'We Grew Up as Youngsters' - K.K. Downing Looks Back on Early Days With Judas Priest + Black Sabbath

"In the world of hard rock, heavy rock, heavy metal and everything else that surrounds that, this must surely be the most important event in our history."

Legendary guitarist K.K. Downing joined Loudwire Nights on Friday (June 27) and spent some time discussing his role in Back to the Beginning as well as the early days of Judas Priest growing up alongside Black Sabbath.

"I'm really looking forward to it," Downing told host Chuck Armstrong about the July 5 event in Birmingham.

"[I'm] very proud, even if it's just a short space of time — which it will be because there's so many artists ... Just to be part of this is something that is certainly going to be very memorable and rewarding. I can't wait for it."

As Downing celebrated the charity aspect of Back to the Beginning, he wondered if there might be something more to come, too.

"We're here to do business and create something that is so extraordinary in our genre," he shared.

"I would say it would be wonderful to take this around the world, but who knows? [But] if it is to be the only concert, then it'll just make it even more special."

Downing admitted that as Judas Priest started taking shape in Birmingham decades ago, they were cutting their teeth right alongside Black Sabbath.

"I went and saw the band a couple of times very, very early on," Downing recalled.

"They probably had only just called themselves Black Sabbath that week ... We did play with the guys, Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, I think it was a place called the Masonic Hall in a place called Walsall, very close to where the guys grew up and where we grew up."

Downing said that as he witnessed Sabbath's success, it only gave Priest that much more confidence in what they were doing at the time.

"Black Sabbath were so busy doing their thing and we were so busy doing our thing," he said.

"Obviously when they released that first record, it was fantastic for us to know there were other musicians out there really quite close to where we were — very like-minded, different, but there was definitely a synergy there. We very much loved what Black Sabbath were doing and we were very much championing what they were doing, not just because we liked it, but we thought the more successful they could be, maybe the more successful we could be when we managed to get a recording deal if it ever happened. Luckily for us, it did."

K.K. Downing Dives Into New Version of 'Never Satisfied' Featuring Tim Owens

Along with celebrating Priest's history with Sabbath, Downing had another reason to reflect on Priest's early days as he released a new version of the Rocka Rolla track, "Never Satisfied."

"[I had] a lot of fun," he said about revisiting the song.

"Really, lots of nostalgia and I've got to say that I'm really, really pleased that a company called [Reach Music Publishing] have acquired the first two albums and so now it really is a case of feeling, after 50 years, that the albums have come home again. It's great to feel a part of those records again after so long."

Downing said that they managed to find the original tapes — the big, heavy reel-to-reel tapes — in good condition. Because of that, they were able to take the recordings to modern-day technology and preserve them forever.

"It's like a fairy tale come true."

The guitarist said they considered several songs from Rocka Rolla to re-record, but when they ended up with "Never Satisfied," he was really happy with the decision.

"I just had a lot of fun laying the track down and I was curious as to how it would feel playing something like that again after so, so long," he shared.

"But basically, not thinking it through too much and really just blasting it down, I did it. I asked [Tim "Ripper" Owens] if he would put a vocal down on there and that's what we did."

With the 50th anniversary of Rocka Rolla in 2024, Downing is aware that more major milestones are ahead for every Priest record. With that in mind, he said he's ready to share more new versions of classic tracks.

"I'm absolutely sure [we'll do it]."

What Else Did K.K. Downing Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

What it feels like to have Rocka Rolla in the world for more than 50 years: "It's pretty scary to think about. We were just very young men at the time and pretty naive to everything. But we did everything as best as we could ... We can't deny [Rocka Rolla] is part of the history and the legacy, but it's nice to know now that [instead] of being totally separated from those first two records because of all the legal things that got in the way, now we can breathe a sigh of relief and just give them a big hug and kiss and send them on their way again. That's what we're going to do."
What it was like being from Birmingham, with London a couple of hours away: "I think London did consider itself the be all and the end all of the music industry ... I think the consensus was that London was doing this and everybody else copied what people were doing, but it wasn't the case. We were seriously pioneers, I believe. We were good friends with Budgie from Wales, we did so many shows with those guys, we were joined at the hip. They weren't from London, they were pioneering their own thing. There's a lot of good stuff outside of London. And to be fair, there was a lot of good stuff coming out of London, you know?"
What Ozzfest 2004 was like for Judas Priest and Black Sabbath to share the stage: "Black Sabbath and Judas Priest on a bill together, that was amazing. When you think that we grew up as youngsters, so close together — it was pretty rough and rowdy. But we made it through to be able to play all those wonderful venues around America. It was very, very special."