Last month, we were devastated to find out about Judas Priest’s Glenn Tipton’s health issues that gave him no choice but to sit out touring. We reacted to this by questioning if the band are still Judas Priest without Tipton performing live. Former guitarist K.K Downing also got involved, as he was offended they asked producer Andy Sneap to fill in instead while on the road. This has caused a reaction from frontman Rob Halford as well as an alleged clarification from Downing. Once their new album Firepower was released last Friday (9th), and has since been receiving phenomenal reviews, the back and forth noise seemed to have finally cooled down.
With the tour kicking off yesterday, earlier today (14), Tipton has shared a personal statement on the group’s Facebook page. The guitarist revealed that he was informed by a specialist that he had Parkinson’s disease for over a decade. Later in his statement, Tipton hinted on performing with the group for a few songs during his “good days.”
Read his full statement below:
“PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM GLENN:
By now many of you will know I won’t be doing the forthcoming Judas Priest tour because of health issues—I’m so sorry but four years ago I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and was told by my specialist that I had already had it for over ten years – I knew something was wrong with my coordination and fluency regarding my playing but I worked around it and battled on – I have good days and bad days but the disease is degenerative and I would never want to compromise the greatest metal band in the world—it was therefore during the last rehearsals I decided to step down and have Andy Sneap fill in—he’s a great guy and I’m sure he’ll do a great job – I’m sure the band will be as strong than ever
I have been overwhelmed by the massive support and love I’ve had from other artists and from fans all over the world and from many friends and metal maniacs out there – it’s not the end for me – I’ll still be able to write and record and on good days even join the band on stage for a few songs – with new medication and advances being made who knows what the future holds – but one thing’s for sure – it will certainly involve Priest!
Finally the biggest thanks goes to Rob, Richie, Ian and Scott who have stood by me and supported me through everything – GLENN”
