Bit by bit, the past and present members have started to reveal the plans for Judas Priest’s performance at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction next month. The latest bit of intel comes from former drummer Les Binks, who revealed that the forthcoming performance will feature three guitarists and two drummers.
Earlier this month, current drummer Scott Travis confirmed that the band would be playing at the ceremony, something that was a bit uncertain prior given that the group were going in as recipients of the Musical Excellence Award. He also alluded to the band being given a set amount of time for their performance, leading to the idea of playing a medley of songs within their allotted slot.
Soon after, singer Rob Halford revealed to Ultimate Classic Rock that the band had been in touch with both K.K. Downing and Les Binks, the two former members of the band that are still living, about joining them for the performance. Dave Holland, the third former member of the band being inducted, died in 2018 at the age of 69.
Then, guitarist K.K. Downing confirmed last week that he would be performing with the band after experiencing a divide with the group after his exit and being vocal about not being asked to return after guitarist Glenn Tipton revealed his Parkinson’s Disease diagnosis in 2018.
Now, Binks shared some more insight on the band’s upcoming Rock Hall induction performance while chatting with Chaoszine (as seen below).
“This is gonna be one for the books. You’ll have a situation where we have K.K. in the band again, which nobody thought was ever gonna happen,” the drummer revealed. “Richie Faulkner is gonna be performing as well, although Richie is not actually being inducted, because the way the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame system works, it has to go back, I think, 20 or 25 years or something. Richie doesn’t go back that far … So he’ll be there. That’s two guitarists. And then, of course, you’ve got Glenn, and he will be performing as well, apparently. Now, I know he’s got some health issues at the moment, but all being well, that’s the plan.”
“So Judas Priest with not two guitarist but three. [Laughs] And two drummers. I’ll be playing with Scott Travis as well,” says Binks. “Scott’s being inducted as well, obviously; he’s been in the band a long time. So that should be quite an interesting experience, in L.A. You’ve never seen anything like that before, and you’re not likely to see it again, I think.”
Binks also said of their performance, “We only have an eight-minute slot, which is not very long; it’ll be over in a flash… We’ll have a rehearsal before because we’ve decided the easiest way to approach it, to do it, for an eight-minute slot that we have, is to do a medley of songs. So run one into the other. So that’s what we’ll rehearse, to get that sorted out.”
Bassist Ian Hill is the band’s longest tenured member, starting with the group in 1970. Tipton and Halford also go back to the ’70s, though Halford exited between 1992-2003. Downing was also an original member before bowing out in 2011. Binks was a member of the band between 1977 and 1979, with Holland taking over behind the kit from 1979-1989 and Travis coming on board from 1989 to present. While Faulkner is not being inducted, he joined the group upon Downing’s exit in 2011 and has remained ever since.
The 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place Nov. 5 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Inductees include Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie and Carly Simon. Judas Priest and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis will be saluted for Musical Excellence. Harry Belafonte and Elizabeth Cotton will receive the Early Influence honors and Allen Grubman, Jimmy Iovine and Sylvia Robinson will all be saluted with the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
