During a recent chat with 101 WRIF, Ian Hill talked about the possibility of Glenn Tipton’s comeback to Judas Priest after his struggles with Parkinson’s disease.
“He is about as well as anybody can do given the situation,” he said. “I mean it’s it’s a horrible thing that he’s got and it’s a steady fade. I mean he’s doing the best he can, so he has his good days, bad days. I know it breaks his heart that he can’t come out and play with us anymore, not for a complete set anyway. I mean when he’s well enough he will come out and he’ll do one or two songs in the encores.”
“Please don’t go out tick it on the strength of that because the chances are he probably won’t be there, but he’s always greatly surprised when he does. We all love Glenn and we love it when he can come out and visit. Even if he doesn’t get up on stage if he just comes out to say hello it’s always a great event,” the bassist added.
Tipton was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease over a decade ago, although he had been experiencing symptoms for at least five years prior to the diagnosis. In early 2018, he announced his decision to step back from touring activities in support of Priest’s ‘Firepower’ LP.
Six years after his decision, his bandmate Rob Halford shared a comment about the guitarist during an interview. “He’s doing extraordinarily well considering that he’s been living with Parkinson’s for 15 years. He’s such a strong man,” he responded when asked about his bandmate’s possibility to join on their tour. The rocker did not give a clear response to the question. “It’s like any of these challenges, a lot of it is borne by how you fight back, and he fights back all the time. I love that people still understand his importance in Judas Priest – his input on this new album, ‘Invincible Shield,’ is as it has been on all the records.”
However, he later clarified his comment in a different interview. “It was just beautiful when he came out and the audience went, ‘Glenn!’ He’s such a hero and he received so much love and respect, as he deserves, because he’s one of the greatest ever metal guitar players that’s lived. There is no other guitar player like Glenn Tipton. That was a special moment for Glenn. It was almost like a complete cycle because – I won’t say this with my hand on my heart – but there’s a possibility that was the last time that you saw Glenn play live.”
After that interview, Tipton appeared in a few shows on the band’s UK tour.
Judas Priest is getting ready to go on tour. The band will start their tour on September 13 in Montreal Canada and will wrap it up on December 12 in Kanagawa, Japan.
