Dave Holland, Former Judas Priest Drummer, Dies at 69

It’s been reported that former Judas Priest drummer Dave Holland has died at the age of 69.

Holland reportedly passed away in A Fonsagrada, Spain where he had been living in exile after serving a prison sentence related to a 2004 conviction on charges of attempting to rape a teenage boy.

He had left Judas Priest approximately 15 years prior to the charges.

There is currently no word on the cause of death, but Rolling Stone reports that Holland died on Jan. 16 after having been admitted to Hospital Universitario Lucus Augusti de Lugo.

Judas Priest released a statement about Holland’s passing, saying, “It is with regret that we hear of the passing of Dave Holland.”

“Despite his actions since working with the band, his time with us was amongst the most productive and successful in the band’s career and Dave was an integral part of that and for that alone he will be missed,” the statement continued.

Former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing released his own said in a statement.

“It is with deep regret that I have to accept the sudden and unexpected news that Dave Holland has passed away,” Downing wrote. “Dave was a solid friend in life and solid musician both on the stage and in the studio; I will cherish the many gigs we played together and the albums that we made and I will always be grateful to the indelible contribution that Dave gave to Judas Priest.”

Holland was not Judas Priest’s original drummer, but he did play in all of the bands recordings between 1979 and 1988, which saw him drum on classic metal tracks such as “Breakin’ the Law,” “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” and “Heading Out to the Highway.”

As previously mentioned, Holland was charged and and found guilty in 2004 of one count of attempted rape and five counts of indecent assault, stemming from incidents in 2002 where he was reported to have sexually assaulted a 17-year-old whom he was teaching drums to.

Following the news at that time, Judas Priest released a statement distancing themselves from Holland and his convicted actions.

“We are as shocked as everyone by this news. However, we would like to point out that Scott Travis is Judas Priest’s drummer and has been since 1989. We haven’t had any contact with Dave Holland at all since we parted company with him over 15 years ago,” the statement read.