KK Downing of Judas Priest Discusses Being an Innovator of Heavy Metal!

By: Robert Cavuoto

KK Downing

Not many bands can leave a lasting impression and legacy like Judas Priest have done over the last 40 years. They have been waving the flag for heavy metal through-out their career to legions of fans around the world, influencing countless musicians and bands along the way.

I can still recall the first time I heard the intro dual assault lead to “Victim of Changes” on my local college radio station or jamming out with my first band to “Living after Midnight” and “Hot Rocking.”

For me Priest was more than an influence it was a life changing experience. With groundbreaking metal albums like “British Steel,” “Hell Bent for Leather,” and “Screaming for Vengeance”, it’s easy to understand why!

Vocalist for Priest, Rob Halford, cited the band’s longevity to the chemistry between the members and that undeniably good music will travel time to connect with fans. Often imitated but never duplicated – Priest delivers the goods.

In 2010 the band shocked the world when they announced a Farewell Tour. Then in 2011, guitarist and founding member, KK Downing, announced he would be leaving the band.

Things were not looking good in the Priest camp when suddenly the Farewell announcement was rescinded and the band decided to carry on without KK.

The circumstances surrounding the band’s inner turmoil was never truly disclosed until now!

In my candid and honest interview with KK Downing, he shares with me the main reason for his departure, how he doesn’t think he will ever play another song with Priest again, and his passion of owning a golf course!

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Robert Cavuoto: Congratulations on the success of your golf course Astbury Hall. It appears that you swapped leather & studs for cardigans – tell me about that lifestyle change?

KK Downing: [Laughing] I have to say, I’ve always been an avid golfer. I’ve been to the most fantastic places in the world with Judas Priest. To be able to see those places rather than being locked up in a hotel room was important to me.

Glenn is a huge golfer and together we would jump into a cab and head to a golf course in our down time. One thing led to another and in 1985 I purchased a house in England which was surrounded by farmland. The old boy who owned it passed away and it came up for sale.

Not too many people know that I did some farming, as well. I had a dairy farm and all that goes with it.

There are people who go skydiving, scuba diving, and take risks – I played it safe and did farming [Laughing].

Here in the U.K. we had a bad bout with hoof and mouth disease and I realized it’s not for me.

So, I moved into leisure sports and it’s been growing leaps and bounds. Next year we will have the 2016 Ryder Cup with Captain Darren Clarke, so it’s really exciting.

Robert: It must be a massive undertaking to design, build, and manage the course?

KK Downing: I didn’t mean to design and build it, but when I went on tour and returned, it didn’t meet the standards of courses I had visited traveling the world. I ended up in a legal wrangle, got paid up, and thought I could do a better job myself. It was quite the experience and I’m really pleased how things came out.

Robert: Do you still have time to play golf?

KK Downing: Not too much [Laughing].

KK Downing

Robert: I understand you had your reasons for leaving, but how did things go from the band retiring in 2010 with a Farewell tour, to you leaving in 2011 and them continuing on?

KK Downing: I’m glad Priest is continuing on. I was so close to doing that tour it wasn’t funny. It was just one of those things. I had lots and lots of reasons for not continuing, as I wasn’t content with things as they were.

I wasn’t happy with the band’s live performance. I thought it could have been better, not that the fans would notice.

To me, Priest was always a stealth machine and that’s what I liked about it. Even though you get older you still need to be able to deliver the goods. People came a long way and paid a lot of money to see us so you’ve got to make sure you still give 110%. I thought that should be inherent and what it should always be.

Robert: Would you ever consider joining Priest for a special one-off show or perhaps join them on stage for a song or two?

KK Downing: [Laughing] No, I don’t think that will ever, ever happen!

Obviously I’m quite happy for Richie Faulkner to be in the band. But, I really wasn’t expecting to have someone who had so many familiarities as me, the looks and everything. At a glance nothing too much has changed for the fans.

Robert: Can we expect a solo CD or hear you on someone’s CD, as a guest performer?

KK Downing: It’s hard for me to be creative in music, if I thought I was still coming up with good ideas and writing good stuff it would probably still be befitting of Priest. It’s hard after 40 years; we’ll see what happens in time.

I get lots of requests to perform on people’s CDs. I had a bad time with the people from Cleopatra Records; they got me involved in a Who Tribute CD. The producer hacked the solos to death and then randomly put it into the song.

On my site you can hear what I originally did. I also did a solo on Geoff Tate’s CD. People have always asked me to do stuff, but I was always dedicated to Priest. It’s great that people still remember me.

Robert: Since your departure from Priest has any famous bands reached out to you to play for them?

KK Downing: There have been some good people putting tours together and asked me to join with them like the Rock n’ Roll All-star tour when they went to South America.

Paul Rodgers asked me to do some dates as well. I wasn’t able to do either this time around thought it would be fantastic to play with them sometime.

Robert: Have you listened to Priest’s 2014 release, Redeemer of Souls?

KK Downing: I haven’t listened to all of it. Rob’s voice is synonymous with Priest and time will tell if there are any classic Priest songs that come out of it.

Robert: Is there a favorite Priest album that stands out to you as the epitome of what Priest was all about?

KK Downing: I think British Steel really hallmarked the phrase “Heavy Metal.”

I also think that everything came together on that album for us as a band. It was the first time everyone in the band was wearing leather and studs. When we went out on that tour it seemed like a new ship had set sail.

We felt like we had a lot of power, even though we were the underdogs as a support band. I can still recall when we were back stage dressed in our metal uniform, we felt like we had strength. We were a powerful force to be reckoned with.

Robert: I take it that you look fondly back on those times developing and growing as a band?

KK Downing: Yeah, I think when you look back at the ’80s; you had a lot of major bands come through town. It seems like all the bands were good and had value.

There were some great guitar players that broke through, like Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen. They took over for the guitarists of the ’70s like Jimi Hendrix, Rory Gallagher and Eric Clapton – all the great players.

In the ’90s it just stopped. Even though there were a lot of good players out there, you still have to play good songs. I like to think that our PainKiller CD ignited some good bands, as well, like Pantera, Exodus and, of course, Metallica. Those bands got a lot faster and more furious. Everybody thought this was the way to go.

KK Downing’s “Metal for Men” cologne

Robert: Your trademark guitar was always a Flying V, what got you hooked on that style of guitar?

KK Downing: Ever since I saw Jimi Hendrix play live in 1966 or 1967, I saw something in him that nobody else had. I was picking up something in his music which many people didn’t hear – the birth of Heavy Metal.

Other bands like Sabbath and Free were starting to go down that road with the writing, the image, and the presentation, but I truly think “Purple Haze” was the first heavy metal song ever. It was different than anything I had ever heard before. The sound and the structure were different.

To others that might not be the case, but to me it was. I didn’t want to look or sound like him when I was starting out but wanted to take what he was starting to another level. I took a little piece of what Hendrix had to offer.

That’s a lesson to all the musicians out there; you can’t be someone else as it’s already been done. You can take little bits of someone and be inspired by it, but you need to create something new for your band and yourself. That embryo was always there for me and it was developing.

A lot people credit Rob Halford for initiating the band into leather and studs. I was actually the first in the band to wear leather and studs. I think it was 1978, there is some footage of us live in Japan where everyone is wearing silks and you will see me in leather and studs. I’m sure it’s on You Tube. It was the way that I was going. That embryo was still growing inside me, musically and visually.

It was about the originality of doing something different while having the mindset of being a good player, song writer, and performer – hence the Flying V.

I was pretty happy at the time with my Gibson SG Standard. I saw the Flying V in a shop in Birmingham and thought I had to have that. At the time it was 500 pounds, which was a lot of money. I got about half of that for my SG and sadly had to trade it in. I thought the Flying V looked more heavy metal than any other guitar. I think the proofs lies in what you see now in metal bands and what they are playing, something that has a bit of edge to it.

Robert: I understand you have a new cologne, what can you tell me about it?

KK Downing: [Laughing] It’s a funny story as it just came to me “Metal for Men.” This sounds like a great name for a men’s fragrance, I wonder if that name is available?

I found a friend in the fragrance business and it happened very quickly. Being a metal fan where no one ever does anything for us, now we can smell good! [Laughing]

I created metal music, a metal band, and golf courses – maybe it’s my entrepreneurial spirit to develop the cologne. It was launched in the stated last week and it’s available on Amazon. There is a limited edition version signed by me. It’s good quality.

Every year I do a charity event for Teenage Cancer Trust. Roger Daltrey is patron, so I’m hoping to make some donations through the fragrance. We are always doing things and charity events here. It’s always good to give something back.