Glenn Raymond Tipton (born October 25, 1947 in Blackheath, England) is one of the lead guitarists for british heavy metal institution Judas Priest. Previous to Judas Priest, he was in the Flying Hat Band. Tipton is best known for his complex, sometimes classically influenced solos and his legendary double lead guitar trades with fellow Priest guitarist K.K. Downing. Tipton's songwriting and technical control have long been hallmarks of the Judas Priest sound. In 1997 Tipton released his solo album Baptizm of Fire, featuring a host of well-known musicians including Billy Sheehan, Cozy Powell and Don Airey, among others. Despite being largely ignored by the mainstream music press, it is considered a modern classic by many longtime fans of Priest. 2006 saw the release of Edge of the World featuring Cozy Powell on drums and John Entwistle on bass. The proceeds of said album were donated to the Teenage cancer trust charity. On 12 February 2018, Tipton announced that he would step down from touring when he revealed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. He stated that he was still a member of the band despite his diagnosis and would not rule out future on-stage appearances. Producer and guitarist Andy Sneap replaced him on tour. On 9 March 2018, the eighteenth album Firepower was released. At the 20 March 2018 show in Newark, New Jersey, Tipton joined the band on stage to perform "Metal Gods", "Breaking the Law" and "Living After Midnight", then "Victim of Changes" and "No Surrender" on later dates. Prior to the band's performance, he expressed uncertainty regarding his future role in Judas Priest, "It's an unanswerable question, really. It's in the lap of the metal gods." After performing on stage with the band, he described it as "emotional", and being overwhelmed with support from the band members and from fans worldwide, "You don’t like to see a grown man cry, but we did." Tipton did not make any more appearances on the remaining dates of the band's world tour due to his illness, as explained by bassist Ian Hill.