Les Binks dead: Judas Priest star dies as band pay tribute to 'first class' drummer

Music icon Les Binks has died at the age of 73. It was announced today in a statement by his band Judas Priest that Les had died, as they paid tribute to the Northern Irish musician.

In a statement on , Judas Priest paid a heartfelt tribute to their former band member, writing: "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."

Les was known for his work on two of the heavy metal band's albums - Stained Class and Killing Machine. He performed three songs with the group back in November 2022, when the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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That marked the first time he had appeared with the band in over four decades. Les was inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside current and former members of the band including Rob Halford, Ian Hill, Glenn Tipton, Scott Travis, K.K Downing and Dave Holland.

Dave was the one who took over from Les as the band's drummer following the release of their album Unleashed In The East. Dave was a former member of band Trapeze before his time with Judas Priest.

Speaking in 2022, Les admitted it was a "bit surreal" being inducted into the Hall of Fame as none of them were expecting it.

"It was a bit surreal because this all came out of the blue. Priest had been put forward for this award — nominated, I think is the word — 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," he said.

"They say who's been influential on the creative side of things and the band's legacy has to form — what's the word? — the band's identity and led to the success that they achieved. They included me on that. They recognized me on that level, which is good. Of course, K.K., who was one of the finer members of the band, left in 2011. We were both included."

Before they reunited, Les and K.K. flew out to Los Angeles together. Les had fallen out with the band's management, which he ultimately claimed was responsible for his decision to leave the band.

He said of their induction: "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. 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 And 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. 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."

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