By Jeb Wright

Ken “K.K.” Downing built an image of blonde hair, leather and studs, Flying V guitars and powerhouse performances as a member of Heavy Metal icons Judas Priest. He stuck around four decades before leaving the band. There are few Metal guitarists more famous than K.K. and his partner in Priest, Glenn Tipton.

The day Downing left…was a sad day for Judas Priest fans. The band, however, soldiered on without him. Downing remained silent. Now, eight years after his ‘retirement’ from Priest he is back with a book titled Heavy Duty: Days and Nights in Judas Priest. The book is not so much a history of Judas Priest as it is K.K.’s take on his life in Judas Priest. All of the big stories are there from the early days, to the court battles, to the breakup.

Downing is open about his difficult relationship with Tipton and members of the band’s management—it borders on rage at times. He discusses how the band was not what they once were when it came to live performances and how he always felt as if his place in the band was a job. He discusses the anger at Iron Maiden for their disrespect to Priest for taking them out on the road…There is plenty of good stuff in this book that will keep Priest fans on the edge of their seats.

In the interview below, K.K. opens up on how he dealt with a rough childhood and how he hopes to send a message of hope to any young people in the same position. He also talks about the book…and his relationship with Glenn Tipton. We even discuss the possibility of a Ken Downing solo album…Read on! 

Jeb: It takes some guts to put it all out there.  You're not throwing anyone under the bus but you're not dodging issues either.

K.K.: I walked a bit of a tightrope. I reached a happy medium. I was quite enthusiastic about sharing my younger life with the fans so they could get to know me a little bit better. I wanted people to know they are not the only person who has gone through such things. I came out okay. Some people are not so fortunate.  Hopefully a lot of younger people can take a leaf out of my book and escape and relate to me.

Jeb: I had no idea you struggled with your dad and your home life. That had to be emotional to talk about.

K.K.: It was a little bit. As we go through life we reflect on our childhood but we just keep the good things and sweep the bad bits under the carpet. The weird thing about it was talking to someone about it and letting them know about it. Mark Eglinton, who actually put everything together for me...obviously he got everything from the horse's mouth. It was quite an emotional time going through that.

Jeb: You found your salvation in music and in playing guitar.

K.K.:  That's exactly right. I think that is my message. I am not sure what age group will read my book. I want young people to know they can find salvation in music. When I got to the age of 15, I knew it was not going to get any better. When you get to that point then it is best to go and do what you've got to do even if it is just sweeping streets.

Being in control and being your own person is what is important in life. Wherever I was, and whatever I was doing, I was in a better place than being in the confinement of our family home. It was persecution, really.  Like you say, I was able to find music and it became my religion. I personally believe that music is the one common religion that the world has together. It brings a lot of people together and it does a lot of good. It did a lot of good for me.

Jeb: Let's jump to a happy point of the book. I have seen all of those early Priest videos where you dressed so flamboyantly.  You take a lot of credit for Priest quitting that and wearing leather. 

K.K.: It is just part of the story, really. A picture paints a thousand words. Just look at us. I had an idea in my brain that had been there for a long time...really as far back as when I started to get into music.

When I first started to listen to music the only thing I was really interested in listening to were things that were worth listening to! I think that Rock and Metal derive from the Blues. People that created the blues were minorities and they were oppressed. In the UK, working class people like myself really took to the Blues because we didn't have anything. It was very, very important.  We couldn't say that the Blues was a happy music like Pop, but it had a lot more depth and meaning.

When you guys started to come over...like when Hendrix did in the mid Sixties, we had Blues groups interpreting those great Blues classics from Robert Johnson and Howling Wolf. We had bands like Cream, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, Jethro Tull, Chicken Shack and Fleetwood Mac.  The list goes on and on and on. There was a lot of stuff for people like me. I remember hearing Hendrix play “Purple Haze” and hearing Steppenwolf and The Kinks and very early Rolling Stones. That sort of stuff I just couldn't get enough of it. I was never able to get enough of it.

I had this Heavy Metal attitude inside of me. I had it all of my life. When I got into Judas Priest I knew I had a band that had a great name. I knew we were a great band...but something was not quite complete. The leather and studs image came along and it all started to complete itself. We had the album cover with the razor blade...and Heavy Metal was born, mate. I was a youngster and it came to me. Around 1976 is when it happened. The band took to it and got on with it, really.

Jeb: Now, in 2018, looking back you can't image Priest not wearing leather.

K.K.: Yeah...yeah.  It came to me. It made us more of a powerhouse. We were more uniform in the way that we looked. When we all started to wear that leather we became that band. We became a more powerful unit I think when we adopted leather. We came together even more so than we had before. We were not just individuals. I am really happy we were able to do that and bring that to the table.

Jeb: Your book clears up the animosity you had towards Iron Maiden.

K.K.:  It is all under the bridge now. In the mid '80s Paul Di'Anno apologized to me for all of that. They were very enthusiastic back then. They were the new kids on the block. I tried to understand that. It was not great at the time but looking back it is understandable.

Jeb: Given Glenn's recent health issues [Tipton suffers from Parkinson ’s disease] was it hard to talk about how you did not get along with him?

K.K.: Yeah, what's happened has happened. You can't change history. If I was going to tell the truth in the book I had to call it the way that it was. I'll be the first to say that right now, as I sit here talking to you, I have the greatest respect for my band mates. We created something legendary together. We fought a lot of battles together. I hope that the respect is mutual.

I try to explain in the book that when you're in a long term relationship things come out of the woodwork. Things get a bit strange at times. Idiosyncrasies pop out. It is a bit like the Titanic...it is nobody's fault but the ship went down. It is what it is. I talk about it in the book. Everything lead up to a point in my life that it pushed it over the edge. It was not just one thing. It was a lot of people's fault but no one person in particular.

I heard Glenn is playing a few songs with the band now. I hope Glenn can do well, you know.  Everything is good from that point of view.

Jeb: We have mixed feelings as fans without K.K. Downing in Judas Priest. The band is great today, no doubt but I just wonder if you miss it as much as we miss you?

K.K.: What I miss about Priest is the powerhouse that we were. It had become less than that. It was tough for me to be there and see things slowing down and not being what it was. I have a saying that goes, “The older we get the younger we've got to play.” That is a good bar to set in that position and it wasn't happening. What was happening was that it seemed like we were going through the motions. I was struggling to be out there. Things were slowing down. Everybody has a right to play and perform the way they want to but it didn't suit me and it made me nervous.

Jeb: Heavy Metal is kind of a homophobic genre but you guys didn't give a damn the Rob was gay. That's pretty cool.

K.K.:  It wasn't an issue to us. I think everybody knew anyway. If it was a secret then it was the worse kept secret ever. It is old hat these days to play that tune and it has been for a long time.

Rob was born with an incredible gift with his voice and, at the same time, the way he was made up made him the incredible performer and vocalist that he was, and still is. I say in the book how I was afraid that we would lose him to a bigger artist along the way up. Rob is a rare commodity.  On this planet there a gazillion guitar players, drummers and bass players but there are very few who can do what Rob does.

Jeb:  At the end of the day, when you got to the last page of your book...this is your life before you. What came to your mind?

K.K.: I wanted to share my life, chronologically. I wanted to inspire people who have a tough start in life. I wanted to show them there is a way out and that you just have to make the moves when they need to be made. Obviously, I wanted to tell a lot of stories about Judas Priest as we traversed through our career; the highs and the lows. Later on, I wanted to explain a lot of unanswered questions as to what happened, when it happened and why. I wanted to talk about my departure from the band.

Everybody knows I am totally dedicated. I gave my whole life to Judas Priest. It was the toughest decision I’ve ever had to make. It was not for the love and the want to be there...it was just the way that it was. I needed the change in order to be happy.  It was a long time. It was a long career. Judas Priest, the legacy is all of the people in the band. We put on a great show.

Jeb: You put down the guitar for the golf clubs.  How did you start golfing?

K.K.: The golfing thing was something that Glenn and I started out on tour years ago and it was a good pastime. It got us out of the hotel bar. We were able to see more of the country than we would have seen if we'd stayed in the bar! It was a good release and a good pastime.

Jeb: I'd buy a K.K. Downing solo album.

K.K.: We all have to work for a living to put bread on the table, it takes a lot of time, and it always will. Winter is coming soon and I am going to shut myself away in my room and see what happens by next spring.

Jeb: Are you saying there is music coming from K.K. Downing?

K.K.: Who knows, mate?  Who knows? It is what I do. I am always doing something. Someone will say “play a solo on this” and I will do that. It is going to have to stop if I am going to put some product out there. If I want to do that then I am going to have to take it more seriously. We will see what happens. For now, I am enjoying speaking to the world one more time about the book and about my life. That is keeping things going for now.

Jeb: Last One: Early on in your book you tell a story about a guy who you knew who actually gave you the name K.K.  What happened to him?

K.K.:  I don't know. I have not heard from him in years and years. He was a unique character and he helped us a lot. His nickname was 'Corky.'  He was a crazy guy. I tell the story in the book...I wish I had more pictures. He actually came up with my nickname 'K.K.' It is a crazy story...it is all in the book.

I hope everyone takes a chance to read it. That is not me wanting to sell it...I just want to share things with the fans. I want to tell them things they want to know about, really. I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk to all of the fans out there. It has been a long time. Keep up the good work mate and I hope to see everyone at some time in the future.

Visit K.K. Here: http://kkdowning.net/steelmill/

Buy K.K.’s Book Here: https://www.amazon.com/Heavy-Duty-Nights-Judas-Priest/dp/0306903318