K. K. Downing
Kenneth Keith Downing Jr. (born 27 October 1951) is an English guitarist and a founding member of the heavy metal bands Judas Priest and KK's Priest.
For the racing driver, see Ken Downing.
K. K. Downing
Kenneth Keith Downing Jr.
27 October 1951
West Bromwich, England
Musician, songwriter
Guitar
1968–2011, 2012, 2019–present
Early life and career[edit]
Downing was born in West Bromwich, West Midlands. In the late 1960s, he developed a passion for rock music and the guitar, which led to his being kicked out of his home at age 15 and dropping out of school soon afterwards.[1] He is a mostly self-taught guitarist.[2] He was heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix, whom Downing said he was "very quick to recognize" as the future.[2] He was also influenced by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and Eric Clapton.[3]
Downing started his first band, a pop band called Stagecoach,[4] between the age of 17 and 18 with his second cousin Brian Badhams on bass guitar (now with The Elkie Brooks Band) and drummer Martin Phillips. The trio "mainly jammed a few Cream songs and a few 12-bar blues". Downing played guitar with the band after winning a coin toss with Badhams "in his bedroom to see who would play guitar or bass".[2] K. K. Downing attended catering college and worked as trainee chef at the Lyttelton Arms[5] in Hagley.[6]
Downing is the cousin of football coach Keith Downing.[7]
Live return[edit]
After not performing on stage since Judas Priest's 30th-anniversary celebration of the 1980 album British Steel in 2009, Downing made his live return at the 2019 edition of the Bloodstock Open Air festival where he performed with former Manowar guitarist Ross the Boss[69][70] as they played the songs "The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)", "Heading Out to the Highway", "Breaking the Law" and "Running Wild".[71] He cited it being "a bit of a whirlwind" and the perfect way to get reintroduced to the stage. He also said that there was very little time for him to rehearse as some of the band members arrived the same day of their scheduled rehearsal, "But we did manage to squeeze an hour or so in the following day." He described the performance as being "a jam, really… And there was quite a bit of improvisation in there. And that's where it is."[72] In a Twitter response from a fan, Richie Faulkner praised Downing's performance upon viewing video footage of him, saying that he "looked and sounded great. Good to see the man up on stage where he belongs again."[73]
Downing, along with former Judas Priest members Tim "Ripper" Owens and Les Binks, former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson and Hostile guitarist A.J. Mills performed a special one-off show in Wolverhampton on 3 November 2019 and played a full set of Judas Priest songs.[74][75][76][77][78]
Musical side projects[edit]
Downing made a guest appearance on Violent Storm's 2005 self-titled debut album, performing on the track "War No More".[89]
He appeared on the 2012 tribute album Who Are You? An All Star Tribute to the Who, which paid tribute to the Who. He performed on the track "Eminence Front", along with vocalist/bassist John Wetton, keyboardist Derek Sherinian and drummer Billy Sherwood.[90]
Downing appeared on former Queensrÿche vocalist Geoff Tate's Queensrÿche-branded 2013 album Frequency Unknown, performing the guitar solo on "Running Backwards".[91][92]
In 2018, Downing, along with former Judas Priest members Tim "Ripper" Owens and Les Binks, and Armored Saint bassist Joey Vera were featured in a cover version of the song "Beyond the Realms of Death", fronted by guitarist Paul Crook's band Devilstar, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Judas Priest's 1978 album Stained Class.[93]
Autobiography[edit]
On 18 September 2018, Downing published his autobiography titled Heavy Duty: Days and Nights in Judas Priest via Da Capo Press. It was written by Downing himself along with Mark Eglinton. The memoir details everything from "the complex personality conflicts, the business screw-ups, the acrimonious relationship with fellow heavy metal band Iron Maiden, as well as how Judas Priest found itself at the epicenter of a storm of parental outrage that targeted heavy metal in the '80s", according to the book's synopsis. It also tells about Downing's role in Judas Priest, as well as his decision to leave the band in 2011.[94] It was met with mostly positive reviews.[95][96][97][98][99]
Since its release, Rob Halford said that he has not taken the time to read Downing's autobiography while in production on his own.[100]
Homes[edit]
Downing's first house was a "tiny semi in Bloxwich". He has lived in Los Angeles and Florida but no longer owns a home in Spain, but his main abode since 1985[101] remains Astbury Hall in Shropshire. It is in a very secluded area so he can (as stated in a 2007 interview) "really turn up [his] Marshalls really loud".[102] Astbury Hall is also home to "one of England's finest championship golf courses",[103] a course created by Downing himself and where he has held publicised charity events.[104] Sarah Lissimore, his former girlfriend, mounted a legal challenge for half of his Shropshire estate. This was based on his assertion, "I'd bet you'd love to be lady of this Manor, wouldn't you?" The High Court of Justice rejected the notion that this assertion could give rise to proprietary estoppel in favour of Lissimore.[105]
In December 2013, it was announced that Downing would be teaming up with a property development finance provider, and golfer Darren Clarke, to help build luxury residential developments on Downing's Astbury estate.[106][107]
Downing told the Shropshire Star: "We have had a fantastic season, things were going really well. We had plans for a hotel that we were doing really well with. Obviously there was a necessity for a funding element.
"The company took out a short-term mezzanine fund in early August to take us through to March. This was essentially to bring in professional architects and a team from London. Everything was in place as far as we were concerned.
"Unfortunately about six weeks into the loan we were served a loan termination notice about technical breaches of the agreement.
"We are at the moment looking to re-finance that loan. We were taken aback that the funder was not more flexible with us as partners.
It was put up for sale for £10 million ($13.5 million). Downing maintained that the development was financially stable and viable as he was set to build a luxury hotel for the Marriott Autograph collection and had hoped to host The Open Championship on the estate's golf course.[108]
Due to the circumstances surrounding his golf resort investment, Downing placed a share of his royalty rights for 136 Judas Priest songs for sale; the catalogue generates nearly £300,000 ($400,000) per year. Joint administrator Alastair Massey called the songs "a unique investment opportunity" from one of the "driving influences" of Judas Priest's success.[109] In July 2018, Round Hill Music acquired the royalty rights to Downing's compositions; the catalogue's asking price was at least £10 million ($13.5 million).[110][111] Downing later explained about the sellings of his estate, his golf course and his royalty rights of 136 Judas Priest songs, "I'm in the process now of recovering everything else through the legal channels. I made a few rubbish business moves, but I can't complain really because I did okay. Lots of musicians end up with nothing really, but I had an evaluation on the estate worth in excess of £13 million. Quite a few million pounds' worth of music royalties and other assets as well. I'm suing my lawyers for negligence."[112]
Amplifiers and effects
KK's Priest
