Back in February, longtime Judas Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton revealed that he'd been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and would be leaving the iconic band's touring lineup to focus on his health. Several months and several onstage reunions later, he and the band have launched the Glenn Tipton Parkinson's Foundation: a new charity organization supporting Parkinson's research, spearheaded by the axeman himself.
Fans can support the initiative by purchasing an exclusive Judas Priest T-shirt, with Tipton's likeness printed on the front and a "No Surrender" slogan (borrowed from the standout track of the same name off this year's excellent Judas Priest album, Firepower) on the back. All proceeds from the shirts will go to various charities studying the disease. Snag them at Judas Priest's official merch site.
Providing an overview of the new charity in an accompanying statement, Tipton expressed a particularly strong interest in funding a promising experimental procedure ("MR-guided focused ultrasound thalamotomy") and gave an update on his own battle with Parkinson's, saying he hopes to do more shows with the band.
"As you probably know by now," he begins, "I've had to pull out of the current Priest tour due to ill health – I am still doing some shows and joining the guys on stage for some songs and will carry on for as long as I can without compromising the band. So far when I walk on stage the audience reaction has been amazing, heart warming and quite emotional ...
"I knew that something was wrong as my coordination and speed were affected and have both been slowly getting worse over the last ten years. Accordingly when I was diagnosed it wasn't really a shock. Rob, Richie, Ian and Scott are playing better than ever and Andy is doing a really great job — they have all given me so much support — 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) which is very appropriate considering the determination you have to summon up to get on with life and beat this illness—it's the sort of thing that always happens to 'someone else.'
"There are many Parkinsons-related charities where we could send the funds we raise to which deal with the many different aspects of this disease both physically and mentally – but what really excites me is a brand new pioneering treatment called: MR GUIDED FOCUSED ULTASOUND THALAMOTOMY which although in its early stages has already had great success with a Parkinson's related condition called essential tremor – Dr Bain, my specialist who is one of the leading experts in this field and his colleagues are now turning their attention to treating Parkinson's patients with this state of the art MR scanners and 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 —If you can't get to the shows you can also purchase T-shirts online ...
"We will keep you posted on what you have all raised through this tour so remember… Keep the Faith and… NO SURRENDER !!!" Tipton concludes.
