{"id":747207,"date":"2026-08-23T13:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T13:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/747207\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T13:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T13:30:11","slug":"we-did-a-ouija-board-cause-we-wanted-to-speak-to-the-devil-from-idolising-hendrix-to-touring-with-iron-maiden-and-judas-priest-this-is-richie-faulkners-life-story-told-through-the-songs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/747207\/","title":{"rendered":"“We did a Ouija board \u2018cause we wanted to speak to the Devil.” From idolising Hendrix to touring with Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, this is Richie Faulkner’s life story, told through the songs he loves the most"},"content":{"rendered":"

Having established himself as one of the UK’s most talented young guitarists and spent some time touring with Lauren Harris (daughter of Steve), Richie Faulkner bagged the gig of a lifetime when he was picked to replace K.K. Downing in Judas Priest. Amongst other endeavours, he’s also written with the legendary Christopher Lee and plays in heavy metal<\/a> supergroup Elegant Weapons. It’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about great rock music, so we got him to make us a playlist.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe JIMI HENDRIX version of Wild Thing was the first thing I learned. I watched footage of Hendrix at the Monterey Pop Festival, where he burned the guitar and that whole thing was amazing to see. My dad\u2019s friend had lent us his guitar double-cutaway Gibson painted a bright orangey pink and splashed with blues and reds, like a punk thing. So I went out onto the street with his guitar and I was loosely playing Wild Thing in front of the house. This little old lady put 10 pence on the wall, so that was the first money I ever made playing the guitar.<\/p>\n

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\u201cGrowing up in the 80s, BRYAN ADAMS was massive. My father took me to see the Into The Fire tour at Wembley. It was my first live gig in an arena and my dad used to take me out in the car preparing me for how loud it was going to be. We’d go out in the car and crank Reckless really loud and drive around listening to songs like Run To You at full volume.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos From Louder<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone at school was getting into guitar music but instead of buying a Guns N’ Roses<\/a> record like everyone else was, I bought Live After Death by IRON MAIDEN. I remember trying to learn Hallowed Be Thy Name<\/a> with the light and shade and the different parts. The guitars panned left and right, so you had Adrian Smith on one side Dave Murray on the other. I’d learn Murray’s bits and then turn him off and play the gig, essentially.<\/p>\n

Hendrix burning the guitar was amazing<\/p>\n

Richie Faulkner<\/p>\n

“After school my friends would go out and I’d just play guitar night after night [to] Iron Maiden<\/a>. Fast forward 15 years and I\u2019m out on the Somewhere Back in Time tour playing with Lauren Harris. We used to play a GUN cover called Steal Your Fire, which was such a great song. She shared her dad’s (Steve Harris\u2019) DNA; I never saw Lauren back down from anything. And from my point of view, when Priest were looking, it was a big part of my CV. You know, \u2018I’ve been around the world, I’ve been on that sort of schedule, played some big stages\u2019. Apart from playing your instrument I think that helped in the audition process.<\/p>\n

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\u201cGoing back to my early influences, Maiden. Metallica<\/a> and PANTERA were the big ones. I loved Pantera and songs like Five Minutes Alone. I remember my friend\u2019s parents were away for the weekend, so everyone was at his house, smoking weed and drinking. We did a Ouija board \u2018cause we wanted to speak to the Devil and everyone was calling names and being rude to it. Suddenly the Far Beyond Driven CD case just flew across the room. We stopped doing Ouija boards after that! I never got to see Pantera with Dimebag but obviously I became friends with [Pantera bassist and former Elegant Weapons bandmate] Rex Brown.<\/p>\n

\u201cMETALLICA\u2019s One had a big impact on me as well. \u2026And Justice For All was the first Metallica album I heard. It was so different from anything I’d ever heard, kind of syncopated and complex. I was a big Kirk Hammett fan. I\u2019d learn all his solos and it definitely influenced my own playing.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI was discovering a lot of music in my early teens and I probably heard Painkiller by JUDAS PRIEST at around the same time. I\u2019d heard songs like Another Thing Coming and Breaking The Law but this was something else. You hear that drum intro and that fast and heavy guitar-work and it\u2019s just\u2026whoa. Back to the Ouija boards, we once asked it, ‘Is Richie ever going to be in a famous band?\u2019 and it didn\u2019t say \u2018Priest\u2019 but it might have said \u2018JP\u2019, which wouldn\u2019t have made much sense at the time.<\/p>\n

ELEGANT WEAPONS \u2013 Evil Eyes (Official Lyric Video) – YouTube
\n\"ELEGANT<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

“When I first started playing I was in a covers band and we did all the standards. When you’re a guitar player, you’re always trying to write interesting stuff, showing off a bit. The covers band showed me that some of the simplest stuff gets the biggest reaction, like Hi-Ho Silver Lining by JEFF BECK. Amazing guitar player, obviously, but also just a great simple pop song. When you\u2019re serving your 10,000 hours in a covers band, you’re also distilling a lot of information about how songs are created.<\/p>\n

“I then joined a band called Dirty Deeds with Tony Newton, who now plays in KK\u2019s Priest. I did one album with them under the name DEEDS and there was some good stuff on there, songs like Valley Of The Kings. It was how I first met Steve Harris (who produced the album) and Lauren. It opened doors to a lot of things really. Not only Priest, but amazing opportunities like arranging music for CHRISTOPHER LEE\u2019s metal album Charlemagne: The Omens of Death.<\/p>\n

“It had these huge moments like the single Let Legend Mark Me As The King. His team sent the stuff, which was orchestra based, but they wanted it arranged for a heavy metal band. I sent them four or five tracks and Christopher said that he wanted it more metal, so I redid them. I didn\u2019t get to play on the record because I got the call from Priest, but it was a joy to work with him and get to meet a legend like Christopher Lee.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elegant Weapons’ new album Evolution is out now via Exciter Records. Judas Priest play London Hammersmith on September 21<\/p>\n

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