Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
Bass player Ian Hill has announced his intention to part ways with Judas Priest. He released a statement via the band’s official social media channels.
Hello everyone, for a long time now, when asked “how long can you continue”
I’ve always answered “until my performances suffer”.
I hate to say it, but that time has come.
For some years now, I’ve been struggling with the onset of the evil arthritis, which is now in an advanced state in my left shoulder and right hand, established in my right shoulder, and present in both knees. I’ve been fighting this with painkilling pills, gels, and recently with cortisone injections in my shoulder and hand.
Although, I was able to put bass lines to the songs for the new album, there were questions whether I’d be able to complete the recent European tour without incident, so we asked our good friend Davey Rimmer from Uriah Heep, and of course Elegant Weapons, to learn the set list to stand in for me if I had to pull out, which I did for the London show.
This was due to me snapping a tendon in my left shoulder (as if I didn’t have enough problems with it!) just before the encores during the Brussels show two days before. This led to me not being able to lift my arm enough to reach the neck of my bass. So we had to call Davey to stand in for me, who put in an incredible performance at such short notice!
I’ve seen specialists, who suggest I might get away without surgery, but even if I don’t there’s no guarantee either way that I’ll have enough strength in my shoulder/arm to complete a whole stage show.
In view of all this, and the fact that I’ve neglected my family life for fifty seven years, I’ve decided to retire and spend the remaining years making up for it, and doing things with them before it involves one of ’em pushing me around in a wheelchair.
The obvious choice for my replacement is Davey. He’s a great bassist, and a genuinely nice bloke who’ll fit the job perfectly, and I wish him the very best of luck!
There’s not a day goes by where I don’t give thanks for the incredible journey I’ve lived through, and it just remains for me to say that I love you all, and thank you for the life you’ve let me live X
IAN HILL
Uriah Heep also released a statement, since Rimmer is also a band member there.
Following today’s announcement that Davey Rimmer will be joining Judas Priest from the start of their 2027 touring, we would all like to wish Davey our very best in this very coveted position in one of the giants of heavy metal and hard rock.
Davey will continue to play with Uriah Heep in 2026 and on all shows in 2027 where schedules permit.
For the shows that don’t, we will be announcing a replacement in due course.
The roots of Judas Priest trace back to Birmingham, England, in 1969, when lead vocalist Al Atkins and bassist Brian “Bruno” Stapenhill launched the group alongside guitarist John Perry and drummer John “Fezza” Partridge. Following Perry’s tragic death at age 18, the band auditioned several guitarists—initially turning down a young Kenneth “K.K.” Downing in favor of 17-year-old multi-instrumentalist Ernest Chataway, a former member of Black Sabbath‘s early precursor, Earth. Stapenhill selected the name Judas Priest, drawing inspiration from Bob Dylan‘s track “The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest” off the 1967 album “John Wesley Harding”. Though early personnel changes continued with Fred Woolley briefly replacing Partridge in 1970, none of the original founding members remained by the time the band began making studio records, though songs co-written by Atkins would eventually feature on Judas Priest‘s first two studio albums.
Following their 1969 formation, the original iteration of Judas Priest cut a two-song demo featuring “Good Time Woman” and “We’ll Stay Together,” which secured them a three-album deal with Immediate Records after a show in Walsall. However, the label folded before any album could be produced, leading to the group’s disbandment in 1970. Later that year, vocalist Al Atkins connected with Freight—a heavy rock outfit featuring guitarist K.K. Downing, bassist Ian “Skull” Hill, and drummer John Ellis. Upon joining, Atkins convinced the group to adopt the Judas Priest moniker, playing their first show under the name on March 6, 1971.
Following Ellis’s departure later that year, drummer Alan Moore stepped in. During this formative era, their live sets blended covers of Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd, and Quatermass with early original tracks such as “Never Satisfied,” “Winter,” and “Caviar and Meths.” In July 1971, this lineup recorded a 45 rpm demo for Zella Records featuring “Mind Conception” backed with “Holy is the Man.”
