Judas Priest Bassist Ian Hill Announces His Retirement

Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill has announced his retirement from the band.

He joined the heavy metal pioneers in 1970, three years before singer Rob Halford and four before guitarist Glenn Tipton.

Hill will be replaced by Uriah Heep bassist Davey Rimmer.

Last month, Hill missed his first-ever Judas Priest show due to a badly damaged tendon in his left arm. Rimmer performed in his place.

There are no 2026 shows remaining on Judas Priest's tour calendar. Their next show is currently set for June 2027 in Oslo, Norway, although they could obviously add more dates before that.

"It is with heavy hearts that we are sending out this personal message from our Ian," the group wrote on social media. "He has been the backbone of Judas Priest for so long and will be greatly missed by us all....we wish him well in his retirement and welcome Davey into the Priest Family."

Hill's complete statement appears below:

Hello everyone, for a long time now, when asked "how long can you continue" - I've always answered "until my performances suffer"....
I hate to say it, but that time has come.
For some years now, I've been struggling with the onset of the evil arthritis, which is now in an advanced state in my left shoulder and right hand, established in my right shoulder, and present in both knees. I've been fighting this with painkilling pills, gels, and recently with cortisone injections in my shoulder and hand.
Although, I was able to put bass lines to the songs for the new album, there were questions whether I'd be able to complete the recent European tour without incident, so we asked our good friend Davey Rimmer from Uriah Heep, and of course Elegant Weapons, to learn the set list to stand in for me if I had to pull out, which I did for the London show. This was due to me snapping a tendon in my left shoulder (as if I didn't have enough problems with it!) just before the encores during the Brussels show two days before. This led to me not being able to lift my arm enough to reach the neck of my bass. So we had to call Davey to stand in for me, who put in an incredible performance at such short notice!
I've seen specialists, who suggest I might get away without surgery, but even if I don't there's no guarantee either way that I'll have enough strength in my shoulder/arm to complete a whole stage show.
In view of all this, and the fact that I've neglected my family life for fifty seven years, I've decided to retire and spend the remaining years making up for it, and doing things with them before it involves one of ‘em pushing me around in a wheelchair.
The obvious choice for my replacement is Davey. He's a great bassist, and a genuinely nice bloke who'll fit the job perfectly, and I wish him the very best of luck!
There's not a day goes by where I don't give thanks for the incredible journey I've lived through, and it just remains for me to say that I love you all, and thank you for the life you've let me live X
IAN HILL

 

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Below, see how we ranked every Judas Priest album.