Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest has finally gotten fed up with what his ex-bandmate K.K. Downing has said about him and the band.
Tipton admits, “I never wanted to get into a public argument after K.K. left. I never said a word and I stuck to my guns for over 10 years, but there comes a point when you read things that have been said that are just crazy…
“[K.K.] insinuated that he was the driving force of the band. It just isn’t true. Priest [is] made up of five guys working together. [There’s] not just one person driving the band. He’s said all these things that, I think, are meant to upset us and get us to say something in response and for a long time we didn’t. But I’ve got a lot to say and enough’s enough.”
Tipton also took aim at Downing’s claims in a recent Guitar World interview that Tipton’s drinking before shows and in between songs was “slowing us down.” Tipton says, “Everyone knows it’s not true. Like I said, the fans aren’t stupid and they’ve seen me for 50 years playing around the world. I may have had a couple of beers onstage, but that’s all. It’s never affected the concert or my performance whatsoever and he knows that.”
Tipton stepped back from touring with Judas Priest in 2018 after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2008.
REUTERS PHOTO
