Judas Priest played the final show of their 2026 “Faithkeepers” tour on Monday night without Ian Hill. Uriah Heep‘s Davey Rimmer covered bass for a 17-song set at London’s Eventim Apollo.
It has been reported as the first Judas Priest show Hill has missed since he joined the band in 1970. Neither the band nor Hill has addressed that.
His absence was announced earlier in the day.
They wrote: “Hi everyone”
“Ian has a badly damaged tendon in his left arm so unfortunately he won’t be able to play at our Hammersmith Apollo Eventim show on Monday 21st September…our good friend Davey Rimmer (Uriah Heep) will be playing with us so the show will go on..”
“Ian sends his grateful appreciation to our fans for your caring and understanding…”
No update on Hill‘s recovery has been given since.
The set drew mainly on the band’s classic material, including “Breaking The Law“, alongside “Lightning Strike” and “No Surrender” from 2018’s Firepower. “Panic Attack” was the only song played from their most recent album, 2024’s Invincible Shield. Rimmer joined Rob Halford, guitarists Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap, and drummer Scott Travis.
He was not a stranger to the stage. Rimmer plays bass in Elegant Weapons, the band Faulkner formed in 2022 with Rainbow and Michael Schenker Group singer Ronnie Romero and Accept drummer Christopher Williams. Travis was the project’s original drummer, and Sneap produced its debut album, Horns For A Halo, released in May 2023.
Hill, 74, is the longest-serving member of Judas Priest. He joined in 1970 alongside K.K. Downing, and he and Glenn Tipton are the only two musicians to have played on every Judas Priest studio album. Halford arrived in 1973 and Tipton in 1974. Halford left in the early 1990s to lead his own band and returned in 2003. Downing left in 2011 and was replaced by Faulkner.
With London done, the band’s touring for 2026 is over. Their next confirmed appearance is at the “Tons Of Rock” festival in Oslo, Norway, in June 2027, on a first-wave bill that also includes Mötley Crüe. They then headline Tuska in Helsinki, Finland, which runs from July 2 to 4.
