Former Judas Priest axeman K.K. Downing posted a birthday blog announcement on Sunday (October 27), reminiscing the old days and discussing the present...

As somewhat expected, Downing also touched on the subject of internet, saying that; "it is for sure that the internet is our greatest friend and our worst enemy at the same time. But I am certainly grateful to the internet today, in order to be able to bring this blog to you now," he added.

When it comes to the old days, K.K. commented: "Isn't it crazy that Mick Jagger is 70 for example? And Jimi Hendrix would also have been 70 this year. Anyway, not to be too down about it because at least we were there to witness everything that is relevant to the music that we know and love today."

The 62-year-old guitarist continued, "I always say that I couldn't have been born at a better time. I was just in my early teens when John Mayall, Cream and all of the early blues artists were just coming to fruition along with the Stones, Pretty Things, Troggs and the Kinks etc. This was all back in the day when music was everything to us, and it was all we had and we were more than happy with just that."


"Although I can remember having an insatiable appetite that always wanted feeding, so I had to go to concerts and festivals as much as I could. That's because what I wanted was still scarce on radio and television. I seem to remember being 16 and there was only the late and great John Peel who played anything close to what we wanted to hear."

 "Although John's taste was often a little too diverse for me, including for example T-Rex, Captain Beefheart and the Third Ear Band, John was still the greatest pioneer and champion of our cause at the time. Am I jogging some memories here?," the guitarist asked.

Downing ended his post on an optimistic note, saying, "Please take care, and please continue to feed the flames of metal."