The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2016 ceremony has already had enough drama for the next three ceremonies. After some initial objections to N.W.A. over Nine Inch Nails, and the back and forth of Peter Cetera and “ChicagoGate,” former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore will not be attending the ceremony either. Blackmore issued a statement on Facebook that says the Rock Hall invited him to the ceremony, but Deep Purple’s manager Bruce Payne said no. The statement in its entirety reads:

Ritchie was honored by the offer of induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was discussing the possibility of attending, until we received correspondence from the President of the Rock Hall of Fame, who said that Bruce Payne, management for the current Deep Purple Touring Band, had said “No”……….!!!!!”

Therefore Ritchie will not be attending the ceremony. He sincerely thanks all the fans that voted for him for their support.

Hopefully the ceremony is just as entertaining as the precursor beefs have been.