JUDAS PRIEST's TIPTON: ROB HALFORD Is 'Singing Better Than He's Ever Sung'

January 8, 2009

JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Glenn Tipton has spoken exclusively to Classic Rock magazine to defend the lineup of the band's Priest Feast U.K. tour, which was recently forced to downsize some venues and even cancel a show. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Classic Rock: When Classic Rock spoke to [JUDAS PRIEST singer] Rob Halford before the festival tour, he expressed mild reservations regarding his vocal power — "At the age of 56, there are some things that I know I can't sing anymore". How do feel about that situation?

Tipton: With that type of comment, I think that Rob is selling himself short. To me, he's singing better than he's ever sung.

Classic Rock: Really? There has been some criticism from the fans.

Tipton: Rob still has the biggest range of any heavy metal singer I know, and he's been singing spot-on. He's still doing great.

Classic Rock: There's also been internet outcry regarding MEGADETH and TESTAMENT's places on the Priest Feast bill, some fans preferring a lighter act like the SCORPIONS instead.

Tipton: The SCORPIONS are great friends of ours and it's always a pleasure to play with them, but we've been out together quite a few times. We are very happy with the choices of MEGADETH and TESTAMENT. We wanted a classical metal bill. A lot of the bills that go out these days are intentionally diverse, the intention being to attract more people. All it really does is split things. At Priest Feast, everyone will be in the same frame of mind.

Classic Rock: With the Nottingham cancellation, the smaller venue in Manchester and two-tickets-for-one deals in Sheffield or Birmingham, might your plan have backfired?

Tipton: No. That's down to the agents booking too many gigs in such a confined area. Had they come to us and said, "What do you think of this?" we'd have told them. There's a financial crisis going on and people don't have much money to spend. They were being too optimistic.

Classic Rock: There's a recession going on.

Tipton: Absolutely. There's no shame in what we've done. If you're playing Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham and Birmingham... they're all in close proximity. Kids have only got so much money.

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