Judas Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton has made his Parkinson’s Disease into a positive by forming the Glenn Tipton Parkinson’s Foundation.
Diagnosed with the neurological disorder four years ago, Tipton says, “It was the band that suggested we start a foundation which, although in my name, is really a Judas Priest foundation. We are selling T-shirts with the slogan ‘No Surrender’ (a track off the latest album, Firepower), which is very appropriate considering the determination you have to summon up to get on with life and beat this illness.”
He’s really excited about a new therapy in the works called MR-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy. He says that “although in its early stages, [it] has already had great success with a Parkinson’s-related condition called essential tremor.” He adds that his doctor and other experts “are very optimistic as to the positive results that are emerging. All proceeds we receive from you will go to this cause and I urge not just Judas Priest fans but everyone out there to help.”
Tipton is 70 and no longer performs full-time with the band.
