This year’s nominees include rap group the Wu-Tang Clan, R&B acts Sade, Lauryn Hill, New Edition and Luther Vandross, popstars P!NK, Phil Collins, Mariah Carey and Shakira, ‘90s British indie band Oasis, deceased singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley. New wave features more prominently than in recent years through the nominations of solo artist Billy Idol, INXS and the joint pairing of Joy Division/New Order. Blues rock makes an appearance with solo artist Melissa Etheridge alongside The Black Crowes, whose sleazy, rootsy throwback to the ‘70s won them vast success in the final decade of the last century. The only hard rock or metal act to be nominated this year is the East End’s own Iron Maiden, whose non-induction has been at the centre of criticism of the Hall in the last decade.

The Hall of Fame is a controversial and divisive body which has faced criticism for various actions in recent years. Some dismiss it as a meaningless club, while others feel it undervalues rock music and has been too concerned with diversifying its musical composition. Just this month KISS bassist Gene Simmons, inducted for his part in the New York hard rock juggernaut in 2014, caused fresh debate for his claim that hip-hop “did not belong” in the Hall. Today’s announcement will no doubt do the same, particularly given the number of huge artists who have been nominated but never inducted. 

Another reason for criticism of the Hall has been the process by which members are inducted. Nominees are cherry-picked and presented for a public vote, which factors into the vote carried out by 1,200 professionals, members and music historians. The only criteria for an artist to be considered by the Nominating Committee is that they have been making music for at least twenty-five years. 

One of the most hotly discussed bands this year will be Maiden. Under the twenty-five year rule, the band has been eligible since 2005, and still not inducted. They have been nominated by the Committee twice, in 2021 and 2023. The controversy around Simmons’ comments this month also link into Maiden, seeing as he claimed that “the fact that, for instance, Iron Maiden is not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame when they can sell out stadiums, and Grandmaster Flash is”. In fairness, Maiden has always remained distant from the Hall. Singer Bruce Dickinson once claimed that “I’m really happy we’re not there and I would never want to be there… if we’re ever inducted, I will refuse — they won’t bloody be having my corpse in there.” This ties into the broader critique that the Hall has a blind spot when it comes to metal, an accusation that dates back to Black Sabbath’s induction in 2006.

Other nominees would be significant for non-genre related reasons. Phil Collins would be the 29th artist to be in the Hall for more than one act through his work with ‘70s prog rockers Genesis and ‘80s pop solo work. The last artist to do this was Ozzy Osbourne in 2024. 

The Chair of the Hall, John Sykes, said “this diverse list of talented nominees recognizes the ever-evolving faces and sounds of Rock & Roll and its continued impact on youth culture”. Voting is now running and can be accessed here.

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With the list of nominees revealed, an international voting panel of over 1200 people from in and around the music industry will cast their votes and determine who out of the 14 acts will make it to the Hall of Fame. The criteria on which votes are cast should include the longevity of their career, the band or artist’s cultural impact, and their impact on their fellow musicians, and the next generation.  

For Oasis, this will be their second nomination in as many years, though the band hasn’t been enthusiastic about being inducted in the past. Liam Gallagher dismissed the Hall of Fame in 2024, describing it as being “full of bumbaclarts” on X after they received the first nomination. In a 2017 interview with Rolling Stone, Noel Gallagher responded to a question about the award by bluntly saying “I know what it is. I know what it entails, and it won’t be f***ing happening.”

Fuck the Rock n Roll hall of fame its full of BUMBACLARTS LG x — Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) February 12, 2024

Joy Division and New Order’s joint nomination has caused a stir online. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has justified putting the bands together, describing them as “innovative musicians who created something revolutionary and massively influential, not once, but twice.” The post-punk icons’ inclusion has also highlighted a glaring omission. The Smiths have not been inducted, and have only been nominated once, having missed out to the likes of Green Day in 2015.

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Joe Cocker has been nominated posthumously after his death in 2014. According to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website, Cocker is being recognised for his ability to reinterpret songs and make them his own, an opinion shared by many online too. The gravel-voiced singer is one of Sheffield’s most famous musical exports alongside the Arctic Monkeys and Def Leppard.   

Billy Idol has embraced the chance to be inducted, taking to X to call it “an honour and a privilege”, as well as providing fans a link to vote. He made reference to ‘White Wedding’, one of his most iconic tracks, with the hashtag #ItsANiceDayToVoteAgain.

It is a honor and a privilege to be nominated for the rockhall Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2025! The Fan Vote is now open and you can visit https://t.co/05OFii67q1 daily to cast your vote from now until April 21st! #ItsANiceDayToVoteAgain pic.twitter.com/0LpAGXVFex

— Billy Idol (@BillyIdol) February 12, 2025

The voting process allows the public to pick seven nominees each day between now and April 21, though its influence on the final vote has been debated. The top-voted act receives one ballot submission among thousands of others, meaning the fan vote has a weighting of less than 0.1%.

 If any of the UK acts are eventually inducted, they will join over 50 other UK artists to be recognised by the Hall of Fame. Among the performers are The Beatles, Radiohead and Roxy Music, and in the non-performers category, Sir George Martin, the Beatles’ producer, and Brian Epstein, their manager.

This year’s nominees have a strong UK showing, though debates around the acts that are still missing, such as The Smiths and Iron Maiden, keep raging on. Fan involvement is largely symbolic and has very little bearing on the final results, and many will be eagerly waiting to see how closely the final shortlist matches the results of the online votes. Voting can be done here.

The full list is as follows:

Oasis

Bad Company

Joe Cocker

OutKast

Mariah Carey

Cyndi Lauper

Phish

Maná

Chubby Checker

Soundgarden

The White Stripes

Joy Division + New Order

The Black Crowes

Billy Idol

The charity show will raise money for the UK-based charity, The Cancer Awareness Trust, which offers life-extending treatments and support for cancer patients.

Andy Taylor, the band’s former guitarist, has been battling prostate cancer since 2018, revealing his diagnosis last year. The band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, however due to Andy’s ongoing health struggles, he was sadly unable to attend.

Andy wrote a letter for bandmate Simon Le Bon to read during the band’s induction, saying, “Just over four years ago, I was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer. Many families have experienced the slow burn of this disease, and of course, we are no different. So I speak from the perspective of a family man but with profound humility to the band, the greatest fans a group could have, and this exceptional accolade.”

Duran Duran announced their plans for the charity concert via social media, titling the show, “A Special Benefit Concert for Andy Taylor and the Fight Against Prostate Cancer.”

Duran Duran will play a benefit concert for The Cancer Awareness Trust following news that friend and former bandmate Andy Taylor had been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer in 2018.

It will take place Aug. 19 at The Guild Theatre in Menlo Park, California. pic.twitter.com/ofZegY8nJt

— Duran Duran (@duranduran) July 13, 2023

In a press statement, frontman Simon Le Bon said, “We are heading to Northern California to play many of the songs that we wrote together with our dear friend, Andy Taylor, to help him and others in their fight against prostate cancer. It is the right thing to do.”

Proceeds from the concert will also go towards a special treatment that will help cancer patients such as Andy Taylor extend their lives.

Duran Duran’s drummer, Roger Taylor, said, “We would like to thank our fans and the organisers of this benefit who have given us the chance to help our longtime friend and colleague Andy Taylor. We have always described ourselves as a ‘band of brothers’ and that has never been more true than in this very moment.”

Sir Chris Evans, founder of The Cancer Awareness Trust, also commented that he was honoured to work with the band. He said, “Andy will receive the latest precision medical treatment, emanating from some recently successful clinical trials, along with the ongoing support that the Cancer Awareness Trust is providing. The incredible support of Duran Duran will mean many more people will benefit just like Andy has.”

The show is set to take place on 19th August 2023 at the Guild Theatre in Menlo Park, California. Presale tickets for the Duran Duran VIP Fan Community go on sale at noon PT on 17th July 2023, with general sale following at noon PT on 19th July 2023. Tickets are available to purchase here.

The band also shared a contest in which they will offer a lucky fan and a plus one the opportunity to win VIP tickets, with all entries supporting The Cancer Awareness Trust.  

You and a friend could win a spot on Duran Duran’s VIP guest list for an intimate performance in Northern California — front-row seats, an exclusive backstage tour, signed merch and more!

Enter to win at https://t.co/OV9RDIlJ7w

Entries support The Cancer Awareness Trust. pic.twitter.com/PxgnOwqqc5

— Duran Duran (@duranduran) July 13, 2023

Duran Duran announced their plans to record new tracks with Andy Taylor for their upcoming album earlier this year. Read more here.

IRON MAIDEN’s BRUCE DICKINSON: ‘I Don’t Want To Be In The ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME’ https://t.co/9bfFa6vnDk pic.twitter.com/sqmdsf6wrP

— BLABBERMOUTH.NET (@BLABBERMOUTHNET) June 16, 2023

Opinion tends to be divided on everything concerning the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame- from how much of an honour the induction actually is to Iron Maiden’s exclusion being down right criminal. But Dickinson has shed light onto how the band really feels about it, claiming they couldn’t care less about the distinction-mainly due to the fact that the band are not dead yet.

Eligible for induction since 2004, the band have been snubbed twice as recently as 2021 and 2023. Shortly thereafter, many fans critics and music industry insiders voiced their displeasure at what many consider to be an affront on what many would consider the greatest heavy metal acts of all time.

Dickinson, for his part, is quite bullish about the whole thing, claiming the music industry might feel threatened by metal as it does not conform to current trends within popular music.  Speaking about his band’s continued, Dickinson said, “we don’t give a monkey’s. Because the people that get us are not the people who run the music business establishment, whatever that is. Because that is largely run by people that can’t make a living doing anything else. I don’t want to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Because we’re not dead yet!” 

Of course, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has not sat idly by and ignored the criticism. Citing that they understand the feeling some fans have toward their favourite bands, they are happy to see such emotions stirred in Iron Maiden supporters. President and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Greg Harris said about being inducted, “we love that people…care if [Iron Maiden are] in or out, and that their fans care. The truth is anybody that’s nominated, the odds are good that they’ll eventually gonna get in. In fact, I think it may be as high as 90 percent eventually go in.”

So, Iron Maiden fans can take heart that the odds are heavily in their favour to one day in the near future, join their rock and metal colleagues already inducted. Meanwhile, the band continue to remain as active in the scene as ever, having released their 17th studio album, Senjutsu back in 2021. They have also recently began the European leg of their Future Past Tour in support of Senjutsu which include key dates in the UK.

Find tickets for Iron Maiden’s Future Past Tour here.

Iron Maiden Future Past Tour:

21/06/2023 – Zag Arena – Hanover, Germany
24/06 – 3Arena – Dublin
26/06 – Ovo Hydro – Glasgow
28/06 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
30/06 – AO Arena – Manchester
03/07 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
04/07 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham
07/07 – O2 Arena – London
08/07 – O2 Arena – London
11/07 – Ziggo Dome – Amsterdam, Netherlands
13/07 – Sportpaleis – Antwerp, Belgium
15/07 – The Return of the Gods Festival – Milan, Italy
18/07 – Palau Sant Jordi – Barcelona, Spain
20/07 – Estadio Enrique Roca – Murcia, Spain
22/07 – Bizkaia Arena Bec – Bilbao, Spain
25/07 – Westfalenhalle – Dortmund, Germany
26/07 –  Westfalenhalle – Dortmund, Germany
29/07 – Festhalle – Frankfurt, Germany
31/07 – Olympiahalle – Munich, Germany
01/08 – Olympiahalle – Munich, Germany
04/08 – Waken Open Air – Waken, Germany

The two artists are set to be joined by five other American acts, including country icon Willie Nelson, rap metal band Rage Against the Machine, rapper Missy Elliott, singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow and rhythm and blues vocal group the Spinners.

Bush has been nominated three times in the past five years (2018, 2021, 2022) but 2023 is the year she finally claims her prestigious place among music’s greats. Having released 25 UK Top 40 singles, including her first, “Wuthering Heights“, released in 1978 when only 19 years old, which reached number one in the UK and stayed there for four weeks, Bush is a late 70s and 80s music icon.

Watch the music video for “Wuthering Heights” below:

She recently came back to the limelight following the resurgent success of hit single “Running Up That Hill“, reaching UK number one a full 38 years since it was first released. The resurgence came after the song featured in the extremely popular Netflix drama Stranger Things. If Bush was to travel to New York to accept her induction and perform, as is customary, it would be her first public appearance since 2014, and as such would greatly excite her many fans.

Michael received his induction by way of a fan vote, receiving 1.04 million votes, just ahead of fellow nominee and singer-songwriter Cyndi Lauper. Michael is one the best-selling musicians of all time, achieving widespread success both in the UK and the US, releasing seven UK number one singles and eight US number ones. His induction also coincides with the 40th anniversary of Wham!’s debut album, Anniversary. 

Watch the music video for “Careless Whisper” below:

Artists who were nominated this year but din’t make the cut include English post-punk band Joy Division (subsequently New Order) and English heavy metal group Iron Maiden. Cyndi Lauper, as previosly mentioned, also didn’t make it, along with American rock band Soundgarden, brother and sister rock duo the White Stripes, singer-songwriter Warren Zevon and legendary New York hip hop group A Tribe Called Quest.

Other winners include DJ Kool Herc and guitarist Link Wray, both receiving the Musical Influence Award, while the Music Excellence Award will be awarded to singer Chaka Khan and songwriters Al Kooper and Bernie Taupin, and television presenter Don Cornelius is set to win the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony will be held at the Barclays Center in New York in November.

The band will be accepting the Award for Musical Excellence at this year’s award ceremony in November in Los Angeles. The category was established in 2000 as the “Sideman” award, with artists such as Chet Atkins and King Curtis winning it before it changed its name to the Award for Musical Excellence 10 years later.

At the time of the categories’ name change, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation chief Joel Peresman told the Plain Dealer that the category “gives us flexibility to dive into some things and recognize some people who might not ordinarily get recognized.”

The website for the awards states, “The Award for Musical Excellence shall be given to artists, musicians, songwriters and producers whose originality and influence creating music have had a dramatic impact on music.” The winners are chosen by a different committee to the Hall’s main voting body, there is also no limit to the number of artists who can receive the award and it is not required to be given out every year.

When asked about how he felt about receiving The Musical Excellence Award this year, Halford said, “Why haven’t they given us the same title as all of our friends. Black Sabbath, for example. There’s a different tag, isn’t there?” Pressed on the matter, he said, “Well, yeah, I was pissed. I was a bit pissed. At the end of the day, does it matter?”

Halford continued, “Some days, I go, ‘No, it doesn’t matter. We’re in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Be grateful. Shut the hell up. ‘And then there are other days where I’m like, ‘God damn, why did they give us the Musical Excellence Award?’ Because it sounds very, you know, grandiose. ‘The Musical Excellence Award, reserved for blah, blah, blah.’”

He finished the interview by saying, “and on the other side, it’s like, ‘Great. Everybody else got that and we got shafted with this.’ Judas Priest are still the Rodney Dangerfield of heavy metal. They can’t get no respect.”

Judas Priest formed in Birmingham in 1969 often ranking among the top metal bands of all time, their albums selling more than 50 million copies worldwide. Despite a body of inventive and pioneering work in the latter part of the 1970s, the band didn’t achieve significant commercial success until 1980, with their album British Steel reaching number four on the UK charts. Watch the official video for “Breaking the Law” from their album British Steel below.

UK Tour dates Jan/Feb 2020

See https://t.co/lgBNh6Xxej for ticket links pic.twitter.com/E5cBv0vGDL

— Judas Priest (@judaspriest) September 9, 2019

You can catch Judas Priest on tour in the UK in 2023 on Ozzy Osbourne’s 2020 rescheduled No More Tours 2, tickets are available here.

31/05/2023 – Nottingham Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
02/06 – Utilita Arena Newcastle – Newcastle Upon Tyne
04/06 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
07/06 – AO Arena – Manchester
10/06 – 3Arena – Dublin
12/06 – The O2 – London
14/06 – Resorts World Arena – Birmingham

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Tickets for the UK dates will go on sale this Thursday (March 31^st) at 9am, you can find more information here. The tour will take Roxy Music through the UK with dates in Glasgow, Manchester and London, all in support of the 50^th anniversary of their self-titled debut. As well as the tour, the band are also starting a vinyl re-issue series of all 8 studio albums in their discography. More information on when the reissues will be released will crop up in due time, until then you can take a look at the deal for Roxy Music and For Your Pleasure here; both of which will be landing on April 1^st.

While I’m sure this is pretty much what everyone expected, the elephant in the room is that there is probably not going to be a Brian Eno amongst the line-up for the tour – despite this being in support of one of the 2 albums he actually worked on. I don’t have any actual evidence for that… but come on. That being said though, the year will mark the first time that Bryan Ferry, Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera and Paul Thompson have been together on stage since the ‘For Your Pleasure’ tour in 2011.

Since their formation in 1972, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, Roxy Music have left an indelible mark on the worlds of music, fashion and art, merging the three with a singular and astonishing vision that brought them immediate, global success.  Today they are regarded as one of the most influential bands of all time, whose work has inspired generations of musicians. Intense, emotive, and clever, with iconic graphics, Roxy Music’s eight studio albums birthed the art-rock movement, blurring the lines between genres and infusing a new kind of glamour into rock music for the first time.

Roxy Music’s UK Tour Dates:

10/10/22 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
12/10 – AO Arena – Manchester
14/10 – O2 Arena – London

Photo credit: Brian Cooke

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The 2021 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony took place on Saturday 30th October in Cleveland, this year saw the ceremony return as a live event after previous years live-streamed due to COVID-19. The night also boasted an array of special guests, memorable performances and of course the winning inductees and more awards. During the induction of Foo Fighters McCartney took the stage to sing their praises. The former Beatle gave his impassioned speech before closing the evening with an unforgettable performance. McCartney and the Foo Fighters concluded the ceremony with a now legendary rendition of the Beatles track “Get Back”. The performance saw McCartney and frontman Dave Grohl showcase their vocal prowess.

Within McCartney’s speech, the singer drew comparisons between himself and former Nirvana drummer, Dave Grohl. He noted the similar journeys which both have taken and the tragedies in which they both suffered. In 1980 the world stood still when it was announced that Beatles member John Lennon had been shot. Grohl also lost a friend and bandmate, fourteen years after Lennon’s death the news of Kurt Cobain’s suicide left everyone in shock. Before they took the podium to make their own speeches, the Foo Fighters performed three of their most loved tracks, “Best Of You”, “Everlong” and “My Hero”.

 

 

 

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McCartney discussed the pair’s connection, “I fell into rock and roll, I joined a group. My group was the Beatles. Like I say, the world changed. Dave did a similar kind of thing. He joined a group, Nirvana. We had a great time with our groups, but then eventually tragedy happened, and my group broke up, The same happened with Dave: His group broke up under tragic circumstances. And so then the question is, what do you do now? And we both were presented with that question. In my case, I thought, Well, I’ll make an album where I play all the instruments myself. So I did that. Dave’s group broke up, what’s he to do? He makes an album where he plays all the instruments himself. Do you think this guy’s stalking me?”

Another highlight of the evening was the induction of powerhouse Jay-Z, the artist’s introduction video included a list of the world’s most talented individuals. The video featured Beyonce, Samuel L. Jackson and comedian Chris Rock with the official induction speech given by Dave Chappelle. However, the real surprise came after the video. A pre-recorded message by former President Barack Obama left audience members in awe.

The politician had this to say, “I’ve turned to Jay-Z’s words at different points in my life, whether I was brushing dirt off my shoulder on the campaign trail, or sampling his lyrics on the Edmund Pettus Bridge on the 50th anniversary of the Selma march to Montgomery, Today, Jay-Z is one of the most renowned artists in history and an embodiment of the American dream, a dream he has helped make real for other young people like him.”

Other inductees included Tina Turner, Carole King, The Go-Gos and Todd Rundgren. Other winners included Clarence Avant, who was given the Ahmet Ertegun Award. The prize is given to those who not performing industry professionals but who still embody passion and hold musical influence. The Musical Excellence Award was given to three highly influential acts, LL Cool J, Billy Preston and Randy Rhodes. The Early Influence Award was handed to pioneers Kraftwerk, Charley Patton and icon Gil Scott Heron famed for his poem, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”.

The ceremony is available to watch on HBO on 20^th November, the event can also be streamed via HBO Max.

McVie left the band in 1998 following the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and her win of a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 1998. McVie remained in semi-retirement for 15 years and rejoined the band in October 2014. The singer has announced that she has now sold her 115- song back catalogue to the company Hipgnosis.

Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie Sells 115-Song Catalog to Hipgnosis https://t.co/8XFgoERUvs

— Variety (@Variety) August 9, 2021

Hipgnosis was founded by Nile Rodgers and Merck Mercuriadi in 2018 and has also successfully obtained songwriting rights from the band’s Lindsey Buckingham. McVie follows in the footsteps of the co-founder of the band Mick Fleetwood who secured a deal with BMG and Stevie Nicks who has a deal with Primary Wave. It is reported that the deal with Hipgnosis includes ownership of McVie’s songs, financial interest, and writers shares of her songwriting credits (Inclusive of McVie’s solo work) and worldwide copyright.

McVie expressed her excitement and stated, “I am so excited to belong to the Hipgnosis family, and thrilled that you all regard my songs worthy of merit”.

Mercuriadi’s from Hipgnosis has hailed McVie as being one of the greatest songwriters. Hipgnosis has amassed a market value of £1.4 billion and has also acquired the catalogue rights to other big artists such as Shakira, Michael Buble, Neil Young, Mark Ronson and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

Mercuriadis speaking of the deal said “Christine McVie is one of the greatest songwriters of all time having guided Fleetwood Mac to almost 150 million albums sold and making them one of the best-selling bands of all time globally,”

McVie thanked Hipgnosis for their deal and expressed that she wishes to maintain their relationship in any way that she can. In the wake of increasing streaming numbers, the song “The Chain” that McVie co-wrote with Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham, John McVie and Stevie Nicks has been streamed 1 billion times.

The ‘Fear of The Dark’ performers were included within a list of nominees for the Class of 2021 which was compiled and released in February of this year but were left off when the list of inductees was officially announced last week.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame took to Instagram to announce the news on 12th May 2021, the post features a video of Greg Harris that was shot inside the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and lists all contenders and the categories in which they are competing within.

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The list of inductees includes Tina Turner, Carole King, The Go-Go’s, Jay-z, Foo Fighters and Todd Rundgren, all of which are within the Performer Category. Within the Early Influence Award list are Kraftwerk, Charley Patton and ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ artist and icon Gil Scott-Heron. The three acts within the Early Influence Award list include LL Cool J, Billy Preston and Randy Rhoads.

The last prize is the Ahmet Ertegun award, which is given to non-performing professionals within the industry who have exhibited passion whilst leaving their mark. This year, the award will be bestowed upon Clarence Avant, the American music entrepreneur, executive and founder of Venture Records Inc and Sussex Records which ran from 1969- 1975.

The decision to omit Iron Maiden from the Class list was met with outrage and backlash from fans, who felt strongly about the East London rockers influence and contribution to music. The heavy metal band which formed in 1975 in Leyton have been performing, writing and touring since their inception and with a total of 40 albums under their belt, the band are a frequent favourite of any music fan.

Harris has insisted that the decision to omit the band from the Class list was not based on the band’s influence and impact within music and the industry. The CEO spoke with WBAB, the classic rock radio station from New York, about this decision.

“There’s no doubt that Iron Maiden are an impactful, influential band, and that’s why they were nominated this year, along with 15 other artists and acts, and when the votes came in, these six were the leaders,” he said. “So we’re not questioning, are they an important band, are they impactful and influential. Of those that have been nominated throughout history, over 80 per cent of them have been eventually inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. So everybody has their favourites; everybody has different artists that impacted them or impacted other artists. So, if you look at this list, you can make that case for all of these folks, just like people make that case for Iron Maiden.”

In the interview, Harris was also asked whether The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will be renamed to The Music Hall of Fame. The question was raised as the acts nominated and inducted in more recent years have been from varied genres of music and not just rock bands and acts.

“I think to get to the core of it, people like the stuff that’s closest to them, and I think they need to expand their thinking of rock and roll,” he replied. “It’s a big tent and everybody fits under it. It’s an attitude, it’s a spirit, and that’s rock and roll.”

Much like Iron Maiden, Harris has had a long and varied career; he was previously a senior executive at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, but music is no doubt Harris’ passion. The ex-road manager co-founded the Philadelphia Record Exchange in 1985, which specialises in locating and selling hard to find Vinyl records.