Having recently celebrated his 72nd birthday, Judas Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton - who has been battling Parkinson's disease for more than five years - has taken to social media to offer a few words of thanks to his fans.

Says Glenn: "I am overwhelmed by all the kind birthday messages - I would like to thank every single fan for your support and love - particularly over the past year which has been a tough one for me... thank you all so much! No surrender!!"

2020 marks the 20th anniversary of the UK heavy metal festival, Bloodstock Open Air, with the festival scheduled for August 6 - 9 at Catton Park in Derbyshire.

Organizers recently checked in with the following lineup news: "Metal legends Judas Priest will headline Sunday night. In a year when Bloodstock celebrates 20 years, we can think of no better place to also celebrate Judas Priest’s 50 Heavy Metal Years! The Grammy award-winning British icons were recently nominated again for the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame and to date have sold over 50 million albums. Their latest release, 2018’s Firepower, saw the band return all guns blazing, earning the accolade Best British Album at the Planet Rock Awards."

Judas Priest enthuse, “Horns up Bloodstock - the PRIEST is back to headline the 20th year of Bloodstock with our 50 Heavy Metal Years anniversary show!! A double barrel, once in a lifetime, blast of metal mania 2020....!!”

You can watch a special message from the inimitable Rob Halford, below:

For info, head to Bloodstock.uk.com.