K.K. DOWNING Says "Breakdown In Working Relationship" Led To His Departure From JUDAS PRIEST

Legendary JUDAS PRIEST guitarist KK DOWNING announced that his departure from the band was due to a "Breakdown In (a) Working Relationship".
FROM KK DOWNING: "Dear friends,

"It is with much regret that I will not be with you this summer.

"Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your concerns about my health. Please rest assured that I am OK.

"There has been an ongoing breakdown in working relationship between myself, elements of the band, and the band's management for some time. Therefore I have decided to step down rather than to tour with negative sentiments as I feel that this would be a deception to you, our cherished fans. However, I would urge you to please support the PRIEST as I have no doubt that it will be a show not to be missed.

"All my love and respect."
FROM ROB HALFORD:
"K.K. leaving was his own decision, for the reasons he made public on his web site [earlier today]," Halford said.

"We had a fantastic time together on the 'Nostradamus' tour... [But] K.K. has his own life to live and we can't force him to do anything he doesn't want to do.

"He told us [of his decision to leave JUDAS PRIEST] before Christmas time. Personally, I thought this could be the end... Emotionally, for me, it's been very, very difficult…

"When K.K. said he was thinking of retiring, Glenn [Tipton, PRIEST guitarist] was the first guy to send him a personal email to say, 'Ken, I hope you're OK. If there's anything you need, just let me know.' We kept the door open all this time in case Ken changed his mind, but the clock was ticking."
FROM SCOTT TRAVIS:
"Oh yes, I sure am. Everyone has been asking me about it, but then K.K. is a legend, so I do expect everyone to ask me about it."

On what this means for PRIEST to embark on a "farewell" tour:

Scott Travis: "I think we'll go as long as we want to go. It's up to everyone in the band. It's a five-member unit and I'm going to hopefully rock when PRIEST decides to give it up. I want to stick around and do what I can do. We're all lucky to do this to begin with. It's a gift to be able to make music, travel the world, meet fans and do everything else."

On what he plans to do after PRIEST's final tour:

Scott Travis: "I don't know, I'm just going to continue rocking my guts out like I do and hopefully something will come around the corner and I'll keep rocking."

Thanks-Stay Metal, Stay Brutal-\m/ -l-