Ian Hill Explains Decision to Retire from Judas Priest: “I Had No Choice”

Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill has opened up about his decision to retire from Judas Priest. Hill had been the longest-serving member of the band, having first joined in 1970, and is one of only two members to have appeared on every single Judas Priest album. In his statement announcing his retirement, the 74-year-old Hill cited arthritis and other physical ailments as the reasons for stepping away from the band, as well as his desire to spend more time with his family. Now, in an interview with the YouTube channel Metal Pilgrim, Hill expanded on his original statement, saying (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), “It is funny, because the last couple of tours have been a bit of a struggle, because this trouble is basically my shoulder and my thumb — [I’ve got a] great big lump on my thumb, which is all arthritis. I’ve been struggling with that for the past couple of tours or so. And it doesn’t go away, unfortunately, and it’s one of those things that just gets worse as time goes by. And I almost retired at the end of the last tour.” He also elaborated on a severe tendon injury, as well as revealing that Judas Priest nearly opened for Iron Maiden on their recent North American tour: “It...