Original JUDAS PRIEST Singer To K.K. DOWNING: 'Show A Little Respect Back'

April 2, 2007

Original JUDAS PRIEST vocalist Al Atkins has responded to PRIEST guitarist K.K. Downing's assertion that Atkins's continued use of the PRIEST name to promote any musical project he is involved in is "verging on ridiculous."

In a recent interview with "The Classic Metal Show"Downing stated about Atkins (who has been out of PRIEST for nearly 30 years),"I think Al was in the band before electricity, if I remember! (laughing). . . If you look at the chronology of JUDAS PRIEST, we were still becoming JUDAS PRIEST for quite some time; finding ourselves and evolving. For someone to say they were the original…you know…it's kind of an interesting subject because you have a name, that isn't to say that you are…this is a bit weird. To say that you are (JUDAS PRIEST) is to say that you've achieved certain goals, if you can decipher that. . . I think that when PRIEST decided, 'That's it; that's what we want to do,' you know, leather studs and bikes… that's when we WERE JUDAS PRIEST."

In a brand new posting on his web site, Atkins writes, "Can I just say, thanks K.K. for your kind words on 'The Classic Metal Show'. Your support for myself has been great over the last 30 years (HA! Yeah, right). As for myself using the PRIEST name is 'verging on ridiculous,' let me just say (and my memory is still good),it was me who gave you the 'JUDAS PRIEST' name in the first place and it was me who co-wrote those early songs like 'Winter', 'Never Satisfied', and 'Victim', to name a few, that helped you get a record deal. I've never asked you for a thing over all those years and i have respected 'PRIEST' for all the hard work you have done and the brilliant records you have turned out. Show a little respect back, please."

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).