Glenn Tipton breaks silence over accusations from former guitarist K.K. Downing

Anyone who knows the history of Judas Priest knew that K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton had a rocky relationship. K.K. thought Glenn was a show off, arrogant, even reckless at times. Glenn comes clean about his take on those accusations.

In a recent interview with Guitar World, Glenn Tipton sets the record straight about many of the accusations about him from former Judas Priest axe slinger K.K. Downing over the last few years, ever since Downing's departure from the band in 2011.

In both the press and his 2018 memoir Heavy Duty: Nights and Days in Judas Priest, Downing aired the issues he had with Tipton in addition to management. Downing had stated that his creative role in Judas Priest was almost constantly undermined or held back due to one reason or another or that he was the one responsible for introducing the studded leather look

Tipton says "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. It's time to say something, really, because he's saying things that he really shouldn't be saying. They're aren't fair."

Glenn had stepped back from the band in 2018, due to his diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease. He continued. "He's 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."

In the book and interview with Guitar World, Downing states that Judas Priest's performances were often hampered by Tipton's onstage drinking. Tipton fired back. "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 on stage, but that's all. It's never affected my the concert or my performance whatsoever and he knows that."

Tipton also said that Downing's work in the studio was not up to scratch and that he "used to piece [Downing's] leads together." "I did a lot of editing to make his breaks worthwhile." Going back to the concept of being hesitant to speak on things Downing had said, Tipton said "I would never have talked about Ken that way. It's just that his accusations have gotten sillier and sillier - and I deserve to respond. He left the band. We couldn't convince him to stay. And then he accused me of taking six years off to write two solo albums. I only did the solo albums because we were inactive at the time while Rob was doing his solo things."

Elsewhere, Richie Faulkner, former guitarist for hard rock singer Lauren Harris and now Judas Priest, says he wishes both sides could put aside their differences of the last 10 years. He replaced Downing in 2011. "To me, music aside, they should maybe pickup the phone and just talk to each other as buddies and go and have a beer and just be pals. You know, f--- music for a minute' let's just be pals. And then whatever happens, happens." said Faulkner

October Birthdays

Since it's October, time to say Happy Birthday

K.K. Downing

-Birth name: Kenneth Keith Downing

-DOB: 10/27/1951

-Where: West Bromwich, United Kingdom

-He grew up poor and had to suffer, along with his siblings, with their dad's gambling addiction

Lance Stroll

-Birth name: Lance Strulovitch

-DOB: 10/29/1988

-Where: Montreal, Canada

-Previously drove for Williams Racing Team

Hugh Jackman

-Birth name: Hugh Michael Jackman

-DOB: 10/12/1968

-Where: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

-Russell Crowe was originally supposed to play the character Wolverine in the 2000 film X-Men, but he turned it down. He personally recommended his good friend, Hugh Jackman, for the role to director Bryan Singer

Kevin Magnussen

-Birth name: Kevin Jan Magnussen

-DOB: 10/5/1992

-Where: Roskilde, Denmark

-His father, Jan Magnussen, is a four time Le Mans winner and former Formula 1 driver

Sting (singer)

-Birth name: Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner

-DOB: 10/2/1951

-Where: Wallsend, United Kingdom

-He was part of a group called the Phoenix Jazzmen when he earned his nickname "Sting", from wearing a black and yellow striped sweater, which gave him the look of a hornet

Kate Winslet

-Birth name: Kate Elizabeth Winslet

-DOB: 10/5/1975

-Where: Reading, Berkshire, England

-Her children are incredibly close to Leonardo DiCaprio

Brian Johnson

-DOB: 10/5/1947

-Where: Dunston, United Kingdom

-He started wearing his iconic hat after his brother lent him a hat of the same variety to keep his hair out of his face and also pay tribute to the working class heritage of the area Brian comes from

Chris Slade

-DOB: 10/30/1946

-Where: Pontypridd, United Kingdom

-His first album with AC/DC was 1990's The Razor's Edge

Mikkey Dee

-Birth name: Micael Kiriakos Delaglou

-DOB: 10/31/1963

-Where: Gothenburg, Sweden

-Says he had blisters on his hands after the aggressive playing style needed for Motorhead

"Fast" Eddie Clarke

-Birth name: Edward Allan Clarke

-DOB: 10/5/1950

-Where: Twickenham, United Kingdom

-DOD: 1/10/2018

-Where: London, United Kingdom

-He formed a band called Fastway with Pete Way of UFO

Glenn Tipton

-Birth name: Glenn Raymond Tipton

-DOB: 10/25/1947

-Where: Blackheath, United Kingdom

-Had to medically retire from Judas Priest in 2015 due to his diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease

Ken Watanabe

-Birth name: Kensaku Watanabe

-DOB: 10/21/1959

-Where: Uonuma, Japan

-His Hollywood breakthrough came in the form of The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise

Charles LeClerc

-Birth name: Charles Marc Herve Perceval Leclerc

-DOB: 10/16/1997

-Where: Monte Carlo, Monaco

-Like most future F1 drivers, he started out go karting

Glenn Tipton denies KK Downing's "crazy" Judas Priest stories

It's been forever known that, while both KK Downing and Glenn Tipton were the twin lead guitarists of Judas Priest, outside their leather-clad guitar playing time, the two weren't friendly with each other. Glenn is now coming out with his two cents on the "crazy" stories from KK

Glenn Tipton recently heard about some of the stories KK had said and he said that's "just crazy". Downing had quit Judas Priest in 2011, citing tensions with management and Tipton as being some of the reasons, according to his 2018 memoir Heavy Duty: Nights and Days in Judas Priest. The band was due to start their Epitaph tour when Downing quit. He was quoted as saying "an ongoing breakdown in working relationships between myself, elements of the band and management for some time." He also revealed in his memoir that he "never found Glenn to be particularly easy to get along with" and "If you were going to relate to him, you would do so entirely on his terms".

Downing now performs with former vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens. He had expected Judas Priest to quit after the Epitaph tour. But he said "They didn't want any part of me, even though I was one of the original members."

Tipton now gets to put his two cents in on the subject in an interview with Guitar World. "I never wanted to get into a public argument after KK left. I never said a word and I stuck to my guns for 10 years, but there comes a point when you read things that have been said that are just crazy. It's time to say something, really because he's saying things that he really shouldn't be saying. They aren't fair. He's insinuated that he's the driving force of the band. It just isn't true. Priest [are] 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 took offense to Downing's accusations that Tipton's pre-show drinking and post-show drinking was "slowing us down". "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 also claimed that he "used to piece [Downing's] leads together" in the studio and "did a lot of editing to make his lead breaks worthwhile." Tipton had all but retired full time from touring in 2015 after receiving a diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease. He remains "actively involved" with the band and will still join them onstage. The band recently announced they would tour as a four-piece unit with one guitarist when they resumed their 50 Heavy Metal Years tour in March, but they decided against it and would return to the five-man band with guitarists Andy Sneap and Richie Faulkner

October birthdays

 Since it's October, time to say Happy Birthday

KK Downing

-Birth name: Kenneth Kevin Downing

-DOB: 10/27/1951

-Where: West Bromwich, England

-He left Judas Priest in 2011, citing reasons such as disagreements between him, management and elements of the band

Tommy Lee

-Birth name: Thomas Lee Bass

-DOB: 10/3/1962

-Where: Athens, Greece

-The only member of Motley Crue not born in the US

Hugh Jackman

-Birth name: Hugh Michael Jackman

-DOB: 10/12/1968

-Where: Sydney, Australia

-Met his wife Deborrah-Lee Furness on the set of an Australian prison drama called Corelli

Brian Johnson

-Birth name: Brian Francis Johnson

-DOB: 10/5/1947

-Where: Dunston, United Kingdom

-Became the singer for AC/DC in 1980, shortly after the death of original front man Bon Scott

Kate Winslet

-Birth name: Kate Elizabeth Winslet

-DOB: 10/5/1975

-Where: Reading, United Kingdom

-Known for playing headstrong, outgoing characters

Sting

-Birth name: Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner

-DOB: 10/2/1951

-Where: Wallsend, Newcastle, England

-Earned his nickname "Sting" from his habit of wearing a black and yellow striped sweater during his days with the Phoenix Jazzmen

Chris Slade

-Birth name: Christopher Slade Rees

-DOB: 10/30/1946

-Where: Pontypridd, United Kingdom

-He started drumming with AC/DC from 1989-1994, on their album The Razors Edge

Glenn Tipton

-Birth name: Glenn Raymond Tipton

-DOB: 10/25/1947

-Where: Blackheath, United Kingdom

-Was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2015 and his last official tour with the band was 2015's Redeemer of Souls. He still wrote music for the band's next album, Firepower, and the songs are credited to him, but producer Andy Sneap played guitar in his place on tour

Mikkey Dee

-Birth name: Micael Kiriakos Delaglou

-DOB: 10/31/1963

-Where: Gothenburg, Sweden

-Drummed for Motorhead from 1991-2015, when the band disbanded after frontman/bassist Lemmy Kilmister's death. He now drums for German rock band The Scorpions

"Fast" Eddie Clarke

-Birth name: Edward Allan Clarke

-DOB: 10/5/1950

-Where: Twickenham, United Kingdom

-DOD: 1/10/2018

-Where: London, United Kingdom

-Played guitar in Motorhead and side band Fastway with former UFO member Pete Way

John Lennon

-Birth name: John Winston Ono Lennon

-DOB: 10/9/1940

-Where: Liverpool, England

-DOD: 12/8/1980

-Where: New York (murder)

-Changed his name to John Winston Ono Lennon after falling in love with artist Yoko Ono

K.K. Downing Through the Years

I have no idea why, but I love when music sites do this. They do presentations showing musicians through the years. It's almost as if you can see how they change with age. I recently re-read K.K. Downing's book Heavy Metal Nights and Days with Judas Priest. It is good; I never thought I would like it. I always liked Glenn Tipton because I thought he was cute and a good guitarist. Who knew that those good looks came with an ego? After reading this book (again), I still maintain my respect for K.K. Downing. That's not to say I never respected him; I have and always will. I also thought he was cute because he was an actual natural blonde and had better hair than me, lol. Whereas Glenn was a natural brunette and decided to jump on the 80s metal bandwagon and dye his hair blonde. I am glad he was my other favorite because I can relate to him at least personality-wise. He doesn't like confrontations and is generally easy going. And plus, he's still pretty hand despite his sixty-something year old age. A few wrinkles here and there, but he's still pretty cute!!

Great book!! Great for any Priest fan who wants a different perspective on the band!

I do have to laugh at some of the moments he talks about. Like one time, not too long before he resigned from Priest, he was in a bar somewhere and Kerry King of Slayer was there as well. Slayer and Priest had been assigned to the bill at some music festival somewhere. Kerry had pretty much gotten K.K. drunk and on the way back, he accidentally urinated on himself. He laughs about it, chalking it up to "old man problems" and trying to get to his hotel room as a 57-year old rock star with urine soaked jeans.

One thing a lot of people probably don't know is that it was K.K. Downing who introduced the studded leather look into the band. He probably didn't know this was going to be popular with the gay communities. He just wanted the band to have a sort of uniform, to make them different than the other bands around at the time. He thought the band needed to "toughen up" their image and by doing so, the band started wearing black leather. Rob took it a step farther and starting wearing leather everything. K.K. took him to a leather shop in London that specialized in S&M-type stuff to get leather clothing and of course introduce him to the leather look for Priest

But it does seem that at times, K.K. and Glenn were at each other's throats and other times, they were the best of friends. He does seem to think (and it's probably true) that Glenn started thinking he ran the band.

1970

1974 Rocka Rolla promo picture

1973

1978

1981

1986

1990

2005

2008

2011. Downing's final days in Priest and beyond.....