After last week’s announcement that Judas Priest will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hal of Fame in conjunction with receiving the Musical Excellence Award this year, fans immediately began wondering whether former guitarist KK Downing will take part in the ceremony.
Now, in a new interview with Metal Hammer magazine, founding Priest bassist Ian Hill has confirmed that Downing will be in attendance at the event, which is scheduled for November 5 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
“He’s spoken to management and said he will definitely be there,” Hill said. “It should be good.”
Ian also noted that he was disappointed that guitarist Richie Faulkner, who replaced Downing in the legendary metal group, isn’t being inducted into the Rock Hall with the band.
“The rule as I understand it, is whoever has been with the band for 20 years,” Ian noted. “Richie is sadly not being inducted, but really deserves to be as he’s been the driving force in the band for nearly 12 years now.”
It’s not clear whether Downing, who played with Priest from 1970 to 2011, will perform with his old band mates at the ceremony. Meanwhile, Metal Hammer asked Hill if he thought Judas Priest might end up rocking out with fellow 2022 inductee and country icon Dolly Parton during the traditional event-closing jam.
“That’d be a trip wouldn’t it?” Ian mused. “The lady who didn’t want to be inducted and the band who’ve been overlooked for 20 years!”
Hill also gave a little update on the status of Judas Priest’s next studio album.
“It’s sounding great!” he declared. “We’ve got a lot of the parts recorded now, the plan was to get it finished in the seven weeks we’ve got off [before the next tour leg,] but time vanishes so fast.”
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.