Judas Priest Bassist Ian Hill Retires After 55 Years: 'That Time Has Come'

Ian Hill, the only member to appear on every Judas Priest studio album since 1974, announced his retirement from the band on Friday. The 74-year-old bassist cited advanced arthritis and a snapped tendon in his left shoulder.

Hill delivered the news in a lengthy statement to fans. "For a long time now, when asked 'how long can you continue' – I've always answered 'until my performances suffer'… I hate to say it, but that time has come," he wrote.

Why is Hill stepping down now?

Hill described the physical toll in unflinching detail. "For some years now, I've been struggling with the onset of the evil arthritis, which is now in an advanced state in my left shoulder and right hand, established in my right shoulder, and present in both knees," he wrote.

He fought the condition with painkillers, gels, and, more recently, cortisone injections in his shoulder and hand. The breaking point came during Judas Priest's recent European tour. Hill snapped "a tendon in my left shoulder (as if I didn't have enough problems with it!) just before the encores during the Brussels show," he wrote. "This led to me not being able to lift my arm enough to reach the neck of my bass."

Specialists told Hill he might avoid surgery. Even so, he said, "there's no guarantee either way that I'll have enough strength in my shoulder/arm to complete a whole stage show." The takeaway: his body can no longer guarantee a full performance, and Hill chose not to risk it.

Who replaces him?

The band has already lined up a successor. Uriah Heep bassist Davey Rimmer, who joined the European tour as Hill's understudy, will become Judas Priest's new permanent bassist.

"It is with heavy hearts that we are sending out this personal message from our Ian… he has been the backbone of Judas Priest for so long and will be greatly missed by us all," Judas Priest wrote on social media. "We wish him well in his retirement and welcome Davey into the Priest Family…."

What does Hill's tenure add up to?

The numbers frame the legacy. Hill and childhood friend, guitarist K.K. Downing, joined Judas Priest in 1970 — one year after singer Al Atkins founded the group in Birmingham. That makes Hill's run roughly 55 years.

He survived every lineup shift since:

• Rob Halford, brother of Hill's girlfriend at the time, joined as singer in 1973.
• Glenn Tipton joined on guitar in 1974.
• K.K. Downing left in 2011.
• Hill stayed through them all.

Hill played on every studio album, from the 1974 debut Rocka Rolla through 2024's Invincible Shield. He also recorded bass lines for the band's upcoming album, according to his statement. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction followed in 2022, honoring Hill and the band jointly.

What happens next?

Family, not music, drives Hill's retirement decision. "In view of all this, and the fact that I've neglected my family life for fifty seven years, I've decided to retire and spend the remaining years making up for it, and doing things with them before it involves one of 'em pushing me around in a wheelchair," he wrote.

Judas Priest has no tour dates scheduled until summer 2027, giving Rimmer a long runway before his first full cycle with the band. The upcoming album, the follow-up to Invincible Shield, will carry Hill's final bass lines.

Hill closed his statement with gratitude: "There's not a day goes by where I don't give thanks for the incredible journey I've lived through, and it just remains for me to say that I love you all, and thank you for the life you've let me live." His retirement ends the longest continuous run in the band's history — and leaves the new record as the last document of it.