John Frederick Hinch (19 June 1947 – 29 April 2021) was a British drummer from Lichfield, Staffordshire. He was the original drummer of heavy metal band Judas Priest. 

Hinch was a jazz-rock styled drummer with a very compact style.

Biography

Hinch played in several Birmingham rock bands, including the Pinch, the Generation, and the Bakerloo Blues Line, later Bakerloo. With vocalist Rob Halford he played in the band Hiroshima from 1972 to 1973.

In May 1973 guitarist K.K. Downing and bassist Ian Hill, the founding members of Judas Priest, were looking for other musicians to complete the line-up for their band, vocalist Alan Atkins and various temporary drummers having left to pursue other musical projects. They approached Halford and Hinch after they saw them playing live with Hiroshima. Glenn Tipton joined as second guitarist, the first and historical official line-up of Judas Priest was established and in 1974 they recorded their first album, Rocka Rolla. Hinch was also the driver and the road manager of the band.

Hinch’s drumming managed tempo and style changes from swing to jazz and rock, using a single bass drum. Hinch always used traditional jazz-rock drum kits with a snare drum, single bass drum, single tom-tom, and single floor tom, in contrast to his numerous successors who used big kits and equipment.

Differences and conflicts, particularly with Glenn Tipton, made Hinch leave: his place was taken by Alan "Skip" Moore (who previously played with the band during their "on the road" days). Hinch decided to pursue a career in musical management, working with Jameson Raid, Uli Jon Roth, Fashion, Steel, The Bureau, and Zeno.

In recent years he was contacted by several musical biographers and interviewers and spoke about Judas Priest, particularly in a 1995 interview included in The Best of Judas Priest – The Insight Series. Hinch can be seen in the video of the songs "Rocka Rolla" and "Dreamer Deceiver" (both from "The Old Grey Whistle Test" - BBC TV) in the collection Metal Works 1973-1993. He was among the members of the band who separately collaborated with author Neil Daniels for the release of the biography Judas Priest Defenders of the Faith.

Hinch was married from July 1987 to April 2010 to Jane Dayus (host of TV show Wedding SOS). They had a son Fraser who is a TV movie director.

Judas Priest

Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million copies of their albums, and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band had struggled with indifferent record production and a lack of major commercial success until 1980, when they rose to commercial success with the album British Steel.

The band's membership has seen much turnover, including a revolving cast of drummers in the 1970s and the departure of singer Rob Halford in 1992. The American singer Tim "Ripper" Owens replaced Halford in 1996 and recorded two albums with Judas Priest, before Halford returned to the band in 2003. The current line-up consists of Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill and drummer Scott Travis. The band's best-selling album is 1982's Screaming for Vengeance, with their most commercially successful line-up featuring Hill, Halford, Tipton, guitarist K. K. Downing, and drummer Dave Holland. Tipton and Hill are the only two members of the band to appear on every album.

Halford's operatic vocal style and the twin guitar sound of Downing and Tipton have been a major influence on heavy metal bands. Judas Priest's image of leather, spikes, and other taboo articles of clothing were widely influential during the glam metal era of the 1980s. The Guardian referred to British Steel as the record that defines heavy metal. Despite a decline in exposure during the mid 1990s, the band has once again seen a resurgence, including worldwide tours, being inaugural inductees into the VH1 Rock Honors in 2006, receiving a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2010, and having their songs featured in video games such as Guitar Hero and the Rock Band series. Judas Priest was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2020 class, but did not get in.

Members

• Ian Hill
• Glenn Tipton
• Scott Travis
• Rob Halford
• Richie Faulkner

Past members

• Al Atkins
• Alan Moore
• Simon Phillips
• John Hinch
• Les Binks
• Dave Holland
• Tim "Ripper" Owens
• K. K. Downing