KK Downing Still Won't Reveal Reasons For Priest Departure
The former guitarist says he\'ll never say why he left
KK left the band earlier this year due to a breakdown in relations between himself and an as yet unnamed member of the Judas Priest camp.
Hennemusic reports that in a new interview Downing says that he will probably never reveal the real reason why he decided to quit the band.
"It was a set of circumstances that led me to not go out on tour with Priest this year,” Downing tells Valley reporter Grace Bailey at his home at Astbury Hall in Shropshire, England. "I was kind of geared up for it, but there was a multitude of reasons. It pretty much came down to an unsettlement on my part with working relationships.
"It's like anything else,” continues. "If anybody out there is thinking it's hard to live with one woman, they should try to live with four guys and hold it together. Laughs It gets to be like that, but obviously, with certain things, I just wasn't completely happy with the way things were, with the way it was, and I just felt like it was probably best if I stepped down, and I did."
"I wish things could have been different, so I could have continued,” says K.K. "Obviously, 'cause of the passion I had for the band. In the late Sixties, I was very instrumental in creating Judas Priest, and it was a hard bullet to bite. But I thought that if this is gonna be the way that it's gonna be, then perhaps it's time to step down.
"It was a massive consideration," says the guitarist. "Obviously, the fans, who I love, and many of them have become very good friends. But I just hoped that they would appreciate that I couldn't continue with the way that I felt inside for reasons which I'll... I mean, certain reasons I will never, ever disclose.
"I have been extremely fortunate to have been able to do so many shows and tours and records, and come out of it healthy and well. But I haven't really spoken to anyone about the inner details behind my decision, really."