Judas Priest’s longest-serving member has stepped down, with Davey Rimmer taking over on bass. Hill has already recorded parts for the band’s next album.
Ian Hill has retired from Judas Priest, ending a 56-year run with the band as Davey Rimmer takes over on bass.
In a statement published on Judas Priest’s official website on October 9, Hill said arthritis and a recent shoulder injury had brought him to the point where he could no longer reliably perform a full show.
He had always intended to keep going “until my performances suffer.”
“I hate to say it, but that time has come.”
Hill said his arthritis is advanced in his left shoulder and right hand, with his right shoulder and both knees also affected. He then snapped a tendon in his left shoulder before the encores at the band’s Brussels show, leaving him unable to reach the neck of his bass.
Rimmer, who plays with Uriah Heep and Elegant Weapons, had learned the set as a precaution and stepped in for the London show two days later. Judas Priest have now welcomed him into the band.
Hill’s retirement marks the departure of Judas Priest’s longest-serving member, whose bass playing helped shape the band’s sound across more than five decades. He joined in 1970 and played on all 19 studio albums, from Rocka Rolla to Invincible Shield.
In a 2022 interview with VWMusic, Hill recalled rehearsing with K.K. Downing and John Ellis before singer Al Atkins joined in 1970. Rob Halford arrived in 1973, followed by Glenn Tipton in 1974.
Hill also described his bass playing as a foundation for everything above it, prioritising what the song needed over showing what he could do. That steady role carried through decades of changes around him.
His retirement comes while another Priest record is taking shape. Blunt reported in March that Richie Faulkner had confirmed a month of studio work in February on the follow-up to Invincible Shield.
Hill says he has already recorded bass parts for the new album. He is now stepping away to spend more time with his family, but his playing remains part of Priest’s next chapter.
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