In a recent interview on The Ex-Man , KK Downing gave previously unreleased details about his departure from Judas Priest in 2011, stating that, contrary to what the band announced at the time, he did not retire from the group (transcription via Blabbermouth ).
“In 2010, things were reaching a boiling point; things were happening,” Downing recounts. “I wasn’t happy with the previous tour because… I love Glenn [ Tipton ] and I respect him a lot, but he used to drink a lot of beer before and during our shows at the time. And I don’t know what was going on. We talked about it. But musically, we weren’t as secure as I felt we wanted to be. I wasn’t very happy with that.”
Downing also mentioned that Rob Halford was busy with his own projects at the time and that Judas Priest was being pressured to release an EP. “We’re not a band that does EPs,” Downing said. “And it was the farewell tour. We were all retiring, that was the deal. I saw the press release saying it was the end of the band and all that. And I don’t know, maybe I had a kind of breakdown and took a stance of ‘You know what? Keep it. Is this what you want? Then it’s yours.’”
The guitarist also stated that he contacted Ian Hill afterwards, saying he had reconsidered and was considering joining the tour, but received no encouragement from his colleague or the band's staff. According to Downing, he even received the tour's setlist and expressed his approval, but "the next day" the band released a statement saying he was retiring.
“In the second letter [that Downing sent to the Judas Priest team] I changed my position and told the truth about why I quit three months earlier,” the musician said. “But they still told the fans and the world that I retired to take care of my golf course. That wasn’t it. I had professional groundskeepers, the course had been open for six years. It wasn’t true. And I hated that because I had to carry the burden of fans thinking, ‘KK is a sucker because he abandoned us. He did it to take care of his golf course or retire.’ It’s not true.”
Recently, KK Downing's new band, K.K.'s Priest , made its debut with the singles " Hellfire Thunderbolt " and " Sermons of the Sinner ." When questioned about the controversial choice of his own band's name, Downing responded: "When Glenn retired, I was hoping to have an opening [to return to Judas Priest], but they never called me. So, essentially, these guys are out there playing my songs. If they call themselves Priest, I feel totally entitled to also be a Priest and be able to play my songs."
READ ALSO: KK Downing lost interest in reuniting with Judas Priest: “Nothing could convince me”
