Aimee Kristi-Glenn,
I'd like to start off by talking about your new solo record BAPTIZM OF
FIRE, before we get into discussing JUDAS PRIEST. Exactly when and what
made you decide to approach a project of your own outside PRIEST?

Glenn Tipton-As you know going back many years and the course of events when our singer Rob
Halford left us and at that very time we didn't know if or how the band was
going to continue. I didn't know what to do with myself, you know...poor
little old me, left alone, so I just started to write some songs and I
think it just evolved from there really. I didn't know it at the time but
turns out it was done for the right reasons. For the first time in almost
two decades I was writing for myself not JUDAS PRIEST. I didn't know then
what I was going to actually do, who I was going to play with, I certainly
never knew I was going to sing on the record. It was quite strange really.
The more I wrote the more confident I became. I was writing lyrics and
putting vocals on tape. A few people who listened to it said "hey, give up
singing and go get your day job back".(laughs)

Aimee Kristi-I wanted to ask you in a later question but since you brought
it up how do you critic your singing on the album?

Glenn Tipton-I'll certainly never come near to getting a Grammy award for it.
Being a guitar player I never really had any vocalist idol to
look up to or attempt to be like. It was amazing really, not my vocal
ability because I haven't got any but my vocal character grew before my own
eyes. The one thing I had going for me was that it's my personal effort.
The writing, singing and guitar. It's all me but let me say in the same
breath that my heart and soul is in JUDAS PRIEST. I'll never leave the band
but I feel that my solo album was done for the right reasons. It helped me
get through a weird time and it also helped me to find my character.

Aimee Kristi-It sounds like it was in a way very therapeutic for you.

Glenn Tipton-Listen Aimee, I had to dig very deep inside me to find out what
I've got. It was like I had to clear off the desk and start all over again
and find a direction. Where do I go from JUDAS PRIEST? Very seriously, in
no way, shape or form was I trying to m Aimee Kristie this solo album resemble PRIEST
because it could never turn out that way. I'm just a small piece if PRIEST
but my album does have a personality all it's own and that's quite
gratifying.

Aimee Kristi-I love your 'metal' cover of "Paint It Black" but what
inspired you to pick that song as a cover tune?
Glenn Tipton-Well I've always been a big fan of the Rolling Stones but more in the sense
that I'm a fan of their songwriting. When I considered it I felt that the Stones have
wrote the most classic rock songs. You know that PRIEST has done various covers
over the years like Joan Baez "Diamonds And Rust" and I've always liked to
arrange and rem Aimee Kristie a diversity of songs. I just thought it would be unique
to write a 1997, punk/metal version of "Paint It Black" I thought we'd go
ahead and record it and see if it'll m Aimee Kristie it to the album and it worked.
It's three and a half minutes of mayhem but it turned out very
contemporary. It's no use doing a cover version if it's going to sound at
all like the original version. I am however wondering what Mick and Keith
think of it.

Aimee Kristi-You have a very interesting group of musicians play on
this record with you. Cozy Powell on drums. Billy Sheehan and John
Entwistle from The Who on bass. That's a pretty diverse group of musicians.
Did you approach them or did they come to you?

Glenn Tipton-It all just kind of happened. Cozy is a dear friend and I think one of the
best drummers in the world. John Entwistle got involved because we have the same
manager so I asked him if he'd be interested in playing with me and to my great surprise
he said he'd love to. No other musician could be as natural as far as going
from the style of music he's played into playing metal.There's no one I
could have picked who could have done a better job. Every musician who
worked on this with me gave me such inspiration. It was an honor for meto
work with such great people. They all instilled me with great confidence.
It reflects in the music that it was like a mutual respect club and I could
never thank them enough.

Aimee Kristi-Do you have a goal set as far as what you want to achieve with this album?
Glenn Tipton-My achievement has already been attained just in making the album.
I don't care if it makes me any money at all...
actually it cost me lots of money,(laughs). Just making the record
itself is enough achievement for me. As I've said my soul is in JUDAS
PRIEST and this was just something I needed to do for myself.

Aimee Kristi-I know that presently you're in the studio recording the
new JUDAS PRIEST album with a new singer. We'll get into the future incarnation
of PRIEST in a minute but if you don't mind me asking, I and I'm sure all your fans want
to know what exactly happened with Rob Halford leaving the band?

Glenn Tipton-Go on...ask me anything you like. I'll tell you what happened with Rob but I
can only give a rough scenario from my point of view. When Rob left the
band in '91 we were devastated. Playing together for 20 years of course we
were all very close. What really upset us was that he chose to cut himself
off completely from us. Now I think I know the true reasons for his
decision but I'm not going to get in depth with it. I don't want to create
any bad feelings. I will say that his heart wasn't in the band anymore. He
left...we certainly never kicked him out. At the time he left under the
premise that he wanted to work on a solo thing and then he'd be back but I
think in his heart of hearts he believed he was bigger than the band. We've
been through a lot together in this band and we all were very close and I
wish Rob well. I will never, ever put him down. It was just very sad and
hurtful that he felt it was nessacary to cut off all communication with us.
In all truth it was truly devastating and it has t Aimee Kristien us a long time to
find out what we had left in ourselves to put the band back together.

Aimee Kristi-So onto the present JUDAS PRIEST. You've found a new singer, Ripper Owens.
Tell me about the resurrection of PRIEST.

Glenn Tipton-Let me tell you that we searched for 4 years for a singer and I thought we'd be
unable to continue. We could never replace a vocalist like Rob. Over the 4
years we got more than a thousand applicants from all over the world. From
Russia to the Antarctic. We narrowed it down to 15 of the most amazing
vocalist's and you can't imagine what we went through to get it down to
that. We are finally ready to fly these 15 in for auditions when we got a
video tape of this singer from Ohio who was in a PRIEST cover band. I swear
in all my years I was astounded by his voice. I phoned him up and said "you
can't be for real so if you are prove it". He says alright, fly me over
right now and sing any PRIEST song you want. He flies in the next day,
straight off the plane with jet lag and all and we went okay, do "Victim Of
Changes". He sang the first verse and that was it...he got the gig. That's
when it hit me that not only can PRIEST continue but the whole bands
enthusiasm rocketed. We've written the most brutal, fiercest PRIEST album
yet. You know I'm not just the guitarist in the band I'm a fan of the band
as well and I can tell you that metal is not dead. This album is as heavy
as you'd expect from us but it's progressed in a very 1997 sound. Give us a
chance with this new singer and the new JUDAS PRIEST album because I can
promise no one will be disappointed!

Judas Priest Official Web Site has it all- including current tourdates-



http://www.judaspriest.com/

Check out Aimee Kristi & Keith Roth on Sunday Nights from 9:45 - 12:00 when you
plug into the Electric Ballroom... 95.9 WRAT Rocks