Rob Halford
Pull a thread
Ian Hill missed a Judas Priest show for the first time in the band's history, and the reason he matters isn't the bass
Judas Priest played Hammersmith on Monday without their founding bass player. Ian Hill has been in the band since 1970, and he is also the reason Rob Halford is in it.
On Monday 21 September 2026, Judas Priest played the Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith, London, without Ian Hill. The band posted that “Ian has a badly damaged tendon in his left arm,” named Davey Rimmer of Uriah Heep as his stand-in, and said the show would go on (Blabbermouth).
Judas Priest's Faithkeepers Setlist: Why "The Ripper" Came Back and the Ripper Years Stayed Out
Two 1970s songs returned to the Judas Priest set this summer after seven years away. The word on both sides of the story is “Ripper”, and it points in opposite directions.
Mönchengladbach, 25 July 2026
Judas Priest opened the Faithkeepers tour on 25 July 2026 at SparkassenPark in Mönchengladbach, Germany. First show of the year, 17 songs, and most of it is the 1980s catalogue you would expect: British Steel, Screaming for Vengeance, Defenders of the Faith, Turbo. “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” opened. “Living After Midnight” closed. Nobody bought a ticket to be surprised by that.
Tim "Ripper" Owens on Joining Judas Priest at Metal's Worst Moment — and the Era That Got Erased
Judas Priest just played “The Ripper” live for the first time since 2019, in the same month the singer it nicknamed gave one of his most honest interviews about the job. The quote is twelve words. The web behind it runs from 1996 to right now.
The song came back the same month he did
On July 25, Judas Priest opened their Faithkeepers European tour at BOBfest in Germany and dropped “The Ripper” into the set, the first time the song had been played live since 2019, per Blabbermouth’s report on the opener and Ultimate Classic Rock’s setlist rundown.