Ian Hill says Judas Priest and Iron Maiden tour would be 'a great thing'
He says Judas Priest are up for it
Ian Hill has once again insisted that a Judas Priest tour with Iron Maiden would be “a great thing.”
The legendary bassist recently spoke to The Aquarian about Judas Priest’s current North American tour when he was asked about a hypothetical tour with their fellow British heavy metal heavyweights Iron Maiden.
Hill previously told Audio Ink in 2019: “There’s always the big question of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. That would be really interesting if we could get that together before some of us die!”
Echoing these comments, Hill told The Aquarian over the weekend: "We get asked about (an Iron Maiden tour) all the time. We'd love to, you know. I'm sure the Maiden lads would love to do it, as well.
“With schedules, everybody is doing something all the time. Trying to get a gap where people are available is tough, but it's a really attractive prospect. Two big British heavy metal bands on the same stage… it would be a great thing."
Iron Maiden opened for Judas Priest on their UK British Steel Tour in spring 1980, and the following year they supported Priest once again on select US dates of the North American leg of The World Wide Blitz Tour.
Although things “got a bit ugly” between Priest and Maiden on the US tour in 1981, any tensions between the two bands dissipated decades ago.
Elsewhere in his chat with The Aquarian, Ian Hill said that Rob Halford first mooted the idea of Judas Priest performing as a four-piece in 2018.
Judas Priest announced in January they were touring as a streamlined ‘relentless’ four-piece band, before they swiftly reversed their decision following a fan backlash.
"When it became apparent that Glenn Tipton wasn't going to be able to do the Firepower tour (in 2018), the first thing that Rob said was, 'Well, we'll carry on as a four-piece. We started out as a four-piece, so we can do it again.',” Hill said.
“I'm a pragmatist, I see positives in most things, so at first I thought, 'Yeah, it'll work.' Then, when you start to think, you're like, 'No. Really, all of our success is gained from the two guitars.' We decided to get Andy Sneap involved for that tour.
"Andy was the perfect choice. He had just produced Firepower, so he knew all the new songs we’d be playing. He was a fan of the band, as well, so he knew all the old stuff. He was the perfect choice.
"Then suddenly, Rob gets the idea to do the four-piece thing again. He rang Andy up and told him. Andy was fine about it. But then we thought, 'There's been some (fan) comments and if we do it at all, this probably isn't the time.' So, we had a quick U-turn and asked Andy if he'd do it again. Thank goodness he said yes!"
Judas Priest are next scheduled to play the UK in May and June 2023 when they support Ozzy Osbourne on his No More Tours 2 tour.
The band are currently working on their 19th studio album with Andy Sneap on production.
17 rock bands named after songs by other bands:
Judas Priest
British heavy metal legends Judas Priest took inspiration for their brilliant name from the Bob Dylan song 'The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest' from his 1967 album 'John Wesley Harding.' The moniker was the idea of early Judas Priest bassist Brian 'Bruno' Stapenhill who exited the band in 1970 before they had laid down any recordings.
Deep Purple
Initially called Roundabout, the rock legends initially toyed with band names including Orpheus, Concrete God and Sugarlump but eventually settled on Deep Purple; taken from the 1933 Peter DeRose piano composition. The song was a huge favourite of Ritchie Blackmore's grandmother and she would often perform it on piano throughout Ritchie's childhood.
Mr Big
In 1988, Eric Martin, Billy Sheehan, Paul Gilbert and the late-great Pat Torpey named their new band after the Free song 'Mr. Big', which appeared on their breakthrough 1970 album 'Fire and Water'. Mr. Big later covered 'Mr. Big' on their third studio album 'Bump Ahead' in 1993.
Motörhead
After being dismissed from Hawkwind in 1975 following an arrest for drug possession in Canada, Lemmy started his own self-professed "fast and vicious" band and took the name Motörhead from the final song he had penned for Hawkwind just a few months earlier, 'Motorhead'. Two years later, Motörhead re-recorded 'Motorhead' as the opening track on their eponymous debut album.
Poison
Originally called Paris upon their formation in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania in 1983, singer Bret Michaels, guitarist Matt Smith, bassist Bobby Dall and drummer Rikki Rockett wisely ditched their tame sounding band name in favour of 'Poison'; a nod to the 1981 track 'Poison' by glam metallers 'Sinner'.
Nazareth
The Scottish hard rock veterans were called the Shadettes upon their formation in the late 1960s but were unhappy with what they perceived to be a 'lightweight' name. They decided to hit a boozer to discuss a new name when 'The Weight' by The Band started playing through the bar's soundsystem. Upon hearing the opening line "I pulled into Nazareth, was feelin' about half past dead", bassist Pete Agnew suggested 'Nazareth' and the band agreed. The rest, they say, is history.
Volbeat
Danish rockers Volbeat took their name from the 1997 studio album 'Vol.Beat' by singer Michael Poulsen's previous band, the death metal act Dominus.
The Rolling Stones
Founder and original band leader Brian Jones gave The Rolling Stones their moniker after the 1950 Muddy Waters track 'Rollin' Stone'. The fledgling group played their first show as The Rolling Stones on 12th July 1962, at the famous Marquee Club in London.
Sepultura
The idea of former guitarist, singer and co-founding band member Max Cavalera, the Brazilian metallers called themselves Sepultura, which is the Portuguese word for "grave". Max took inspiration from one of his favourite songs, Motörhead's 'Dancing On Your Grave.'
Radiohead
Founded in Oxford in mid-1980s, Radiohead were originally called On A Friday in reference to their music rehearsal day at Abingdon School. When they signed a six-album deal with EMI in 1991, the imprint implored them to change their name and they ultimately took their band name from the song 'Radio Head' from Talking Heads' 1986 album 'True Stories'.
Bad Brains
Washington DC punks Bad Brains named themselves after the Ramones track 'Bad Brain', which appears on their 1978 album 'Road To Ruin'.
Lady Gaga
Stefani Germanotta's stage name is derived from the Queen classic 'Radio Ga Ga'. Producer Rob Fusari claims to have been the person who coined 'Lady Gaga' in the mid-noughties when they worked together.
At The Drive-In
Influential post-hardcore noisemakers At The Drive-In got their moniker from a line in Poison's 1987 single 'Talk Dirty To Me' – "Cause baby we'll be / At the drive-in / In the old man's ford / Behind the bushes / Till I'm screamin' for more." The name was guitartist Jim Ward's suggestion shortly after the band former in 1993.
Seether
Formed in South Africa in 1999 as Saron Gas, the band ditched the name as their US label Wind-up Records noted its similarity to the toxic synthetic organophosphorus compound, sarin gas. Ultimately they settled on Seether after the 1994 Veruca Salt single 'Seether'.
The Sisters of Mercy
When they formed 40 years ago in Leeds, the gothic rockers took their name from the Leonard Cohen track 'Sisters of Mercy' from his seminal 1967 album 'Songs of Leonard Cohen.' The Sisters of Mercy took inspiration from Robert Altman's 1971 movie McCabe & Mrs Miller thats' soundtracked by three Leonard Cohen songs.
Stiff Little Fingers
Previously called Highway Star and The Fast, the Belfast punks eventually decided to call themselves Stiff Little Fingers after the 1977 Vibrators song of the same name.
Overkill
Wisely abandoning the prospective band name Virgin Killer (a nod to the Scorpions), New Jersey thrash metallers Overkill ultimately honoured their other musical heroes Motörhead by naming themselves after the trio's 1979 album 'Overkill' and the single of the same name.
Panic! at the Disco
Although many people erroneously think that Panic! at the Disco are named after The Smiths' song 'Panic' and its chorus of "burn down the disco", former band leader Brendon Urie has said in multiple interviews that they take their name from a track also called 'Panic' by Californian emo band Name Taken. The song's lyrics read: "Panic at the disco/Sat back and took it so slow/Are you nervous?/Are you shaking?".