(left to right) K. K. Downing, Scott Travis (on drums), Tim "Ripper" Owens and Glenn Tipton (Ian Hill not shown)

(left to right) Scott Travis, K. K. Downing, Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton and Ian Hill (Obscured)

(left to right) Richie Faulkner, Rob Halford, Scott Travis, Glenn Tipton and Ian Hill.

(left to right) Scott Travis (obscured), Richie Faulkner, Rob Halford, Ian Hill, and Andy Sneap

Four line-ups of Judas Priest in 2002, 2008, 2014 and 2018.

Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham. Formed in September 1969, the group originally featured vocalist Al Atkins, guitarist John Perry (who died shortly after their formation and was replaced by Ernie Chataway), bassist Bruno Stapenhill and drummer John Partridge.^[1] Partridge was replaced by Fred Woolley in 1970^[2] shortly before the band broke up after just seven months,^[3] at which point Atkins joined a group called Freight which featured guitarist Kenneth "K. K." Downing, bassist Ian Hill and drummer John Ellis.^[4] Freight soon took over the Judas Priest moniker and underwent a succession of drummer changes: Alan Moore replaced Ellis in 1971, who was followed by Chris "Congo" Campbell, and later John Hinch in 1973.^[5] Hinch joined alongside his Hiroshima bandmate Rob Halford, after Atkins decided to leave due to the band's frustrations trying to sign a record deal.^[1]

History

Upon signing a deal with record label Gull in April 1974, Judas Priest enlisted Flying Hat Band frontman Glenn Tipton as co lead guitarist.^[6] After the release and promotion of the band's debut album Rocka Rolla, Hinch was replaced by the returning Moore.^[7] The drummer performed on Sad Wings of Destiny, but left again during the sessions for its follow-up Sin After Sin, which were completed by session contributor Simon Phillips.^[8] For the album's promotional tour, Les Binks was brought in on drums.^[4] Binks remained for the albums Stained Class and Killing Machine, before he was replaced by former Trapeze drummer Dave Holland in August 1979.^[9] This lineup proved to be the most stable to date, producing six studio albums: British Steel, Point of Entry, Screaming for Vengeance, Defenders of the Faith, Turbo and Ram It Down.^[4]

In November 1989, Scott Travis replaced Holland and debuted on Painkiller.^[10] The album was the last at the time to feature Halford, who later left in May 1992.^[11] The group went on hiatus for a few years, before enlisting Tim "Ripper" Owens – frontman of a Judas Priest tribute act called British Steel – as Halford's replacement in May 1996.^[12] Owens recorded two albums with the band – 1997's Jugulator and 2001's Demolition – before Halford rejoined in July 2003.^[13] Angel of Retribution and Nostradamus followed, before Downing left and was replaced by Richie Faulkner in April 2011.^[14] The guitarist's departure was reportedly due to differences with other band members and management.^[4] In February 2018, Tipton ceased touring full-time with the band after being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, with Andy Sneap taking his place on tour,^[15] and Tipton making occasional appearances on subsequent tours.^[16]

Members

Current

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Ian Hill	1969–present	bass guitar occasional backing vocals	all Judas Priest releases
	Glenn Tipton	1974–present (not touring full-time since 2018)	guitars studio keyboards (until 2018) backing vocals
	Rob Halford	1973–1992 2003–present	lead vocals	all Judas Priest releases from Rocka Rolla (1974) to Painkiller (1990), and from Angel of Retribution (2005) onwards
	Scott Travis	1989–present	drums backing vocals (since 2014)	all Judas Priest releases from Painkiller (1990) onwards
	Richie Faulkner	2011–present	guitars backing vocals	all Judas Priest releases from Redeemer of Souls (2014) onwards

Former

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Al Atkins	1969–1973	lead vocals	none
	Brian "Bruno" Stapenhill	1969–1970	bass guitar
	John Partridge		drums
	John Perry	1969 (until his death)	guitars
	Ernie Chataway	1969–1970 (died 2014)
	Fred Woolley	1970	drums
	K. K. Downing	1969–2011 2022 (guest)	guitars synthesizers (1985–1992) backing vocals	all Judas Priest releases from Rocka Rolla (1974) to A Touch of Evil: Live (2009)
	John Ellis	1970–1971	drums	none
	Alan "Skip" Moore	1971–1972 1975–1977		Sad Wings of Destiny (1976)
	Chris "Congo" Campbell	1972–1973		none
	John Hinch	1973–1975 (died 2021)		Rocka Rolla (1974)
	Simon Phillips	1977		Sin After Sin (1977)
	Les Binks	1977–1979 2022 (guest)		Stained Class (1978) Killing Machine (1978) Unleashed in the East (1979)
	Dave Holland	1979–1989 (died 2018)		all Judas Priest releases from British Steel (1980) to Ram It Down (1988)
	Tim "Ripper" Owens	1996–2003	lead vocals	all Judas Priest releases from Jugulator (1997) to Live in London (2003)

Session and Touring

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Jeff Martin	1985–1986 (session only)	backing vocals	Turbo (1986)
	Don Airey	1990 1999–2001 2004 2006–2007 (all session only)	keyboards moogbass	Painkiller (1990) Demolition (2001) Angel of Retribution (2005) Nostradamus (2008)
	Andy Sneap	2018–2022 2022–present[a]	producer guitars backing vocals	Firepower (2018) and Invincible Shield (2024)

Timeline

Lineups