Video footage of JUDAS PRIEST rehearsing the band's classic song "Rapid Fire" on March 3 can be seen below. This past January, JUDAS PRIEST's European tour with Ozzy Osbourne was postponed after the BLACK SABBATH singer fell ill. Those dates have been rescheduled to begin in September. Bassist Ian Hill is the sole remaining original member of PRIEST, which formed in 1969. Singer Rob Halford joined the group in 1973 and guitarist Glenn Tipton signed on in 1974. Rob left PRIEST in the early 1990s to form his own band, then came back to PRIEST in 2003. Tipton, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease five years ago — after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier — announced in early 2018 that he was going to sit out touring activities in support of PRIEST's latest album, "Firepower". The guitarist, who is now 71 and has performed on every PRIEST record since the band's 1974 debut set, "Rocka Rolla", is not quitting the band, but simply cannot handle the rigorous challenges of performing live. He is being replaced on tour by "Firepower" album producer Andy Sneap, also known for his work as the guitar player in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT. "Firepower" was released in March 2018 via Epic. PRIEST will return to the United States in May for a run with fellow classic heavy rockers URIAH HEEP.
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