Ian Hill

Ian Hill is the only musician present in every Judas Priest line-up since the band's founding in 1969 — more than fifty-five years in the same group, a continuity rare in any genre. Born in West Bromwich, he put the band together with his friend K.K. Downing when both were teenagers, and watched every singer, every drummer and every change of direction pass through without ever leaving. His bass playing is deliberately functional. While two lead guitars occupy the foreground and trade harmonies, someone has to hold the harmonic floor with absolute steadiness — and that is what Hill does, anchored to the root, never competing for space. It is a choice of role, not a limitation: the twin-guitar sound Judas Priest popularised is only possible because the foundation does not move. He crossed in this way Sad Wings of Destiny (1976), British Steel (1980), Screaming for Vengeance (1982) and Painkiller (1990), the years with Tim "Ripper" Owens on vocals and Rob Halford's return, arriving at Firepower (2018) and Invincible Shield (2024). He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, and remains on the road — the continuous thread linking the first line-up to the present one.