Glenn Tipton says his return to the stage last week with his Judas Priest bandmates was “emotional.”
The guitarist has been forced to take a step back from the majority of the band’s live dates due to his battle with Parkinson’s disease. However, he’s still with the band on the road and will play when he feels able.
He made his debut on their Firepower tour last week at the Newark Prudential Center in New Jersey – and he spoke about the performance when he, along with fellow guitarist Richie Faulkner and frontman Rob Halford, appeared on Build Series.
Tipton says: “It’s just amazing to get, first of all, support from the band. The texts and emails from all over world, and to hear the audience was very emotional. You don’t like to see a grown man cry, but we did.”
Firepower was produced by Tom Allom, who was behind the desk for the band’s output between 1979-1988, along with Andy Sneap – who has also been filling in for Tipton on the road.
Speaking about working with the pair on the new record, Tipton says: “It just worked beautifully. We must mention Mike Exeter, who engineered the album and worked between Tom and Andy.
“Right from the word go, it was great. It could have been a case of too many cooks, but it wasn’t. They just hit it off straightaway. It was the most enjoyable album we’ve ever recorded. The vibe and everything was just great.”
Priest’s tour continues tomorrow night (March 27) in London, Ontario, when they’ll play at the Budweiser Gardens. Find a full list of the band’s confirmed 2018 live shows below, which includes a headline set at the UK’s Bloodstock festival in August.
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Judas Priest 2018 Firepower tour dates
Mar 27: London Budweiser Gardens, ON
Mar 28: Oshawa Tribute Communities Centre, ON
Mar 30: Rama Casino Rama, ON
Mar 31: Detroit Masonic Temple, MI
Apr 03: Milwaukee Riverside Theater, WI
Apr 05: Green Bay Resch Center, WI
Apr 08: Bloomington Grossinger Motors Arena, IL
Apr 10: Casper Events Center, WY
Apr 11: Loveland Budweiser Events Center, CO
Apr 15: Kent ShoWare Center, WA
Apr 17: Portland Veterans Memorial Coliseum, OR
Apr 19: San Francisco The Warfield, CA
Apr 22: Los Angeles Microsoft Theatre, CA
Apr 24: Phoenix Comercia Theatre, AZ
Apr 26: Tulsa BOK Center, OK
Apr 28: Dallas Bomb Factory, TX
Apr 29: Sugarland Smart Financial Centre, TX
May 01: San Antonio Freeman Coliseum, TX
Jul 19: Athens Rockwave Festival, Greece
Jul 21: Plovdiv Hills Of Rock Festival, Poland
Jul 31: Munich Zenith, Germany
Aug 08: Dortmund Westfallenhalle, Germany
Aug 10: Bloodstock Festival, UK
