Judas Priest announced that for the first time since 1974 they will tour with only one guitarist. The band that became known especially for the two heavy guitars that created almost a metal symphony in many songs will now only have Richie Faulkner on tour with the classic guitarist Glenn Tipton appearing in some shows.
Since 2018 the producer Andy Sneap had replaced Tipton that had to stop touring because of Parkinson’s disease and now in an official statement the band said that Sneap will no longer play with them.
Andy is not happy about it
In an statement send to Blabblermouth, Andy Sneap said he is disappointed with what happened: “Rob called me last Monday and said they wanted to move on as a four-piece, which I find incredibly disappointing after this amount of time. But I respect his decision as they obviously have a vision how they want this to play out.
“This always was a temporary situation, and like I’ve said before, I’ll always help the band any way I can, and that applies going forward also. I’ve been a huge fan of the band since the early ’80s and it was mind-blowing to play onstage with the guys and quite frankly terrifying in the beginning at such short notice. We are moving forward with the new album next month and look forward to making a killer follow-up to ‘Firepower’.”
This move shows again that the band is not open to invite the original guitarist K.K Downing that already said many times over the years after he announced his retirement that he would be instered in joining them again (He has his own band now KK’ Priest with Ex-Judas singer Tim “Ripper” Owens). Richie Faulkner that replaced Downing back in 2011 suffered an “aortic aneurysm” on stage back in September 27, 2021 but it’s now recovered to get back on tour.
The official Judas Priest statement about the band now having only one touring guitarist says:
(Via Ultimate Classic Rock) “We are chomping at the British Steel bit to return to world touring. Celebrating 50 years of Judas Priest as an even more powerful, relentless four-piece heavy metal band – with Glenn coming out onstage with us here and there as before. Big thanks to Andy for all you’ve done and continuing to be in the production team for our new album. … See you all soon, headbangers!”
Judas Priest 2022 tour dates
March
- 4 Peoria Civic Center Peoria, IL
- 6 Mission Ballroom Denver, CO
- 7 Maverik Center West Valley City, UT
- 9 Angel Of The Winds Arena Everett, WA
- 10 Moda Center Portland, OR
- 12 Fox Theater Oakland, CA
- 13 Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas Convention Center, NV
- 15 Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall Los Angeles, CA
- 16 Arizona Federal Theatre Phoenix, AZ
- 18 Irving Music Factory Irving, TX
- 20 H-E-B Center at Cedar Park Cedar Park, TX
- 21 Freeman Coliseum San Antonio, TX
- 23 Nashville Municipal Auditorium Nashville, TN
- 25 Ameris Bank Amphitheatre Alpharetta, GA
- 27 Charleston Civic Center Coliseum Charleston, WV
- 29 The Met Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA
- 30 Prudential Center Newark, NJ
- 31 The Theater at MGM National Harbor National Harbor,
April
- 2 Foxwoods Resort Casino Mashantucket, CT
- 4 Tsongas Center at UMass Lowell Lowell, MA
- 7 Scotiabank Centre Halifax, Canada
- 10 Videotron Centre Ville De Québec, Canada
- 11 Place Bell Laval, Canada
- 13 FirstOntario Centre Hamilton, Canada
- 27 Megasport Moscow, Russian Federation
- 29 Yubileynyy Sankt-peterburg, Russia
June
- 1 Palace Of Sports Kyiv, Ukraine
- 3 Stocznia Gdańska Gdańsk, Poland
- 5 Saku Arena Tallinn, Estonia
- 8 Helsingin jäähalli Helsinki, Finland
- 11 Dalhalla Rättvik, Sweden
- 12 Saab Arena Linköping, Sweden
- 14 DNB Arena Stavanger, Norway
- 16 Copenhell København, Denmark
- 18 festivalpark stenehei Dessel, Belgium
- 19 Hellfest Clisson, France
- 22 Rockhal Esch-sur-alzette, Luxembourg
- 23 Schleyerhalle Stuttgart, Germany
- 25 Rock The castle Villafranca Di Verona, Italy
- 27 Zenith Munich, Germany
- 30 Resurrection Fest Viveiro, Spain
July
- 2 Rockfest Santa Coloma De Gramenet, Spain
- 5 Hallenstadion Zürich, Switzerland
- 6 Jahrhunderthalle Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
- 9 R. Jelinek Distillery Area, Razov 472 Vizovice, Czechia
- 11 Papp Laszlo Arena Budapest, Hungary
- 12 Dvorana Stožice Ljubljana, Slovenia
- 15 Faliro Olympic Hall (Tae Kwon Do Hall) Athens, Greece
- 17 Midalidare rock Mogilovo, Bulgaria
- 18 The Roman Arenas Bucharest, Romania
- 21 National Tennis Center Bratislava Iii, Slovakia
- 23 Burg Clam Klam, Austria
- 28 Poppodium 013 Tilburg, Netherlands
- 30 Kletterwald Peißnitzinsel Halle (saale), Germany
- 31 König-Pilsener-ARENA Oberhausen, Germany
August
- 2 BROSE ARENA (BAB Bamberg Arena mbH) Bamberg, Germany
- 4 Wacken Wacken, Germany
2023 tour dates
May
- 3, 2023 Hartwall Arena Helsinki, Finland
- 5, 2023 Friends Arena Stockholm, Sweden
- 7, 2023 Westfalenhalle Dortmund, Germany
- 10, 2023 WiZink Center Madrid, Spain
- 12, 2023 Unipol Arena Casalecchio Di Reno, Italy
- 14, 2023 Olympiastadion München München, Germany
- 17, 2023 Budapest Arena Budapest, Hungary
- 19, 2023 O2 Arena Prague, Czech Republic
- 21, 2023 Hallenstadion Zürich, Switzerland
- 24, 2023 Barclays Arena Hamburg, Germany
- 26, 2023 SAP Arena Mannheim, Germany
- 28, 2023 Mercedes Benz Arena Berlin, Germany
- 31, 2023 Motorpoint Arena Nottingham Nottingham, United Kingdom
June
- 2, 2023 Utilita Arena Newcastle Newcastle Upon Tyne, United
- Kingdom
- 4, 2023 OVO Hydro Glasgow, United Kingdom
- 7, 2023 AO Arena Manchester, United Kingdom
- 10, 2023 3Arena Dublin, Ireland
- 12, 2023 The O2 London, United Kingdom
- 14, 2023 Resorts World Arena Birmingham, United Kingdom