Judas Priest talks about Michael Jackson

Judas Priest bassist Ian Hill has been interviewed by Canoe.ca's recently and talks about the death of Michael Jackson and outpouring of grief from his fans.

Ian Hill said “He was an immense star wasn’t he? Let’s face it,” said Hill, who said his death was huge news in England. “He’s a worldwide superstar really and the grief that everybody’s is showing, it doesn’t surprise me at all. He was a very, very talented man. And possibly very troubled but very talented nonetheless and he’s got millions of fans all over the place. It’s big news.”

“We sort of moved in different circles to us,” continued Hill of the Birmingham-bred band. “He was very much a pop star. We’re obviously heavy metal although I’d admire his talents, it’s not the sort of thing that I’d want to go and see. I’ll probably getting flayed online for that but it’s true nonetheless. It’s something I wouldn’t go out of my way to see.” Still, Hill understands those who would be upset they’ll never get to see his comeback. “There’s obviously a lot of people who are heartbroken over his death, there’s a lot of people very disappointed that they’re not going to see his show.”

Hill, whose band plays their only Canadian date at Toronto’s Molson Amphitheatre on July 9 ,said he understands why Jackson didn’t seem to deal with his immense fame very well.
“He never had a normal childhood if you know what I mean? Right from day one he was on a stage singing. It wasn’t like a normal upbringing. All of us, we all had comparitively normal working class childhoods and I think you get your basic life rules from there. And obviously Michael didn’t get that. He was thrust into the limelight from day one really so he got a somewhat different view it seems.”