Founder member in 1969 and current bassist for the British Heavy metal band Judas Priest, AMA!

(Should already be verified!?)

Edit: Disclaimer/Explanation. Ian is a close relative of mine, he (as others have done in the past iirc) did the AMA 'through' me, he wasn't directly typing the questions in himself but he was reading them himself and responding, responses which I then typed into the AMA the mods told me I could do this prior and it's also what he wanted to do. I thought that AMA's typically only lasted for ~1hour/1.5 hours and had no idea it was expected to go on for quite a bit longer than that. Due to time he (or I) couldn't attend for that long, had I known I probably would have waited for sometime later next month when he was more likely to have time available. So in this case; please DO shoot the messenger as the slight confusion was all my fault, I probably should have educated myself on AMAs before pitching the idea to him.

Upsilon667 i'll try and get your questions answered ASAP, not just for you but others seemed very keen on them also. Sorry again and cheers for the other questions, they were good!

Comments: 1114 • Responses: 25  • Date: 

TheGreatFuzz426 karma

Please acknowledge me.

IHJP508 karma

Hello!

[deleted]242 karma

Do you like dubstep?

IHJP1360 karma

Do I like what?

IHJP232 karma

Sorry guys I've got to go now, it's getting late, sorry I couldn't answer all of them. Thanks for your support and interest!

[deleted]199 karma

what'd you think of This is Spinal Tap? Is it at all accurate?

IHJP343 karma

It's scarily accurate, actually!

Whiplash_73166 karma

If you had to play any other kind of music besides heavy metal, what would it be?

IHJP466 karma

Blues

MrTravesty160 karma

Do you still have groupies?

IHJP440 karma

Of course we do! We have to beat them away with a stick......................

[deleted]150 karma

Is it weird listening to your own music?

IHJP332 karma

No, it's very gratifying actually.

passionlessDrone121 karma

You are in a cage match with Tom Araya, Gene Ween, MC Frontalot, Ice Cube and the ghost of Johnny Cash.

What is your strategy?

IHJP299 karma

Sit back and watch them fight...!

Melmac1803115 karma

Thanks for doing this IAMA! I have one question: What would you say is your greatest accomplishment during your tenure with Judas Priest?

IHJP262 karma

Coming through 40 years unscathed!

TekTik99 karma

First, you rock! Second, questions:

-Who is your favorite bassist? (Excluding yourself)

-Do you have a favorite bass? If so, which?

IHJP182 karma

Jack Bruce is my favourite bass player and I have a black Spector which I play with live and also record with and that's my favourite.

[deleted]98 karma

What was backstage of a concert like? Lots of drugs women etc?

IHJP196 karma

Dangerous if you don't have a job to do!

Skuld74 karma

What's your favourite song on the two Ripper-fronted Priest albums?

Which was your favourite tour?

What's your favourite modern (new millennium) metal band, and do you still listen to metal regularly?

I was at the Wacken 2011 gig, that was awesome.

IHJP123 karma

Somewhere in between from the Demolition Album is my favourite Ripper-era song.

Defenders of the faith tour in 1984 was my favourite I think!

And I like this metal band called "hostile" and that is in no way a shameless plug for another bassist who just so happens to share my surname.........

CommonCent63 karma

As regular people often find themselves wishing to be rock stars or whatnot, have you found at some point in your life that you wished you had led a more normal, less significant life as just an average joe?

IHJP155 karma

I've always wondered what it would be like to be an engineer.

Galkain62 karma

What's been the best part of being a musician all of your life?

IHJP161 karma

Making a living out of something you love doing, not many people can say that, I feel quite lucky.

leviirish53 karma

Who was/is your favorite band to tour with?

IHJP220 karma

There's never a dull moment with Lemmy and the guys!

Rabmat40 karma

What made you switch to Spector basses from Fender/Hamer?

Also, why SWR amps?

IHJP64 karma

Spector are a better bass to be honest, better made and they sound better.

SWR, a very reliable full range cab, I haven't blown one.... yet!

HairFarmer42037 karma

Why did you choose to play bass as opposed to another instrument?

IHJP90 karma

My father was a keen double bass player I picked it up from him, I chose the bass guitar because it was easier to play.

The3rdhorsemen36 karma

What inspired the transition from the sound of the Rocka Rolla album to the heavier sounds of the later albums?

IHJP68 karma

Slow evolution really from album to album, no massive event in particular!

MrTravesty34 karma

What's your favorite song?

IHJP40 karma

Our songs or all songs?

MrTravesty26 karma

Both please

IHJP55 karma

The live version of Spoonful by Cream and there's too many of ours I like to have one particular favourite!

JoeyDemaio31 karma

Which mutual friend of the band recommended the new guitarist, Ritchie Faulkner?

What is your favorite Manowar album?

IHJP30 karma

He was suggested by another guitarist we were (supposed to be) auditioning who couldn't make it.

ByteSizedBits26 karma

Big fan here, have seen you guys a couple of times live. Sin After Sin is one of my favorite old school metal albums. How did you guys decide to cover Diamonds & Rust?

IHJP34 karma

It was originally suggested by our original record company Gull Records but but we didn't actually record it till we were with Columbia.

straight_out_lie26 karma

Giant fan of the band man, just a few questions,

  1. I heard some time ago that you will be working on an album when you finish touring. Is this still happening?

  2. I would love to know if there is any chance of seeing Judas Priest in Australia any time soon. Do you have an idea

  3. Do you ever feel left out on stage? I see DVDs where Rob, KK and Glen take the front stage while you're on the side, while I think you;re an amazing bassist who deserves some spotlight.

Thank you for your time.

IHJP56 karma

Yes we will be working on another album soon(ish), no date on when we're all going to be getting together though.

We do intend to do some live work again in the future and that may involve coming to Australia

No, I don't mind, I'm quite happy to stay at the back!

codythebeau24 karma

Holy crap, this is a great IAMA. Huge fan of Priest, Ian. A few questions, if you wouldn't mind.. How did you guys go about the change between Turbo and Ram It Down/Painkiller? Was it a conscious effort to rock as hard as possible after releasing Turbo? (To be fair, I still love Turbo). When K.K. left the band, were there any plans to call it quits, or were you guys prepared for it? How the hell isn't Victim of Changes universally known as the greatest rock song of all time? Thanks for doing this Ian, you guys kick literally all the ass.

IHJP20 karma

We had no choice but to carry on! The tour had been announced and we couldn't just cancel and let the fans down!

CommonCent24 karma

What is something you have a passion for that people that don't know you would be surprised to find out?

IHJP47 karma

I have a plane I like to fly, not too surprising but hey!