Dave Holland dead at 69

David Holland

April 5, 1948 - January 16, 2018

Dave Holland, former drummer for heavy metal legends Judas Priest, died last Tuesday at Hospital Unversitario Lucas Augusti in Lugo, Spain. The news was confirmed by the Spanish newspaper El Progreso. The cause of death is unknown at this point but the newspaper has revealed that Holland's body has already been cremated. Holland was 69 year old. 

Before becoming a drummer, Holland began his musical career at the age of six taking piano lessons. By the age of 14, Holland was performing in the Drumbeats. Holland's recording career started in 1966 when he played on Pinkerton's Assorted Colours' single "Mirror Mirror." By 1968, Holland was in a band called Finders Keepers. It was in Finders Keepers that Holland met guitarist Mel Galley and bassist/singer Glenn Hughes. These three men would go on to form the band Trapeze in 1969 with  multi-instrumentalist Terry Rowley and trumpeter John Jones. The band signed to the Moody Blues'  label Threshold Records and released their self-titled debut in 1970. Jones and Rowley left following the first album, leaving the band a trio. Just months after releasing their debut, this trio would release the follow up Medusa, an album that would go on to be regarded as an overlooked hard rock gem. Hughes would leave the band in 1973 while Holland stayed until 1979. 

In 1979, Holland joined Judas Priest- replacing drummer Les Binks. For the next ten years, Holland would serve as Judas Priest's drummer. Together, the band churned out classic albums such as British Steel, Screaming for Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith. Holland left the band in 1989 an was replaced by Scott Travis, who remains the band's drummer to this day. Going into the 1990s, Holland participated in two reunions of Trapeze- first in 1991 and then in 1993. Throughout the 1990s, Holland participated playing in different bands and even giving private drumming lessons. The last 15 years of Holland's life were perhaps his most difficult. In 2004, Holland was accused of several counts of sexual assault and an attempted rape against a 17 year old learning-disabled male student of Holland's. Holland, who came out as bisexual during this time, was found guilty and sentenced to eight years in prison. This lead Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi to remove Holland from a collaborative effort with Glenn Hughes- The 1996 DEP Sessions- which was released in 2004. By June 2012, Holland was released from prison and according to the BlabberMouth, Holland had been living in Lugo, Spain ever since then. Until his death, Holland always maintained his innocence of the 2004 incident. For the rest of his life, Holland lived in Spain and kept a low profile. 

At this time, no statement has been made by the members of Judas Priest.