1685
IAMA Bass player, Ian Hill of Judas Priest, AMA!
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!
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!
Whiplash_73166 karma
If you had to play any other kind of music besides heavy metal, what would it be?
IHJP440 karma
Of course we do! We have to beat them away with a stick......................
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?
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?
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.
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?
IHJP161 karma
Making a living out of something you love doing, not many people can say that, I feel quite lucky.
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!
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?
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,
I heard some time ago that you will be working on an album when you finish touring. Is this still happening?
I would love to know if there is any chance of seeing Judas Priest in Australia any time soon. Do you have an idea
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?
TheGreatFuzz426 karma
Please acknowledge me.
View HistoryShare Link