Ian Hill retires from Judas Priest: “Thank you for the life you’ve let me live”

Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill has announced his retirement from the band after 56 years.

The band made the announcement on social media and in a press release, with Hill confirming that he will be stepping down due to his ongoing battle with arthritis in a lengthy post.

Uriah Heep’s Davey Rimmer will fill in for the rest of the band’s tour dates after stepping in for Hill during their show at London’s Eventim Apollo last month.

“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,” Hill began.

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“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,” he added.

“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!”

Hill went on to say that he has consulted with specialists “who have suggested 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.”

He continued: “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.”

Hill concluded: “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.”

The bassist was the metal veterans’ longest serving member after joining them in 1970 and performing on all of their 19 studio albums right up to 2024’s ‘Invincible Shield’.

Earlier this year, Judas Priest released their documentary film, The Ballad Of Judas Priest, which was co-directed by Rage Against The Machine‘s Tom Morello.

NME awarded the film four stars and described it as a “lively, in-depth examination of the fascinating and important heavy metal icons,” adding that “this Ballad is well worth listening to”.