I never felt like a metal god, but, you know, it's cool that people refer to the members of Judas Priest as metal gods.”
Glenn Tipton: Hi Nando.
Wikimetal (Nando Machado): Hi, Glenn?
GT: It's Glenn.
W (NM): Hello, Mr. Glenn Tipton, it's a true honor to have you on our program, thank you very much for your time.
GT: It's an honor to participate in your program.
W (NM): Ah, thank you very much. First of all, let me introduce myself. I'm one of the hosts of Wikimetal, the number one Heavy Metal podcast in Brazil. We've loved your music for 30 years, so I'd like to thank you for everything you've done for Heavy Metal.
GT: Thank you so much, that means a lot to me.
W (NM): So, to start, could you talk about your musical influences?
GT: Well, my influences started a long time ago, years and years ago. Blues, lots of blues… I think my brother was probably responsible for me starting to play guitar. And the first guitarist who impressed me was Rory Gallagher. I used to go to a small club in Birmingham called “Lovers,” and watch this guy play guitar. And the energy he had really inspired me to learn guitar seriously. And the only other guitarist who changed my world was Hendrix. I saw the guy take the blues and transform it, and that work of progression always interested and intrigued me, you know? Taking the music to a new dimension. And he made so many good songs be created in that era, so those were my main inspirations.
W (NM): Do you agree that you and KK created the twin guitar solo style that influenced so many bands?
GT: Yes, we've worked a lot on applying the two guitars in the band. You have a really, really good and powerful stereo rhythm, or when one is the main guitar, you still have the rhythm guitar strings behind it, or you can switch, do fast harmonies, or slow harmonies, or melodies… It gives you a lot more versatility, and we've worked a lot on applying this guitar style over the years.
W (NM): What's it like being a Metal God?
GT: I never felt like a Metal God, but, you know, it's cool that people refer to the members of Judas Priest as Metal Gods. I'm very proud of what we did for Metal, and I hope that, along the way, we've inspired many young students to pick up a guitar and play themselves. We always fought for Heavy Metal, as you know.
W (NM): Since you mentioned it, could you leave a message for all the young people who are picking up a guitar and starting bands? What would you say to them?
GT: I would say work hard, practice a lot, but above all be yourself. It's very important that you have a recognizable style and a very strong characteristic in your guitar playing. And it's also very important that the band has that same characteristic and peculiarity, and when you have that characteristic and strength of character, always nurture it and work to expand it. Be yourself and work on being yourself, because that's the most important thing for success, I believe.
W (NM): How important are video games for you in promoting your music to younger generations?
GT: I think it's a good thing. You know, I don't really like video games, I've always believed you should find more things to do than sit in front of the television all day, but it's what kids like, and I think the main thing is that it's great to have a video game that's based on music. Most video games are based on violence, you know, so I think it's a good thing. And it's a very good way for kids to be introduced to Judas Priest.
W (NM): There's a classic question on our show, one we ask everyone, everyone we interview: suppose you're at home listening to your iPod on shuffle, or the radio, and a song starts playing that you can't stop headbanging to, wherever you are. What song would that be so we can listen to it now?
GT: Ah, I can't think of any particular song... You mean a heavy metal song?
W (NM): Yes.
GT: I think one of my all-time favorites is "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath. That one still makes me headbang after all these years.
W (NM): Very good. Any specific version?
GT: No. Play the original version, which I think is amazing.
W (NM): Alright, we'll listen to that one now, OK? Thank you.
I am very proud of what we have done for metal, and I hope that, along the way, we have inspired many young people. We have always fought for heavy metal.”
W (NM): So, do you already have plans for your solo career after the tour?
GT: Right now, as you can imagine, I'm completely focused on Priest. Priest is the passion of my life, musically. I did two solo albums, as you know, when Priest stopped, and I had the tour, so… You know, touring and nothing else. Writing… I'm a bit of a political guy when I write… It was an interesting thing to do at the time, when Judas Priest wasn't working. And working with these great artists, John Entwistle and these guys… Many of the young talents from all over the United States, it was a great experience, and I think we make solo albums to get some songs off our chests, things you couldn't do, for example, in Judas Priest. Lyrics that probably wouldn't be appropriate, or a specific song that wouldn't be appropriate for the band. So it's a good thing to do, and I really enjoy it, I was very proud to play with such good musicians. But my only interest at the moment is obviously Judas Priest, and it's wonderful to be on the road now, playing Priest music, and everyone is having a great time.
W (NM): Since you mentioned it, you're amazing, I really enjoy your solo albums. You played with four of the world's greatest bass players on the same album: Billy Sheehan, Robert Trujillo, Neil Murray, and John Entwistle, not to mention the great late Cozy Powell. So what was it like for you to play with these great musicians?
GT: The two greatest bass players, for me, are John Entwistle and Ian Hill. It was wonderful to play with John. I was with Cozy, and we were going to form a three-piece band, so we were looking for a bass player, and John's name came up, and we had the same agent, so I sent him some tracks and John listened to them, came back, and said, "Hey, I'd love to be a part of this." But he was an incredible musician and a very, very good person, it was wonderful to work with him.
W (NM): Could you choose a Judas Priest song that you're very proud to have written, so we can hear it on our show now?
GT: I think a good Priest song would be "The Hellion/Electric Eye".
W (NM): Ah, I agree with you, Mr. Tipton. Let's listen to this right now. Is this really the farewell tour, or maybe you'll reunite in a few years?
GT: This is definitely our last world tour, you know, if we were the right age, and if it were for a good cause, we would consider doing more of this, but we're not going to do any more big world tours. A tour like this lasts from a year to 18 months, and we've been doing this for 40 years already. So we're going to take a break and ease up on touring, but this isn't the end, not at all.
W (NM): And can fans expect new albums as well?
GT: We've started writing a little bit, and our problem right now is finding the time to get back into the studio and finish writing and recording. So it depends on the tour schedule, which is quite heavy. But as soon as we have the chance, we'll go back into the studio.
W (NM): Looking back, what was the highlight of your career? I was at Rock in Rio II. Was it Rock in Rio II or the US Festival, or maybe some other one? What was the highlight of your career?
GT: I think the three main ones would be Rock in Rio, I think the US Festival was a magical occasion, and I also think Live Aid was, you know, for a very special reason, it meant a lot to us, to everyone who participated in the event. So those three events, I think, were very important for Judas Priest.
W (NM): So I got two of them right, huh?
GT: Yes. Very good!
W (NM): Thank you. We have a question that I'm sure you've answered many times, but that all the fans would like to know. Since this is the farewell tour, why isn't KK performing until the end of the tour?
GT: It was KK's decision to leave the band, and he informed us in December. So, you know, we didn't do anything for two or three months, in case he changed his mind, but he was decided. And the choice was difficult for us; we had to either finish or find a replacement guitarist to play on the Judas Priest tour one last time, to play Judas Priest music for everyone. And it seemed like that's what everyone wanted, so we started looking. But I think if we hadn't found Richie, we wouldn't be touring right now. We were very lucky to cross paths with Richie; he's an excellent guitarist. He adapted to the band very well, so we were very, very lucky.
Right now, as you can imagine, I'm completely focused on Priest. Priest is the passion of my life.”
W (NM): OK. We saw him playing here in Brazil a few years ago with Steve Harris's daughter Lauren Harris's band, so we know him, he's a really cool guy. For Heavy Metal, it's very difficult to be mainstream, it always has been. But with Judas Priest it's always been different, Judas Priest has always been mainstream, always been big in the US market, which is always a challenge for bands. What do you think is the reason Judas Priest is accepted by mainstream media? Especially, you know, if you think about their American Idol performance, which was great. What do you think is the reason Judas Priest is accepted by mainstream media?
GT: I think… I mean, I wouldn't say Judas Priest is exactly mainstream. You know, we never had all that compared to all those rock bands. But that never bothered us, because we believe in what we do, and we've always been proud to be heavy metal. But I think it has to do with the songs, I think, you know, some of our songs are more acceptable than those of other bands, so we've had more success in certain parts of the world. And that's something we've always believed in, that you should do what you want, and that's exactly what we are, we're a band that does what it wants, and we break the rules sometimes, and that never bothered us. And I think that's what makes us a little more acceptable in certain parts of the world. Yes, American Idol was huge, and it brought Metal to the mainstream, and that's always been the case… You know, our ambition is to promote Metal and raise the flag for Metal, and when we had the chance to play in front of 30 million people, we obviously said, “This is great, let's do it. Let's show people what Metal is.”
W (NM): First of all, thank you very much for your time, I know you're a very busy man. We're looking forward to the shows in Brazil, we're here to support you in everything you need, if you have any projects after this farewell tour, we'll always be here to promote them. We'll do a special Judas Priest episode where we'll air the interview. So I'd like you to… If you could leave a message inviting all your fans, all the metalheads, all the headbangers, all the Wikimates to your shows in Brazil.
GT: Ah, it's fantastic to be back in Brazil, you know, I'm not just saying that, Brazil is one of our favorite countries to play in, everyone there is a true Metal fan, they've supported Judas Priest through the years, they've loved every time we've played there. And we can't wait to go back and play Judas Priest and Heavy Metal, and have a good time with everyone, so we're looking forward to some amazing shows there.
W (NM): OK, we'll help promote these shows. We truly believe this is the number one Heavy Metal event of the year, so Wikimetal will be there. We're looking forward to your shows in Brazil. Thank you very much, Mr. Tipton.
GT: Thank you very much, man. It was a pleasure.
W (NM): Cheers!
GT: Yes, cheers!
Listen to the full episode here .
