K.K. DOWNING Confirms He Will Perform With JUDAS PRIEST At ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME Induction Ceremony
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K.K. Downing has confirmed to Ultimate Classic Rock that he will perform with JUDAS PRIEST at the band's upcoming Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony. "I think we've probably got eight or nine minutes," he said. "I'm not even going to be able to break a sweat. The main thing is to represent the attitude and hopefully the legend of what JUDAS PRIEST is and has become and what it means to everybody who's been on that very long journey through the decades with the band. And hopefully it will just kind of remind people and bring back some cherished memories of the heavy metal parking lots all around the world."
Downing said that Les Binks, PRIEST's drummer from 1977 to 1979, will also perform with the band at the event and added that it will be like riding the proverbial bicycle, more than a decade after the guitarist last played with PRIEST. "It's what I've done so many times," Downing said. "It's almost like cracking a beer, let alone riding a bike. It's embedded in me. It's what I do. So it'll be quite something to look forward to, just to get up there and crank the amps up and just do it once again, for that short moment in time."
PRIEST will receive the Musical Excellence Award at next month's event, which will honor Eminem, Dolly Parton, DURAN DURAN, Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, EURYTHMICS and Carly Simon in the Performers category.
According to the Hall Of Fame, the JUDAS PRIEST members that will get inducted include current members Rob Halford, Ian Hill (bass),Glenn Tipton (guitar) and Scott Travis (drums),along with former members Downing, Binks and late drummer Dave Holland.
The 2022 Rock Hall induction ceremony will be held on November 5 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. It will air at a later date on HBO and stream on HBO Max. There will also be a radio simulcast on SiriusXM's Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Radio channel 310.
Earlier in the month, Halford told Ultimate Classic Rock that the PRIEST camp has been in touch with Downing and Binks about the upcoming induction, and "everybody's been very cool and agreeing. There's just been [an attitude of], 'Let's just relish this opportunity and jam and put everything on 11,'" he said.
Although Halford could confirm yet whether Downing or Binks will join PRIEST onstage during its Rock Hall performance, the singer said both former members will be involved in some capacity.
"We are gonna play live because there is all this roar: How are we gonna do it? Because we want to try and make the best things happen," Halford said. "So the best things to happen are to bring in all of the people that are included in the induction — which includes, obviously, K.K. and Les, and Dave. So, we've been able to work things out, so we will be playing live. We've got, like, eight minutes and 24 seconds and a half-second to play live."
He added: "We've got a couple of cool things that are gonna take place on the night that will be held under wraps like most people do because you don't want to give everything away. But yeah, look: A bunch of guys from the U.K., from the West Midlands, a Birmingham band of heavy metal, is being inducted into this great institution. So we're gonna make the most of it and have a great night out and live a lot of metal memories."
Earlier this month, Travis told the "Rocker Morning Show"'s Mark Frankhouse of the 107.7 RKR radio station that PRIEST will play "a medley" of "PRIEST classics" at the Rock Hall induction ceremony.
Downing left PRIEST in 2011 amid claims of band conflict, shoddy management and declining quality of performance.
In 2019, Downing said that he reached out to JUDAS PRIEST about taking part in the band's 50th-anniversary tour but that their response was that they were not interested in including him in the celebrations.
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)
