Downing was asked about the band carrying on following their Farewell tour and his departure. He responded, "I'm glad Priest is continuing on. I was so close to doing that tour it wasn't funny. It was just one of those things. I had lots and lots of reasons for not continuing, as I wasn't content with things as they were.

"I wasn't happy with the band's live performance. I thought it could have been better, not that the fans would notice. To me, Priest was always a stealth machine and that's what I liked about it. Even though you get older you still need to be able to deliver the goods.

"People came a long way and paid a lot of money to see us so you've got to make sure you still give 110%. I thought that should be inherent and what it should always be."

He was then asked if he would ever consider reuniting with the band, even for a special one-off show and he said, ["Laughing] No, I don't think that will ever, ever happen!"

But he then went on to say the following about his replacement in the band, "obviously I'm quite happy for Richie Faulkner to be in the band. But, I really wasn't expecting to have someone who had so many familiarities as me, the looks and everything. At a glance nothing too much has changed for the fans."