Judas Priest’s Ian Hill on his career-ending injury
Ian Hill says arthritis and a shoulder injury led him to retire from Judas Priest, ending his 56-year run with the band. His account explains why the group played without its longest-serving member for the first time last month, and how worsening pain made performing increasingly difficult.
Hill says arthritis in his shoulder and thumb had troubled him for several tours, and he had considered retiring after the previous tour. During a run of six shows in eight days, a tendon snapped shortly before the encores at the Brussels concert; he finished by resting his elbow against his stomach to play. He had planned to retire after the tour finale at Hammersmith, but could not play the subsequent London show because he could not move his shoulder.
- Arthritis and a shoulder injury prompted Ian Hill to retire from Judas Priest.
- A tendon snapped during a demanding run of six shows in eight days.
- Hill missed the London show because he could not move his shoulder.
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Judas Priest are a British heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. Ian Hill, a bassist and one of the band’s founding members, had been its longest-serving member; his steady bass lines have been part of the group’s sound across decades of touring and recordings.
Playing live can place repeated strain on musicians’ bodies, and arthritis can make movement painful and difficult. Hill’s experience helps explain how a long career on stage can become harder to continue, and why a band may need to perform without a familiar member.