K. K. Downing
| K. K. Downing | |
|---|---|
Downing performing with Judas Priest in 1984.
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| Born |
Kenneth Downing, Jr. 27 October 1951 West Bromwich, Staffordshire, England |
| Residence | Astbury Hall, Shropshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Heavy metal, speed metal, hard rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar |
| Years active | 1968–2011, 2012 |
| Labels | Columbia |
| Associated acts | Judas Priest |
| Website |
kkdowning www |
| Notable instruments | |
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Gibson Flying V Hamer KK Downing Signature model |
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Kenneth "K. K." Downing, Jr. (born 27 October 1951) is an English Grammy Award winning guitarist, songwriter and founding member of the British heavy metal band Judas Priest.
Downing was born in West Bromwich. He was kicked out of his home at 15 and dropped out of school soon afterward.In the late 1960s, Downing discovered rock music and the guitar. He is a mostly self-taught guitarist. "He was heavily influenced by Jimi Hendrix, after whom he modelled his playing style." Records by popular artists which have influenced Downing as a musician include, "Are You Experienced", "Axis Bold As Love", "Electric Ladyland" by Jimi Hendrix, "A Hard Road" by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and "Fresh Cream" by Cream. Downing played on every Judas Priest album from Rocka Rolla to A Touch of Evil: Live.
Downing started his first band between the age of 17 and 18 with his second-cousin Brian Badhams on bass guitar (now with The Elkie Brooks Band) and drummer Martin Philips. The trio "mainly jammed a few Cream songs and a few 12-bar blues". Downing played guitar with the band after winning a coin toss with his cousin Brian "in his bedroom to see who would play guitar or bass".
Prior to joining Judas Priest, Downing went to catering college and worked as trainee chef at the Lyttelton Arms in Hagley.
Downing has been noted for his aggressive, rock influenced guitar solos and dual leads with fellow Judas Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton. His solos remained of this style for most of his career, but he incorporated various techniques into his playing over the years. As opposed to Tipton, his solos tended to incorporate a more raw, rough-edged sound, making use of techniques like pinch harmonics, dive bombs, and tremolo picking, and often focus on speed, technical accuracy and melody. Although the two would switch roles, Downing's usual job on Judas Priest songs was as the rhythm guitarist with Tipton playing solos (the band's signature song "You Got Another Thing Comin'" is an example of such). From Stained Class onward, Tipton came to increasingly dominate Judas Priest's songwriting, particular on the more commercial tracks and Downing's role in the band started to diminish, especially as the former's songs comprised the vast majority of live setlists after 1980. In 1978, Tipton began to incorporate tapping into his playing, which Downing began to use as well. By 1990, both guitarists started to use the complex technique of sweep-picking, which can be notably heard on the title track of their 1990 album Painkiller. Both have continuously used these techniques ever since.
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Wikipedia