After the tour, it's possible that Andy Sneap will no longer be part of the band
In February of this year, guitarist Glenn Tipton announced that he needed to step away from the band due to Parkinson's disease. Since then, he has participated in a few occasional Judas Priest , while Andy Sneap , a longtime colleague and producer of the band, fills in for him on stage.
Despite the good dynamic between the musicians, Rob Halford revealed during an interview on the Rock Talk With Mitch LaFon that Sneap will stay in the band as long as necessary. "Andy is a great producer. He lives in his studio in Derbyshire [in the UK]," he said.
“But that’s what he does – he gets up every morning and goes to the studio, that’s his life. We are very grateful to Andy for helping us,” says Halford, explaining that Sneap should stay with the band until the end of the Firepower tour, but admits he doesn’t know what the producer’s role will be after the shows.