The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced its class of 2018. In a shocker, Radiohead are not among the five inductees.
Instead, Bon Jovi, Dire Straits, The Moody Blues, The Cars and Nina Simone will be enshrined during next April’s induction ceremony. Sister Rosetta Tharpe will be given an Early Influence award.
A committee of 800 artists, historians, and music industry members, as well as a fan vote, determined next year’s Rock Hall class. In order to be eligible, a nominee’s first recording must have been released at least 25 years ago.
As one of the most critically acclaimed band’s of their generation, Radiohead had been considered a lock for a first-ballot entry. However, the band’s own lack of enthusasiam toward the Hall of Fame may have compelled the committee to vote for other nominees (the band finished in 12th place in the fan vote).
“I don’t care,” Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood responded when asked about the band’s potential enshrinement in an interview published earlier this year. Guitarist Ed O’Brien added, “I don’t want to be rude about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because for a lot of people it means something, but culturally I don’t understand it. I think it might be a quintessential American thing.”
O’Brien further expressed his uneasiness in an interview with Esquire last month. “It’s in our DNA to be a little ambivalent with award ceremonies,” he explained. “We haven’t had great experiences. I would never want to disrespect anything because obviously some amazing artists have been nominated. But if I’m honest I don’t understand it. It’s just kind of a British person going, ‘Okay, thanks, what does this mean?’”
Even before the 2018 class was announced, Radiohead announced they’d be skipping induction ceremony, opting instead to tour South America next April.