It's finally happening. After years of eligibility and two failed nominations, British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden are being inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Metalheads worldwide have taken offense to the Hall's past Maiden snubs. In 2023, frontman Bruce Dickinson said that the Hall was "an utter and complete load of bollocks" and that he didn't want to be inducted. When the induction happens in November, Iron Maiden will not attend.
When Iron Maiden were announced as one of this year's Hall Of Fame inductees, the band put out a celebratory Instagram statement, though even that statement started off by insisting that they "have always been about our relationship with our fans above anything else," including industry honors. Their reason for skipping the ceremony isn't spite. It's conflicting schedules. When the ceremony happens, Iron Maiden will be on tour in Australia.
As Billboard reports, band manager Rod Smallwood confirms that the band won't interrupt the Australia/New Zealand leg of their Run For Your Lives Tour to attend the Hall Of Fame ceremony. In an email to Billboard, Smallwood says:
As the most observant have already noticed, the band will be on tour in Australia around the November date of the Induction ceremony for the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in Los Angeles. In accepting, Iron Maiden made it very clear to the R&R HoF that the fans always come first and that the shows will of course go on...
We would like to assure all our fans in Australasia that the Australian and New Zealand dates will remain unaffected, and we look forward to bringing the Run For Your Lives Tour to them on the penultimate stop of our 50th anniversary celebrations.
So it's business, nothing personal. Of course, Iron Maiden could've chosen not to book a tour that conflicted with a potential Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, though I don't think anyone could fault them for opting not to plan around the organization that snubbed them for so many years.
The most observant might also note that the Induction Ceremony happens Nov. 14 in Los Angeles and that Iron Maiden do not have a show scheduled for that night. They're playing Melbourne's AAMI Park Nov. 13 and Sydney's Allianz Stadium Nov. 15, with Megadeth opening both shows. At least theoretically, they could fly out to LA and back again in time to make both shows, though that sounds extremely exhausting. The manager's statement doesn't even clearly say that they won't do that, but it does seem to be the implication. They're busy.
Obviously, Iron Maiden should send their zombie mascot Eddie to make their acceptance speech. I don't know how that would work, but it's what needs to happen.
