Happy Birthday today (Oct. 25) to guitarist Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest. He’s 71. Other rockers celebrating include guitarist Matthias Jabs of the Scorpions (63), drummer Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers (57), Yes singer Jon Anderson (74), and bassist John Leven of Europe (55).
Judas Priest formed out of Birmingham, England in 1969 and have sold 50 million records worldwide. The current lineup for Judas Priest is Rob Halford on vocals, guiatrists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis. The band’s most successful album was 1982’s Screaming for Vengence. It was the band’s commercial breakthrough featuring the classic lineup of Halford, Tipton, Hill, K.K. Downing, and Dave Holland. The album would sell over 5 million copies with the hit single “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming”. In 2017, the band was nominated for induction into the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but lost to Bon Jovi.
Judas Priest had much success throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Their latest studio album is Firepower, released earlier this year. In February, Glenn Tipton announced that he would be stepping down from touring due to Parkinson's disease. He would be replaced on the tour by Firepower producer/guitarist Andy Sneap . Tipton would however make various appearance on the tour when his health allowed, performing a few songs with the band during the encore on occasion. I got to see the band back in March at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, CT and Tipton showed up and played. It was a kick ass show with openers Saxon. I also saw Judas Priest with Deep Purple over the summer at Bethel Woods in Bethel, NY. Tipton didn't perform at that show though. Cheers to the great Glenn Tipton on his birthday today!
Photo credit: Dave Etheridge-Barnes/Getty Images