We have a bass player, His name is Tony ??♂???????
— Tim 'Ripper' Owens ?? (@TimRipperOwens) May 25, 2021
Former JUDAS PRIEST singer Tim "Ripper" Owens has seemingly closed the door on the possibility of David Ellefson joining KK'S PRIEST, the new band Tim formed with fellow ex-PRIEST member K.K. Downing.
Ellefson performed a full-length set of PRIEST classics with Owens, Downing and ex-JUDAS PRIEST drummer Les Binks in November 2019 in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. However, when KK'S PRIEST's formation was first announced a little over a year ago, the band's bassist was listed as Tony Newton, a founding member of the long-running British hard rock act VOODOO SIX. At the time, it was assumed that Ellefson's non-involvement with KK'S PRIEST was down to the fact that his main priority was MEGADETH, which was working on a new studio album.
On Monday (May 24), MEGADETH announced that Ellefson was no longer a member of the band, prompting speculation from some fans that he would join KK'S PRIEST in time to play shows in support of the group's upcoming debut LP.
Earlier today, a fan tagged Owens and Downing and tweeted: "Hey guys, #DavidEllefson Dave is available again!! Let's rock mf!!!" In response, Owens wrote: "We have a bass player, His name is Tony".
MEGADETH fired Ellefson two weeks after the leak of the bassist's messages and videos featuring a woman who is not his wife.
On May 10, several sexually explicit videos of Ellefson were leaked by an anonymous third party on the Internet and shared to Twitter; at least two of the videos revealed him masturbating. The longtime MEGADETH member later released a statement on Instagram denying all social media chatter that he "groomed" an underage fan.
Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the band's inception in 1983 to 2002, when the group briefly broke up because mainman Dave Mustaine suffered severe nerve damage that left him unable to play. After Mustaine reformed MEGADETH with an all-new lineup in 2004, Ellefson sued his former bandmate for $18.5 million, alleging that Mustaine still owed him substantial merchandise and publishing royalties. In January 2005, the case was dismissed in court, and five years later, Ellefson rejoined MEGADETH.
Photo courtesy of K.K.'s Steel Mill
