Ian Hill of Judas Priest: A Celebrity Bio

Every person that I have ever known has heard of the band Judas Priest. Most have heard their music, whether they realize it or not. The lead singer, Rob Halford, is well known for his nearly four octave vocal range, Glenn Tipton and Ken Downing are well-known in the guitar world for their twin and dueling-guitar innovations (not "Dueling Banjos"). Stop thinking of Deliverance. However, one of the founding members of Judas Priest who is seriously talented and a fantastic showman is one Ian "Skull" Hill, the bassist. This is a celebrity who is not so well-known by his name as by his work, but I feel he deserves a celebrity bio of his own.

According to Wikipedia.org, Ian Frank Hill was born on January 20, 1951, in Yew Tree Estate, West Bromwich, England, which is near Birmingham. There is very little personal information to be had about him, other than he was taught to play double bass by his father who played in local jazz bands. Hill's father died when Ian was fifteen years old, but what Ian learned from his father was influential enough upon which to base an entire successful career. He also credits the band, Cream, for his main influence. In 1969, Hill and his schoolmate Ken Downing formed the band Judas Priest. In fact, it was through Ian that Rob Halford was added to the band. Ian was dating Rob's sister, Sue (whom he later married and with whom he has a son), and he mentioned to Rob that the band needed a vocalist. In such crazy ways, history is made. Once Glenn Tipton was added to the group, the main members of the band remained the same with only changes in drummers, until Rob took a hiatus. Through all the drummer changes and the temporary vocalist, Tim "Ripper" Owens (All right, he was good. He's just not Rob!), Ian Hill has remained constant.

During live performances, Ian does tend to stay in one place. His Facebook page states: "he has even been accused of having his boots nailed to the floor." However, if one really watches him on the filmed concerts or live, he is much more active than it would seem. I have personally seen Judas Priest, live, and Ian is a personable stage presence. He can often be seen swinging his bass from side to side, swaying or even doing a little headbanging. Ian is a lot more involved with the crowd than it would seem, if people are able to pay enough attention to him during a live performance. He waves, he smiles and he applauds right back to the screaming fans.

It is necessary to remember, that the lead singer and lead guitarists will get the most attention in music videos and filmed live events, and the moving bodies are the eye-catchers, too. On a side note, I definitely do not have one doubt that if I tried to dance around while playing and instrument, not only would the music be hideous, I would probably injure myself and cause some form of mechanical or electrical catastrophe. People who are coordinated in that manner have my undying admiration. I do not say that Ian has a problem like that, but I would just like to remind everybody that it is not as easy as it looks.

There also seems to be a misapprehension that Ian has never played a bass solo. If one is interested, the the songs, "The Rage" from the British Steel album of 1980 and "Revolution" from the Angel of Retribution album in 2005, are both began by bass solos. Ian Hill is the backbone of Judas Priest. His bass puts the heavy into the metal. While people think he does not do much in the way of showmanship, I think he is really absorbed in the music. When listening to a Judas Priest song from any album by Judas Priest, really listen to the bass line. Even a long-time fan can be amazed by what they hear.

I will not say that Ian Hill is an unknown hero. He is well-known. There is a Facebook.com fan page dedicated to him, with actual posts from him, over 500 fans, and there is the claim that he edited the information, himself. On a link (is listed in my sources) to Rob Halford's website, a user is encouraging a thread dedicated to Ian Hill. At Hellridemusic.com, (also listed in my sources), he is listed as one of the best bassists ever. Thankfully, his talent is not ignored or unnoticed.

Again, there may not be as much personal information on him, but is everyone not entitled to some kind of privacy? It is noted on his Facebook page that he remarried and has a young daughter from that marriage. His son Alexander also plays bass. Alex was in the band Gravel, but joined the band LunarMile in 2005. It would seem that the talent for bass guitar is a father/son tradition in the Hill family. Ian admits that he was not able to be around much during Alex's growing years, due to the album/tour, album/tour, album/tour schedule he kept during the 1980's. After listening to a few clips of LunarMile, though, I have to say that Alex is quite talented, too.

Ian has had many things to keep him busy, over the years. For one, he has a family, and he has had Judas Priest. Ian also took an interest in a band called The New Blacks, in 2003, and tried his hand at producing. Unfortunately, I could not find any more information on them than the following: "Just before the reunion between Judas Priest and Rob Halford was announced, Ian Hill had kept busy taking his 'Glenn Tipton' turn in the producer's chair, recording a debut E.P. titled The Sound of Loud for a new UK band known as The New Blacks. The New Blacks play hard edged, white hot, diesel driven anthems that stick two fingers up to the same old whingey-whiney, indie-schmindie bores that are currently falsely billing themselves as 'the future of rock' whilst churning out the usual lifeless-dull-as-dishwater-jingly-jangly-lightweight-pop-fodder that we've gotten so sick of.

Formed in mid 2003, the band has been busy rehearsing and recording the eclectic mix of spiraling riffs and all out sonic onslaught that is Sound of Loud - the band's debut release. Produced under the helm of the legendary Ian Hill, from the Metal Gods, Judas Priest, the tracks combine the bands collective influences, mix them around in a cauldron of attitude, power and the most stomach-thumping, groove-laden, massive riffs known to mankind, and then take cover as the resulting concoction explodes into what is undoubtedly 'the hottest band to watch out for in 2004' (RIFF magazine). The New Blacks have arrived. Warning: The New Blacks make a loud, proud f***ing sound. - Press Release, June 10, 2004." I couldn't stand it, after copying and pasting from Maddrakket.com, I had to edit. If there are any grammatical errors, now, I either missed them, or I made them. The words themselves have not changed.

Well, I now know much more about Ian Hill than I did when I had the idea to do his bio. I have always enjoyed his work, and I have always felt that he was one of the best bassists in business of rock 'n' roll and heavy metal. For years, I was able to put on a record (yes, I'm that old), plug in a cassette or eventually pop in a cd and go to another world with the music of Judas Priest. So many bands have been influenced by the talents of these men, and so many fans have been lucky enough to rock along. While the front men are given their due, Ian, in his humble way, is content to let them share the spotlight while he lays the foundation for their work and showmanshiIt is nice to find that kind of humility in a person who could be an egotistical jerk.

I hope this biography has been informative, and I hope you will give a listen to some Judas Priest, if you never have, do not remember, or just like to reminisce. Pay a little more attention to the bass line while you listen to Rob's vocals, Glenn and Ken's guitar work and Scott Travis's vicious drums. Ian Hill lays the groundwork to some of the best and versatile music that has been made over the last forty years.

Sources:
Personal Experience.
http://maddrakket.com/PROFILE3.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Hill
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ian-Hill/55717914824?v=info
http://www.myspace.com/lunarmile
http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Judas:Priest.htm
http://judaspriest.com/
http://robhalford.com
http://guitarfixation.com/images/pic/IanHill5.jpg
http://www.last.fm/music/Ian+Hill/+images/35640469
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deliverance
http://www.emginc.com/artists/artist/171
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dueling_Banjos
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Steel_(album)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_of_retribution
http://www.robhalford.com/quorum/showthread.php?t=85048
http://www.myspace.com/lunarmile