Judas Priest singer Rob Halford just owned up to a major mistake after fans called him out. In January, Halford announced that Judas Priest would tour as a four-piece band for the first time in nearly five decades. This upset fans of the two-guitar metal legends and those fans made their dissatisfaction known on social media, prompting the band to reverse their decision. Halford has since taken full responsibility for the move and seems to agree that it was not the right decision.
“That all came from me, it didn’t come from the band,” Halford confessed to Billboard, then going on to explain that he’d made the choice based on the fact that Judas Priest is celebrating their 50th anniversary as a band. “Of course, that blew up in my face, didn’t it? To have done something like a four-piece now would’ve been just not right, ridiculous, insane, crazy, off my rocker, have a cup of tea and relax. It’s kind of water under the bridge now. I think my heart was in the right place, but I’m not the first musician to have a crazy idea.”
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Notably, the group’s touring guitarist, Andy Sneap – who also produced their 2018 album, Firepower – was initially out of a job, as he would have been the one to sit out the tour. “Rob [Halford] 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,” Sneap said after the January announcement, per Ultimate Classic Guitar, “but I respect his decision, as they obviously have a vision how they want this to play out.” Now, however, Sneap is back in and the band will resume as a five-piece for their upcoming tour.
Judas Priest’s new touring plans come after the band was forced to postponed part of their 2021 U.S. tour, following one of the members having to be hospitalized for a heart condition. In a statement shared by Loudwire in September, the band shared that guitarist Richie Faulker needed urgent medical care and, as a result, they would not be continuing their tour. “It is with deep regret that we have to postpone the rest of our U.S. tour.” the band explained.
“Richie Faulkner has major medical heart condition issues which have landed him in the hospital where he is being treated,” the statement from Judas Priest continued. “In the meantime, we are all sending love to our Falcon to wish him a speedy recovery.” The band added that “as soon as we have any updates from his doctors on when we can reschedule the dates, we will, of course, announce them,” and implied that all previously purchased “tickets will be valid.” Faulker has since made a full recovery and will be joining the band on all upcoming tour dates.
