![Ex-Judas Priest Singer Says Band Could’ve Sounded Like AC/DC If He Stuck Around](http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/ultimateclassicrock.com/files/2012/02/atkins2.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Ex-Judas Priest Singer Says Band Could’ve Sounded Like AC/DC If He Stuck Around
Before Rob Halford became Judas Priest‘s frontman, Al Atkins held the position in the band’s prefame years. And even though Atkins didn’t sing a note on Priest’s first two albums, 1974′s ‘Rocka Rolla’ and 1976′s ‘Sad Wings of Destiny,’ he made his presence felt as a co-writer of ‘Victim of Changes,’ among other songs.
Had Atkins remained a member of Priest, surely the course of the band’s history — and heavy metal in general — would have been altered. The same can probably be said of the Priest sound, he tells The Examiner.
“If I would have stayed with them,” Atkins says, “we may have taken a different road — maybe more like AC/DC, but that’s not a bad thing, is it?”
Atkins gives credit where credit is due in terms of how Priest did turn out. In a recent interview, Atkins tips his hat to Halford for taking Priest “to another level with his style of high-range vocals,” and he also gave Glenn Tipton props for his harmony guitar work with K.K. Downing.
So why did Atkins leave Priest before the band had a chance to taste fame and fortune? Pressing financial concerns — that’s why. Despite help from Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi “getting us some higher-profile gigs” circa 1973, says Atkins, the fact remained he was a married father, “and without a record deal and the backing we needed, I just couldn’t survive anymore, so I decided to get a haircut and a 9-to-5 job.”
Looking back, Atkins regrets that move, “but [I] was happy for them to eventually get that deal and climb the ladder to succeed, and they much deserved it.”
These days, Atkins fronts the hard-hitting Atkins/May Project, which also features guitarist Paul May.
More From KSEN AM 1150
![Neil Young, Foo Fighters + More Honor Paul McCartney at MusiCares’ 2012 Person of the Year Award Ceremony](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2012/02/Paul-McCartney1.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Slash Reveals His Inspiration for Writing Songs in New Webisode](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2012/02/Slash.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Gary Cherone Recalls His Time Fronting Van Halen](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2012/02/Van-Halen3.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Rush ‘Clockwork Angels’ Album To Be Novelized By Popular Sci-Fi Author](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2012/02/rush1.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![This Day in History for February 11 – Mandela Released from Prison and More](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2012/02/nelsonmandela.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Celebrity Birthdays for February 11 – Jennifer Aniston, Taylor Lautner and More](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2012/02/feb11.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Former Genesis Guitarist Steve Hackett Witnessed Led Zeppelin’s 2007 Reunion Show – As a Roadie](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2012/02/Steve-Hackett_Stephen-Lovekin_Getty-Images1.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Would You Willingly Downsize a Meal?](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2012/02/56399794.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Ozzy Osbourne To Receive Top Honor in Hometown of Birmingham, England?](http://townsquare.media/site/126/files/2012/02/ozzy-1.jpg?w=980&q=75)