Judas Priest were formed in 1969 in industrial West Bromwich, in the Black Country, by vocalist Al Atkins and bassist Brian "Bruno '' Stapenhill, with John Perry on guitar and John "Fezza '' Partridge on drums. Perry soon died in a road accident, and amongst the replacements the band auditioned were future Judas Priest guitarist Kenny "K.K. '' Downing; at the time, they turned him down in favour of 17 - year - old multi-instrumentalist Ernest Chataway, who had played with Birmingham band Black Sabbath when they were still called Earth. Stapenhill came up with the name Judas Priest from Bob Dylan 's song "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest '' on the album John Wesley Harding. No member of that early lineup lasted long enough to play on the band 's recordings, though several songs co-written by Atkins appeared on their first two albums.
where did the band judas priest get their name
from Bob Dylan 's song "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest ''