The artists who will induct the Class of 2019 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the end of the month have been announced.
Brian May, who is in the Hall as a member of Queen, will induct Def Leppard. May has been friends with the band for a very long time, and in 2000 presented them with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“What Def Leppard have is a kind of spirit. And it’s not just about survival — I mean they have survived and God bless them and that’s wonderful. But what they’e done is they have become something bigger and deeper and their stuff means something. You know, it makes you cry, it makes you laugh, it makes you whatever, you know. It’s not just churning out some kind of formula. Def Leppard are an original, an inimitable, and an immortal as far as I’m concerned.”
The other presenters:
- John Taylor and Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran will introduce Roxy Music.
- Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles will present The Zombies. She covered “Care of Cell 44” on Under the Covers Volume 1, an album with Matthew Sweet.
- David Byrne, who was inducted into the Hall in 2002 with Talking Heads, will introduce Radiohead, who took their name from a 1986 Heads song, “Radio Head.” The choice of Byrne raises the possibility that at least one member of Radiohead, who said they wouldn’t attend the ceremony, will show up.
- Janelle Monáe will present Janet Jackson.
- Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails will introduce The Cure.
- Harry Styles will do the honors for Stevie Nicks. The former One Direction singer is a big Fleetwood Mac fan. In 2017, Stevie joined him at the Troubadour in West Hollywood to duet on “Landslide.” One Direction used to cover “The Chain” in concert.
This year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is March 29th at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. It will air on HBO on April 27th.
A special exhibit dedicated to this year’s inductees will open at the Hall’s headquarters in Cleveland on March 22nd.
Source: CS / CS
