Judas Priest Secret Bass Session: Nathan East Confirms He Stepped In During the ’80s

Nathan East has built a legendary career as one of the most in-demand session bassists of all time, playing on countless records across genres. But one of his more surprising gigs just recently came to light, and it involves none other than Judas Priest.

In a conversation with American Musical Supply (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar), East confirmed that he played bass on a Judas Priest record while the band’s longtime bassist, Ian Hill, was in rehab:

“I guess, since you read it somewhere, it’s probably out there now. But it was Judas Priest [laughs]. And, you know, sometimes, people have to go to rehab or something like that, but the show must go on.”

Although he didn’t specify which album he played on, it’s known that Hill entered rehab around 1986. That timeline points to Turbo, the band’s synth-heavy release that came out in April of that year. The band never publicly mentioned East’s contribution, and according to him, that was by design.

“I don’t even remember the name of the album. They said, ‘We can’t put your name on.’”

East spoke candidly about the toll that the rock and roll lifestyle took on many artists from that era.

“And listen, I’m all for everybody just doing the best they can being clean. Because back in the day, folks used to party. A lot of the artists that I work with now have been clean and sober for, like, decades.”

“Which is really, when you think about a business, people think, ‘Oh yeah, I can get in there, and then I could just party as hard as I can.’ But no, you can’t. Pretty soon, it’ll catch up with you.”

“And I’ve seen a lot of guys that just… I have a lot of friends that just didn’t make it. They stayed there, and then they didn’t make it. Thankfully, I’m always appreciative when people go and take the time to go get help… And so, while he was getting some help, the album was being recorded, ‘Hey, can you come in and play?’”

East said this session came together quickly and required him to scale back his usual approach.

“But the thing is, it was one of those things where they were recording, they needed to get it done. And somebody probably said, ‘Hell, get him while he’s going from the Record Plant to Sunset Sound.’ [Laughs]”

“So, we went in there. It was fun. And we kept it pretty simple. Because if I was playing… [plays a bass fill], they’re all, ‘Don’t play that! He wouldn’t play that. Just keep it…’ [plays a straightforward root note line]. Not even a slide. But it was a fun time. Fun challenge.”

Here’s the full interview with East via American Musical Supply: