Rob Halford on Playing with K.K. Downing at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: “It’s All About the Music”
It was a special moment for nerds and heshers alike when former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing rejoined the band on stage to perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Halford spoke to Sonic Perspectives (transcribed by Blabbermouth) about the experience, calling it a memorable one:
“It’s wonderful. You hear stories about bands that have their differences and then coming together for special events like the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and it’s as though it was always there; it’s as though the time element of who we’re about and what we do in music ceases to exist. Much like when I returned to Priest after my 10- or 12-year hiatus, you just carry on. You carry on because the music carries you in the essence of carrying on. It’s all about the music. And so when we fired up those classic songs together, it just felt great; it felt complete in the sense of what we were trying to achieve that particular night. And it roared.”
Halford told the interviewer that he has not watched the performance back because he was there in the flesh, but did expand on how it made him feel about Judas Priest’s legacy.
“I’ll tell you — it was over so quickly. That’s the thing I remember, if anything, was that it was so fast. It took such a long time to get to that moment, and the eight minutes and change that we had to do the job that we had to do was over in a flash. And then we were all sitting in the dressing rooms afterwards having a bite to eat, going, ‘Did it happen? Were we there?’ And then my highlight [singing] with Dolly Parton and meeting all of these other wonderful people. I never knew Pink was a fan, and all of this great talent that are out of the world of metal, but, again, [it’s] proof that music has no barriers; it has no walls. We love each other in our music endeavors for various reasons.
“So it was just a great, great moment for Priest and a great, great moment for rock and roll.”
We should hopefully be getting a new Judas Priest album next year, so the great moments for rock and roll will just keep on coming.
