finders Keepers.

In a 2008 interview, Rob Halford stated about Holland:

"I think there's an enormous respect for Dave and what he did for the band. As you know, we've had many drummers; we're almost like the living Spinal Tap in some respects.

"The drumming for any band is absolutely vital — it's the anchor, and it's what keeps the band locked together. So after going through three or four drummers, we finally found the best man for the job, Scott Travis."