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Tipton’s recent announcement that he's
been living with Parkinson’s Disease for a
decade saddened fans, but some may have
sensed something was wrong over the past
several years. He firmly states he's not
leaving the band, but he won't be touring
this time. Having Sneap take Tipton’s
place on stage for the current tour makes
all the sense in the world, as he already
knows the new songs inside and out. He's
also an accomplished metal guitarist him-
self and spent time with English cult
thrashers, Sabbat, and NWOBHM revival-
ists, Hell. Of course, Tipton will be missed
on stage, but he’ll be there in spirit.
Besides, whenever Tipton’s willing, he’s
welcome with open arms to join his bud-
dies anytime. “When Glenn feels ready, he
Rob Halford
can step out on stage any night to join us,”
confirms Halford. “And that really will be
another great display of bravery with the
challenges that are going on with
Parkinson’s right now. We’re still in the
stages of trying to deal with the emotions
of it all, but we’re feeling strong. That’s the
heavy metal spirit, no matter what we go
through we go through it together. I’m sure
the feeling will be, ‘Where’s Glenn?’ But at
the same time, we know Glenn has a 1,000
percent support in Andy standing in that
spot, as we all do in Priest. The most
important thing is what Glenn said when
he made the announcement, ‘The show
must go on.’”
When Priest formed in 1969, their style
wasn’t fully defined or categorized as
being traditional or classic heavy metal,
and they were a few years ahead of the
imminent NWOBHM explosion. Before the
chains and leather, the band donned hippy
24 illinoisentertainer.com april 2018
scarves and frilly shirts while possessing a
bluesy metal vibe. It wasn’t until 1978’s
Killing Machine that Halford almost single-
handedly gave birth to the iconic heavy
metal leather uniform with his classic
“biker” look. The striking image is further
represented at every Priest show when
Halford roars onto the stage with his
famous Harley Davidson before ripping
into their trademark encore number, ”Hell
Bent For Leather." Halford believes the
bike is the embodiment of the heavy metal
spirit, and it’s one of the many memorable
highlights of a Priest show. "I still ride the
original Harley Low Rider bike that we've
used since 1981,” he says. “The basic com-
ponents of the bike are still there; the
engine, everything is there. We touched it
photo by Mark Weiss
up a little bit, and it’s running sweet and
smooth. It’s got that great Harley growl.
The beast will be rolling out at The
Riverside!”
The Firepower tour will keep Priest busy
throughout this year and into 2019, which
will mark the band’s 50th anniversary.
According to Halford, it’ll be one mile-
stone worth celebrating. “2019 will be spe-
cial because that’ll be the official 50th
anniversary of the band being in exis-
tence,” Halford explains. “I think any
show that you get to see Priest play in 2019
will be an extra special event. That’s what
we’re focusing on right now, playing our
hearts out and getting the Firepower mes-
sage to as many people as we can.”
Appearing 4/3 at Riverside Theatre,
Milwaukee; 4/6 at Horseshoe Casino
Hammond and 4/8 at Grossinger Motors
Arena in Bloomington.