Longtime Judas Priest lead guitarist Glenn Tipton has been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, the band has revealed.
According to a post on the legendary metal group’s website, Tipton had been living with the early stages of the disease for 10 years, but its progression has forced him to sit out on the band’s forthcoming tour, with veteran producer Andy Sneap stepping in.
I don’t rule out the chance to go on stage as and when I feel able to blast out some Priest!
Glenn Tipton
“I want everyone to know that it’s vital that the Judas Priest tour go ahead and that I am not leaving the band,” Tipton expands.
“It’s simply that my role has changed. I don’t rule out the chance to go on stage as and when I feel able to blast out some Priest! So at some point in the not too distant future I’m really looking forward to seeing all of our wonderful metal maniacs once again.”
Judas Priest’s 18th album, Firepower, is out on 9 March.
“I should have been dead that night!”: Former Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley recalls the moment he almost died on stage
![Orianthi [left] wears a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses as she takes a solo on her signature PRS electric guitar; Michael Jackson wears mirrored shades and a gold bullet-belt as he performs at the half-time Super Bowl show in 1993.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/tza9Zx5GwG6h38uSoxjLda-1280-80.jpg.webp)
“He was such a perfectionist, attention to detail, every part”: Orianthi on what she learned from Michael Jackson and how the King of Pop was so exacting he even directed her guitar tone
