Former Judas Priest guitarist K.K Downing appeared on an episode of Metal Pilgrim and he talked about how he came to terms with former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno, telling the story of when and where it happened:

“Yeah, well first I think myself and Paul kissed and made up in about 1986, I think. We were in a hotel room, we were on tour and Bon Jovi were at the opening act and we were there and I think Doc McGee was there, their manager and everything.”

Downing also mentioned what they did with Paul to make their ‘hiccup’ go away:

“And Paul was there, so we had this wonderful moment where we called each other a lot of names and then we had a beer and kissed and made up, so we’re all good.”

The guitarist also told how he decided to invite him to KK’s Priest’s upcoming tour, and explained that he was impressed by the atmosphere Di’Anno created in his shows while he was in the wheelchair due to his bad knee:

“I think the main reason was I actually saw Paul. I don’t know how it happened but I saw him playing some shows in South America and the fans were just going crazy. And that was so wonderful to see. It was so heartwarming, really. Because Paul was in the wheelchair, hopefully, he will literally be on his feet at some point in the future I’ve heard but I think this guy’s got so much to give still, these fans are so passionate. I had the idea of really inviting Paul on to do some shows and I’m excited about that.”

The so-called ‘hiccup’ between two bands goes back as far as 40 years, when they were supposed to tour together. K.K. came across Paul’s interview, in which he said ‘We will blow [Judas Priest’s] b*llocks off.’ He wrote about his initial reaction in his book ‘Heavy Duty: Days and Nights in Judas Priest’:

“Who the fuck are this lot? I’m just there thinking there are so many bands that would be grateful for the tour. Why should we give it to these bands if that’s their attitude? But that’s a big statement to make. And it didn’t happen, that’s for sure! It didn’t happen, it just created an atmosphere.”

In a 2021 interview, Downing said that Paul later apologised for the remarks he made, and now they’re going on ‘Prieststhe , Killers & Witches’ tour, starting from October 7th until October 12th.

You can watch the whole interview below.

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