Video footage available of Judas Priest performing with Dave Rimmer (Uriah Heep) on bass

Judas Priest founding bassist Ian Hill was forced to sit out the band’s Monday night (September 21) performance at London’s Eventim Apollo due to a badly damaged tendon in his left arm, as per Blabbermouth. The news was officially announced on the band’s social media channels ahead of the show, with Uriah Heep bassist Dave Rimmer stepping in on short notice to cover bass duties for the evening. Fan-filmed footage from the performance capturing Rimmer’s temporary stint with the British heavy metal legends has since surfaced online.

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.”