TIM 'RIPPER' OWENS: 'There's A Reason IRON MAIDEN Plays In Front Of 20,000 People While JUDAS PRIEST Plays In Front Of 5,000'

In a new interview with Gustavo Maiato of Brazil's Whiplash.net, former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens once again addressed the fact that the two studio albums singer he recorded with the band — 1997's "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition" — are not available on the major streaming services. Owens said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, it's hard to draw new fans to it when it's [not available on Spotify]… You can find it on YouTube, I guess. Yeah, it sucks [that they are not available on major streaming services].

"When I do these solo tours, I play 'Jugulator' and 'Demolition' songs, and they go over better than anything," he continued. "When we played [shows with] KK'S PRIEST, when we did 'Burn In Hell', that song went over as good as anything.

"JUDAS PRIEST decided — their decision, no one else's — to erase the records," Owens explained. "That's their decision. You know what? That's okay, but if people do wanna hear the songs live, they can come to my solo shows. I play 'Jugulator' and a lot of songs solo.

"It makes no sense to not have them available to fans. [PRIEST] put ['Jugulator' and 'Demolition'] in their [recently released] box set that was [available for purchase for] $500. If someone wants to get 'Jugulator' — I mean, come on. That proves that they do have access to put it out, 'cause they put it in that box set. But that's their decision, and that's fine.

"I don't wanna hurt anybody's feelings," Tim added. "I guess they're upset by it, and they don't like the idea of it being out there. I guess there's 'wokeness' in metal as well, isn't there? So I guess that's just how it is. But it leaves it open for me to do. They don't wanna play it, they don't wanna acknowledge it? I will. It makes it probably more enjoyable that [the fans] get to hear it at my shows."

Owens went on to describe his former bandmates in PRIEST as "fantastic guys, just amazing guys. And I had the time of my life," he said. "I always say JUDAS PRIEST was my college. That was like going to college, being in JUDAS PRIEST, and they opened the doors up for me and I took advantage of it. [I'm] friends with them still. Obviously I'm friends with [former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Kenneth] K.K. [Downing] I stayed closer to K.K. than anybody. Whenever I would play solo within two hours [of his house], he would drive two hours every time I played solo, and if I played Manchester, Ken would always come to the shows and bring a couple of cases of beer to the band and hang out. But they're all great guys, and I was treated fantastic, and I had the time of my life with them. It was great. Except now they ignore me, but other than that. Now they erased my... It was great when I was in the band; now I'm just erased. But they can't erase the fun I had, that's the whole thing."

After Maiato noted that IRON MAIDEN's current lineup, with Bruce Dickinson on vocals, occasionally performs material that was originally recorded with singer Blaze Bayley, while Rob Halford "rarely performs" Owens-era songs from PRIEST, Tim clarified: "You just said Rob Halford 'rarely performs' it. Rob Halford's never performed [PRIEST songs from my era of the band]. But no, [I] absolutely [think there are songs he would sound great on]. Could you imagine how great Rob Halford would sound singing 'Burn In Hell'? It would be better than my version. He would sound... It's so great for him, he would sound fantastic. Now, I'd like to see him try 'Jugulator', but I don't think that would happen. But, yeah, they would sound fantastic.

"But there's a difference of bands you're talking about," Owens explained. "You're talking about IRON MAIDEN, who has great management. They do great business moves. They're up here [at a higher level than PRIEST when it comes to their live draw]. JUDAS PRIEST, yeah… This is a band that announced they were going to one guitar player [for their live shows] years ago [only to quickly change their minds]. I mean, how the fuck does JUDAS PRIEST go to one guitar player? So you're talking about IRON MAIDEN with great management, great marketing, a great team. They go into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. They demand that Blaze Bayley goes into Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame [with the other current and former members of the band]. JUDAS PRIEST goes into the Rock And Hall Hall Of Fame, and JUDAS PRIEST is pretty much, 'Absolutely not, Ripper's not going in.' So [IRON MAIDEN] have great management, and there's a reason why they play in front of 20,000 people and the other one [JUDAS PRIEST] plays in front of five. That's the difference. So there's your answer of why IRON MAIDEN, which is a little more class act, plays Blaze Bayley's songs, 'cause they wrote 'em, they did it. Why would they not?"

Last August, JUDAS PRIEST drummer Scott Travis was asked by "Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen & Shane McEachern" why "Jugulator" and "Demolition" are not available on the major streaming services. Travis replied: "I think the record label went out of business. And with Rob being back in the band, it's kind of probably a delicate situation as far as, 'Hey, we wanna re-release these records.' But I'm not even sure who owns the rights [to them], to be honest, like I said, because the record label went out business. But we're in a different moment.

"Rob is the singer of JUDAS PRIEST and was, obviously, early on and is a legend in his own right," Scott added. "But there were some good songs during the Ripper years, definitely some good songs in there. But to [re-]release the whole records, I don't know."

Back in March 2024, Downing was asked by Rob Rush of Long Island's 94.3 The Shark radio station about the absence from the streaming platforms of the PRIEST albums with Owens. Downing said at the time: "Yeah, [it's] a little bit of a mystery, really. Obviously, I no longer have any control over those records, but I don't think that it's a label thing 'cause labels always like to sell records, don't they? And, obviously, myself and Ripper, we're still very proud of everything that we've done as a part of our history and legacy, and we'd very much like to see the records out there in the stores once more. So, hopefully, we'll see that come to fruition. But the good news is that this band KK'S PRIEST will be out there playing those songs, so everyone is welcome to come down and experience those magical times that we now refer to as the 'Ripper era' or the 'Ripper years.' And, yeah, so everyone can enjoy those songs again in a live format, which, in a lot of ways, is even better. But let's hope the records will appear at some point."

Owens joined PRIEST in 1996 after being discovered when Travis was given a videotape of him performing with the PRIEST cover band BRITISH STEEL. JUDAS PRIEST at the time was seeking a replacement for Halford, who has since rejoined the band.

In 2019, JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill was asked in an interview with "Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon" if the unavailability of the Owens-era PRIEST albums was a rights-related issue or if it was a deliberate attempt to bury that part of PRIEST's past. Hill responded: "It's an odd one, really, because there's some good material on both of those albums. And Ripper is a terrific vocalist, and he did a tremendous job on 'Jugulator' and 'Demolition'. And why they're not for sale has got nothing to do with us — put it like that. Whether it's a contractual thing between Sony and whoever owns the copyrights to those albums, I don't know. But it is a shame, because there's some good material there. And as a band, it's still JUDAS PRIEST. I know it wasn't the trademark lineup, but it was still JUDAS PRIEST nonetheless. So, it's disappointing — if that's true that the material is not available. It really is."

A few years ago, Tim told "Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon" that he was a little miffed by the fact that fans cannot find the music that he made with PRIEST on any of the music-streaming services or other online retailers. "My issue is I would like to buy the records," he said. "I'd like to buy some to even sell when I'm touring solo, but you can't when they're kind of gone. And that's only the thing I talk about… If they were out there, I could maybe buy 'em at cost and sell 'em at my concerts. That would be kind of cool. Then I'd have my whole catalog."

KK'S PRIEST features former JUDAS PRIEST members Downing and Owens, alongside guitarist A.J. Mills (HOSTILE),bassist Tony Newton (VOODOO SIX) and drummer Sean Elg (DEATHRIDERS, CAGE).

K.K. formed KK'S PRIEST after JUDAS PRIEST turned down his offer to rejoin the band for their 50th-anniversary tour.

In a 2021 interview with Classic Rock magazine, Halford was asked if he has ever listened to "Demolition" and "Jugulator". "No. I still haven't," he said. "This might sound selfish, but because it's not me singing, I'm not attracted to it. I sound like a twat, but I'm really just not interested. And that's no disrespect to Ripper, 'cause he's a friend of mine."

Halford went on to say that he first met Owens "when the band went through Ohio, [and Tim] came to the show. Was it awkward? Not in the least," he said. "We gave each other a hug. He's a massive PRIEST fan, and when the opportunity came for me to go back, he was, like, 'Thumbs up, it's great. I'm happy for the band, I'm happy for Rob.' I respect his chops; he's a great singer."

Two decades ago, Halford explained why he was reluctant to hear "Jugulator". "It's just too difficult for me to listen to the band when I'm not in it, and that's nothing to do with taking a shot at Ripper," he said. "I just can't listen to it. It's just psychological. I should just put it on and listen to the fucking thing, but then if I do, [interviewers] will say, 'Well have you heard it?', and I'll go, 'Yeah', and then you'll go, 'What do you think?', and I don't want to do that. I don't want to be put in that situation. I just love all the things that I've done with the band and I'm happy to be a part of that great legacy and that's all. You want to treat it with respect because that's what it deserves."

In October 2020, Halford told "The SDR Show" that he would "absolutely" be open to performing material from "Demolition" and "Jugulator" with PRIEST. "Those two albums are just as valid as everything else in the PRIEST catalog," he explained. "So who knows? That day may yet come."

A year earlier, Richie Faulkner said that "Hell Is Home" is one of his favorite songs from the Owens era. The PRIEST guitarist, who joined the band in 2011 as the replacement for Downing, offered his opinion during a live video chat. He said: "I was listening to the Ripper albums the other day, and 'Hell Is Home' is such a great track. It's really heavy and the vocal melody is really great. I think Ripper sings it really well. It's probably one of my favorite PRIEST songs of the Ripper era. 'Hell Is Home' — I really like that."