Davey Rimmer is picking up a second iconic bass job without giving up the first. The bassist has been confirmed as the replacement for Ian Hill in Judas Priest, and he will keep playing with Uriah Heep as well.
Uriah Heep responded to the news on Friday with a social media statement, saying: “Following today’s announcement that Davey Rimmer will be joining Judas Priest from the start of their 2027 touring, we would all like to wish Davey our very best in this very coveted position in one of the giants of heavy metal and hard rock.
“Davey will continue to play with Uriah Heep in 2026 and on all shows in 2027 where schedules permit. For the shows that don’t, we will be announcing a replacement in due course.”
Hill announced his retirement from Judas Priest on Friday morning, effective immediately. The 74-year-old pointed to “advanced” arthritis as the reason. He said he was still able to handle his bass parts on the songs for the band’s upcoming album, but “there were questions whether I’d be able to complete the recent European tour without incident.”
Hill said he “decided to retire and spend the remaining years doing things with [my family] before it involves one of ’em pushing me around in a wheelchair.”
The bassist had no doubts about his successor, calling Rimmer “the obvious choice for my replacement,” and describing him as “a great bassist, and a genuinely nice bloke who’ll fit the job perfectly, and I wish him the very best of luck!”
Rimmer has already gotten a taste of the job. He filled in for Hill at the Sept. 21 Judas Priest show at the Eventim Apollo in London after Hill hurt his arm, an injury described at the time as “a badly damaged tendon in his left arm.”
A Liverpool native, Rimmer picked up the bass at 11 and learned his craft by playing along to vinyl from the likes of Queen, Uriah Heep, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. He moved to London in the 1990s and dug into the local rock scene. That led to touring and two albums with Zodiac Mindwarp & The Love Reaction: Rock Savage (2005, Cosmodelic Records) and We Are Volsung (2010, SPV/Steamhammer). His bass heroes are a very British bunch, including John Entwistle, John Deacon, Trevor Bolder, Bob Daisley and Neil Murray.
In the early 2000s, Rimmer was a regular in Metalworks, a Camden Town covers band whose lineup included Richie Faulkner of Judas Priest and former Judas Priest drummer Les Binks, plus assorted guests. He joined Uriah Heep in 2013, first covering for an ill Bolder. After Bolder passed away, Rimmer took the job full time and played on Outsider (2014) and the albums that followed, including Living The Dream (2018) and Chaos & Colour (2023). His run with the band has become one of its longest stretches without a lineup change. In 2022, he teamed up with Faulkner, Ronnie Romero and others in Elegant Weapons.
Hill was the last original member standing in Judas Priest, which formed in 1969. Singer Rob Halford came aboard in 1973, followed by guitarist Glenn Tipton in 1974. Halford left in the early 1990s to front his own band and returned in 2003. Founding guitarist K.K. Downing exited in 2011, and Faulkner took his spot.
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