Former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing auctioning off guitars and gear
Former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing is selling a collection of his stage and studio equipment at auction.
Set to go under the hammer at Bonhams' New Bond Street premises in Central London on Tuesday 11th December are 11 guitars including the 1967 Flying V Downing used on Judas Priest’s first seven studio albums, which has an asking price of £15,000 to £18,000.
Other guitars include a 1971 Gibson Flying V Medallion Guitar that can be seen in the video for 'Breaking The Law' (which has an estimate of £12,000 to £15,000) and a 1975 custom 'V' guitar by Dan Johnson that was used on the ‘Sad Wings Of Destiny’, 'Jugulator' and 'Demolition’ albums (estimated £5,000 to £7,000).
Also up for sale from K.K.’s collection are various Marshall and Mesa Boogie amplifiers, a pair of leather jackets from the Turbo and Screaming for Vengeance tours, pedal boards and a Linndrum drum machine.
The 22 items, which you can see here, are part of a larger Entertainment Memorabilia sale at the world-famous auction house that also features various items from The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode, Pink Floyd, Queen and more.
In the summer K.K. Downing sold his share of the royalty rights to 136 Judas Priest songs including ‘Breaking The Law’, ‘Painkiller’ and ‘Living After Midnight’.
Round Hill Music acquired the significant stake in the heavy metal legends’ back catalogue after Downing was plunged into financial disarray when his luxury golf resort fell into administration.
K.K. pumped millions into the 320-acre Astbury Hall estate in Shropshire, however it was put up for sale for £10million in 2018 with administrators citing "tougher economic times within the wider corporate hospitality market" for placing "unsustainable pressure" on the business.
After 42 years with Judas Priest, K.K. Downing quit the band in April 2011 citing "an on-going breakdown in working relationships between myself, elements of the band and management.”
In February of this year he released a statement on Facebook saying he was “shocked and stunned” that he wasn’t invited to rejoin Judas Priest when Glenn Tipton announced his retirement from touring due to the progression of Parkinson’s Disease.
This prompted a backlash from Rob Halford, who called the comments “completely superfluous.”
Promoting his autobiography ‘Heavy Duty: Days and Nights in Judas Priest’ this year, K.K. has slammed his former Judas Priest band mates numerous times in interviews.
He told Issue 10 of Planet Rock Magazine: “The whole thing is unfortunate, because whatever I say sounds like sour grapes… But I’m afraid it’s got to be said.”