Judas Priest's Rob Halford speaks on line-up changes: “That blew up in my face, didn’t it?”

Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford has taken the blame for the sudden changes to the band’s line-up, which saw the firing and re-hiring of their touring guitarist within a week.

Back in January, Andy Sneap – who has toured with the band since 2018, subbing in for Glenn Tipton – was removed from the band ahead of their forthcoming North American tour. Five days later, however, the band announced that their touring line-up would remain “unchanged” and that Sneap would stay on.

Now, in a new interview with Billboard, Halford has spoken about the confusing saga – ultimately attributing it to “a crazy idea” of reverting to a four-piece to reflect the band’s origins as a quartet.

“That all came from me, it didn’t come from the band,” he said. “Of course, that blew up in my face, didn’t it?

“To have done something like a four-piece now would’ve been just not right, ridiculous, insane, crazy, off my rocker. It’s kind of water under the bridge now. I think my heart was in the right place.”

In the interview, Halford also spoke of the band’s upcoming Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination – which marks their third overall. The frontman described the nomination as “a blessing” and “a rush”.

“This year’s selection… it’s crazy,” he said. “My mind’s going, ‘I must do a duet with Dolly Parton! I must do a duet with Kate Bush!’ If Lionel [Richie] and Priest get in, I think we’ll both be dancing on the ceiling together.”