What is Glenn Tipton’s Net Worth?
Glenn Tipton is an English guitarist who has a net worth of $20 million. Glenn Tipton is best known for being the guitar player for the heavy metal band Judas Priest. He is one of only two members of the band who has appeared on every studio album, the other being Ian Hill. The band’s most famous member, Rob Halford, was in the band from 1973 to 1992 and then again from 2003 to the present.
Glenn Tipton learned how to play the guitar at 19 and his first band was named Shave Em’ Dry which turned into Merlin and then Flying Hat Band. In 1974 he joined Judas Priest. The band went on to release 17 studio albums as well as 5 live albums. They have sold over 45 million albums worldwide including 12 million in the United States. The band’s best-selling album was 1982’s “Screaming for Vengeance,” which was 2x Platinum. Judas Priest was named the second Greatest Metal Band of all time by MTV. They were the inaugural inductees into the VH1 Rock Honors in 2005 and won a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2010. Tipton also released the solo albums “Baptizm of Fire” in 1997 and “Edge of the World” in 2006. He has been ranked #9 on MusicRadar’s The 20 Greatest Metal Guitarists Ever and #19 on Hit Parader’s list of 100 greatest metal guitarists.
Early Life
Glenn Tipton was born on October 25, 1947 in Blackheath, England to parents Olive and Doug Tipton. He attended Olive Hill Primary School and grew up with his brother, Gary. Tipton was taught to play the piano early in his life by his mother. His brother played guitar while they were growing up and played in a local band called the Atlantics. Tipton later learned how to play the guitar at the age of 19. His first guitar was a Hofner acoustic guitar. He later played on a Rickenbacker and then a Fender Stratocaster.
Judas Priest
Tipton’s first band was Shave ‘Em Dry. The band later came to be called Merlin before becoming The Flying Hat Band. However, the band eventually broke up due to management issues. In May 1974, Tipton joined Judas Priest, a band that was already formed. He joined during the recording for the band’s debut studio album, “Rocka Rolla.” He quickly added guitar parts for the album.
As Judas Priest continued releasing music, Tipton did more and more on the albums. He contributed some writing to songs like “Prelude,” “Epitaph,” and “The Ripper.” He also played keyboard on some of the early albums. Tipton is also credited with bringing a more metal sound into the band after their initial album, which had a more blues rock and psychedelic sound.
In 1980, the band released the album “British Steel.” This was the band’s commercial breakthrough. It combined the band’s trademark heavy metal sound with pop-style song structures. The songs “United” and “Breaking the Law” were two guitar-driven songs on which Tipton’s playing is very prominent. The band quickly shot to superstar status in the world of rock. Over the course of the decade, they continued releasing hit albums like “Point of Entry,” “Screaming for Vengeance,” “Defenders of Faith,” “Turbo,” and “Ram It Down.” In 1990, the band released their 12th studio album with “Painkiller.”
In 1992, Rob Halford left the band and Judas Priest went on hiatus. During this time, Tipton primarily worked on a solo project that he formed in the mid-1990s. His first solo album was “Baptizm of Fire” in 1997. Around a decade later, he released “Edge of the World,” which was a project from the sessions for “Baptizm of Fire.”
Meanwhile, Judad Priest reformed with a new vocalist, Tim “Ripper” Owens. They released the album “Jugulator” in 1997 followed by “Demolition” in 2001. Both albums experimented with new sounds to distinguish the band from their time with Halford. However, the band reunited with Halford in 2003 and toured in 2004 to celebrate his return. In 2005, they released the album “Retribution” and then released “Nostradamus” in 2008. In 2010, the band announced their “Epitaph World Tour.” The tour was to be the band’s last major world tour. However, they later retracted this when they released a new album, “Redeemer of Souls,” in 2014 that was accompanied by a world tour.
In 2018, Tipton announced he would stop touring with the band after he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He remained a member of the band and did occasionally appear with them onstage and continued helping write new music. In March 2018, he appeared onstage at a concert in New Jersey to perform a number of songs with the band. He was overwhelmed by the support he received from his bandmates and their fans.
In November 2022, Tipton joined the rest of the band onstage during their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Personal Life
Tipton lives in Romsley, a village in Worcestershire near Birmingham, England. He built a state-of-the-art recording studio next to his home. He also has a property in Spain. Tipton has been married twice in his life. With his first wife, Rosie, he has two children named Rosie and Tobias. He later married his second wife, Karolyne, and had a son named Colin.
In February 2018, Tipton revealed he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He had known about the diagnosis for some time before revealing it to the public and stepping down from his touring role with Judas Priest. The progression of the disease left him unable to play some of the band’s more challenging material. That year, the band launched the Glenn Tipton Parkinson’s Foundation in Tipton’s honor. The foundation is purposed to help raise money in hopes of finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease.