Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing quit Judas Priest in 2011 amidst bad blood between him, his bandmates and their manager, Jayne Andrews. Priest invited Downing and former drummer Les Binks to join them for their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction last month, but now Andrews says she was disappointed that Downing wasn’t more grateful for the opportunity.
In a new episode of the podcast Gabbing with Girlfriends, from Geezer Butler‘s wife, Gabby Butler, Andrews says of the band’s approach to the induction, “We all said, any grievances or problems, we put them behind us. This is a very positive time. And that’s the way we looked at it. And it’s just a shame that [K.K.] didn’t seem to look at it the same way.”
She adds, “If ever there was a time to try and build bridges, that was it … it’s sad for him, really … when he had the opportunity, he didn’t take it.”
According to Andrews, she urged the band to invite Downing and Binks to join them onstage, telling them, “Be the bigger men.” But, Andrews tells Butler, “To me, he should have just stuck his head around the door and said, ‘Thank you for inviting me onstage with you.’ ‘Cause they didn’t have to.”
Andrews goes on to disparage Downing’s performance that night, telling Butler, “To be honest — and I probably shouldn’t really say this — [K.K.] seemed a little bit nervous and almost out of his depth.”
She added, “When we talked about it afterwards, we thought, well, Priest have carried on touring all these years; he hasn’t. So he’s probably lost a bit of confidence, coming to a big event like that, obviously, [and] having to confront all of us.”
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