Germany’s Metal Hammer magazine spoke with Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford about The Ballad Of Judas Priest, the official documentary chronicling the 50-plus-year history of the iconic band.
When asked about the fact that former guitarist Kenneth “K.K.” Downing was interviewed for the film, despite the guitarist’s previous strained relationships with his former bandmates, Halford said (as transcribed by blabbermouth.net), “I think that respect is still there. I think that the love and respect that we still have for each other is still there. And the fact that he’s as important to Judas Priest now as he was then in telling the story, it had to be that way. It had to be that way — because he was there at the very beginning, before I even personally joined the band. So his value and the work that he created in his time with Judas Priest — the fact that we still play a lot of songs that K.K. wrote with myself and with [guitarist] Glenn [Tipton] — it’s really important and vital. And I think it sends a message out to the fans and to everybody else in the metal world that even though there is a separation from being included in the band, or not in the band, when we go out in today’s world, that’s irrelevant. The fact that we still do have this respect for each other is important.”
When inquiring about the possibility of a reunion with Downing, Halford stated, “Well, I think what he said in the documentary was simple and straightforward and eloquent, that he wasn’t feeling certain things.”
“When you go to work with music, you really have to wanna get on that stage,” the singer explained. “You can’t hold anything back. You have to be there for the right reasons. If you’re not up there for the right reasons, then you don’t really have the right to be on that stage. You can’t just be going through the motions. If you’re just going there ’cause you want the check at the end of the tour, it’s none of that. It’s just a really potent internal feeling that makes you wanna get on that stage and give yourself with that amount of honesty and conviction to your fans. And if you’re not feeling that, then you do what K.K. did.”
The Ballad Of Judas Priest will receive its North American premiere at the Hot Docs Canadian international documentary film festival, which will present documentaries from around the world to audiences in Toronto from April 23rd to May 3rd.
The film made its debut at the 76th Berlinale – Berlin International Film Festival, in February.
Also, despite online rumors, there are no current confirmed streaming dates for the documentary on Netflix or Amazon Prime.
12 Responses
Maybe KK doesnt want to be back ? Who knows really the private conversations he and rob or ian or any of the band may have had , I never understood why he left in the first place , just didn’t make sense to me
Hi Robert,
I think I recall Downing publicly expressing his disappointment that the band did not reach out to him to re-join, when it become apparent, that Tipton‘s Parkinson’s was progressing, and interfering with his touring abilities.
As I wrote before, that was probably the best time for him to come back. Instead, the band chose to have their producer, Andy Sneap, fill that void.
Since this is my favorite band, as a fan, I have to “say,” I too, was very disappointed with that decision.
Saw him with K.K. Priest; he sure looked committed to me.