Rob Halford is Open to Performing Judas Priest Songs from Tim “Ripper” Owens Era
With Judas Priest set to embark on their 50th anniversary tour in 2020, fans may be wondering whether they’ll be performing material from the two albums featuring vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens (who fronted the band from 1996 to 2003), something they haven’t done since Rob Halford rejoined the band. That remains to be determined, but Halford said in a recent interview that he’s open to the idea.
Speaking to Metal Hammer for the magazine’s January 2020 issue, Halford offered the following on that possibility:
“Why not? Those records, Jugulator and Demolition, are both part of the great history of Judas Priest. And Tim is a good friend of mine. I’ve never done any of the songs that he sang on, but I’d definitely have a crack at them. I’m up for that. When? It could happen at any time; it wouldn’t need to be an anniversary. Before we go onstage, we have a jam, and that’s time when ideas from left field are thrown around. That’s probably how we’ll do it. It’ll just happen and it’ll be brilliant.”
Kudos to Halford for being open-minded, even if Ripper has since proven himself an idiot and casual racist. Shit, Bruce Dickinson performed songs from the Blaze Bayley era on Iron Maiden’s recent Legacy of the Beast tour, so why not?
Judas Priest will begin writing new material in 2020. You can catch them on tour with Ozzy Osbourne at the dates below:
October 23 Newcastle, Utilita Arena, UK [Tickets]
October 25 Glasgow, SSE Hydro, UK [Tickets]
October 28 London, The O2, UK [Tickets]
October 31 Birmingham, Resorts World Arena, UK [Tickets]
November 2 Manchester, Manchester Arena, UK [Tickets]
November 5 Dublin, 3Arena, Ireland [Tickets]
November 8 Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena, UK [Tickets]
November 11 Dortmund, Westfalenhalle, Germany [Tickets]
November 13 Prague, O2 Arena, Czech Republic [Tickets]
November 16 Vienna, Stadthalle, Austria [Tickets]
November 19 Bologna, Unipol Arena, Italy [Tickets]
November 22 Madrid, WiZink Arena, Spain [Tickets]
November 24 Zurich, Hallenstadion, Switzerland [Tickets]
November 26 Munich, Olympiahalle, Germany [Tickets]
November 28 Mannheim, SAP Arena, Germany [Tickets]
November 30 Berlin, Mercedes-Benz Arena, Germany [Tickets]
December 3 Hamburg, Barclaycard Arena, Germany [Tickets]
December 5 Stockholm, Friends Arena, Sweden [Tickets]
December 7 Helsinki, Hartwall Arena, Finland [Tickets]
[via Blabbermouth]
