Ian Hill

Ian Hill
Background information
Birth name	Ian Frank Hill
Born	(1952-01-20) 20 January 1952 (age 65) West Bromwich, England
Genres	Heavy metal, speed metal, hard rock
Instruments	Bass guitar
Years active	1970–present
Labels	Columbia
Associated acts	Judas Priest
Notable instruments
Spector bass, Fender Jazz Bass

Ian Frank Hill (born 20 January 1952, in West Bromwich) is an English musician, best known as the bassist of the heavy metal band Judas Priest.

Hill learned how to play the double bass from his father, a bass player for local jazz acts. His father died when he was only fifteen, but his contribution to Hill was the foundation for years to come. In 1970, together with schoolmate K.K. Downing, Hill formed pioneering heavy metal band Judas Priest. He has been playing bass with the band ever since, and is the only remaining original member following Downing's departure in 2011.

Hill is known for his solid and melodic bass playing, which proved to be the ideal background for the dual guitars of K. K. Downing and Glenn Tipton and Rob Halford's operatic vocals. During the early years of the band, he played bass by finger-picking, but he began later playing with a pick, which he feels adds "attack" to the songs. On rare occasions, he still plays with his fingers.

Hill is responsible for bringing Rob Halford into Judas Priest. The two met while Hill was dating Halford's sister and mentioned that he needed a new vocalist for his band. Halford accepted, leaving his previous band Hiroshima, and brought along drummer John Hinch, who would later be dropped by the band after one album due to "musical inadequacy", according to Tipton in later years.

In the early years of Judas Priest, Hill played a 1970s Fender Jazz Bass, switching to Hamer in the mid-1980s. Since the late 1980s, Hill has played Spector basses. Spector currently produce an Ian Hill signature bass guitar, based on Hill's NS-2 and fitted with a narrower neck, with an optional tuning of BEAD.

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