Judas Priest Confirm K.K. Downing Will Attend Rock Hall Ceremony
Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill confirmed that former guitarist K.K. Downing will attend the metal band's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.
"He’s spoken to management and said he will definitely be there," Hill told Metal Hammer in a new interview. "It should be good."
The bassist made that comment while discussing which members will receive the Hall’s "Musical Excellence" award during the ceremony, scheduled for Nov. 5 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (The show will be televised at a later date on HBO and HBO Max.)
"The rule as I understand it is whoever has been with the band for 20 years," Hill said. "[Guitarist] Richie [Faulkner] is sadly not being inducted, but really deserves to be as he’s been the driving force in the band for nearly 12 years now. [Drummer] Dave Holland was in the band for a long time, and obviously, Ken [Downing] will be there. [Drummer] Les Binks was with us all those years, as was [drummer] Scott [Travis], so he’ll be part of the induction, too.”
Asked for his feelings on being inducted 23 years after becoming eligible, Hill cracked, "Took them a while, didn’t it?"
"It does feel good being recognized by your peers, though," he added. "We’re honored to be part of it all, especially as there’s only a few heavy metal bands in there currently. Hopefully, this opens the gates for bands like Iron Maiden or Def Leppard, bands who really should be in there already." (Def Leppard were inducted in 2019.)
In a recent interview, Downing said he's not positive what his level of involvement will be during the event. "Anything could happen between now and then. We'll see what happens," he told Danny Stoakes. "But it is, I suppose, for all intents and purposes, a kind of celebration of everything that's been achieved over many, many decades. And do we all wanna be a part of that celebration just for one night? We'll see how everybody feels about that.”
Judas Priest will receive the "Musical Excellence" award alongside the songwriting and production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Meanwhile, the performer category includes Duran Duran, Pat Benatar, Eurythmics, Carly Simon, rapper Eminem, country icon Dolly Parton and R&B singer Lionel Richie.