Ian Hill has shared insights regarding his decision to retire from Judas Priest.

Hill became a member of the iconic metal band in 1970 and is recognized as Judas Priest’s longest-serving member. The bassist announced his retirement on October 9, citing “the onset of the evil arthritis” as his reason. In a recent discussion with Metal Pilgrim, Hill elaborated on his retirement.

“The last couple of tours have been a bit of a struggle, because this trouble is basically my shoulder and my thumb,” Hill explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “I’ve been struggling with that for the past couple of tours or so. And it doesn’t go away, unfortunately, and it’s one of those things that just gets worse as time goes by. And I almost retired at the end of the last tour.”

Hill further explained that he believed he could manage the situation until the band began performing more shows.

READ MORE: Judas Priest Lineup Changes: A Complete Guide

“Iron Maiden said, ‘Do you fancy doing a four-week tour of America this year?’ And I said, ‘Well, yeah, that sounds okay, a four-week tour of America, quick four weeks,’” the bassist recalled. “Then they pulled out. In the meantime, we’d put in Bloodstock in Britain, which is the festival in Britain. So you can’t tool up to do one show. So the next thing, ‘Oh, we’ll do one or two dates in Europe around Bloodstock.’ And nine weeks later… And that’s what did it. We did six shows in eight days. That was running up to Brussels, so that’s when the tendon snapped.”

As Hill described it, the intense demands of constant gigging ultimately caused his body to give in. Even taking occasional days off to recover didn’t facilitate healing. “You go on stage and you aggravate it all over again,” he remarked.

When Ian Hill Realized He Was Done Performing

The moment Hill recognized he was finished came during a performance in Brussels.

“Right before the encores on the Brussels show, I just felt a snap and a real sharp, searing pain, and I thought, ‘That’s it. That’s the end of it,’” he recalled. “And for the encores, I had to actually get my elbow and rest it on my stomach and pull the bass back so I could get down to the bottom of the neck.”

READ MORE: Watch Ian Hill's Final Judas Priest Concert

“I physically could not play the bass,” Hill explained, noting that his shoulder pain was simply too severe. “So I had no choice but to call it quits.”

As Hill articulated it, his decision to retire was not solely for his own wellbeing but also for the benefit of Judas Priest and its fans.

“I couldn’t put the rest of the guys in jeopardy and go out on another tour, and it happen all over again in the middle of a tour,” he noted. “It’s not fair on anybody — the fans, the rest of the guys, the people who have invested money into us to get us out to these places, and suddenly you’re having to cancel shows and things. It’s not fair. So I decided to call it a day, and I have. I’ve neglected family life. It’s cost me two marriages over the years. So I decided to spend some time with family.”