Music icon and former Judas Priest drummer Les Binks has died at the age of 73. The band confirmed that the drummer sadly passed away on March 15. The Northern Irish musician performed on two of the heavy metal band's albums in 1978, Stained Class and Killing Machine.

Binks was officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Judas Priest - and performed three songs at the induction ceremony back in November 5, 2022. This was the rocker's first appearance with the band in 43 years.

Taking to Instagram, the official Judas Priest account shared a touching tribute online. It read: "We are deeply saddened about the passing of Les and send our love to his family, friends and fans.

"The acclaimed druming he provided was first class - demonstrating his unique techniques, flair, style, and precision - Thank you Les - your acclaim will live on..."

This is a breaking showbiz story, the/showbiz team will be updating this story with the latest information as soon as we receive it. For further updates, please refresh the page

You can also get email updates on the day’s biggest TV stories straight to your inbox bysigning up for our newsletters. 

Get all the very best headlines, pictures, opinion and video on the day’s top showbiz stories by followingExpress.co.uk every time you see our name.

You can also sign up for Twitter alerts for breaking news and all the latest updates by following @‌Daily_Express, or for the latest TV and showbiz news, follow @‌expressceleb

Keep up-to-date with your must-see TV stories, features, videos and pictures throughout the day by following us on Facebook at

Express Celebrity