In an interview with Billboard.com, a question was posed to Def Leppard frontman, Joe Elliott was asked about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and if he was interested in being a part of it. His answer was something we thought was worth repeating:
“I haven’t thought about it until literally today because they’re asking us our opinion on the Kiss thing. I imagine the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame as this board table with six Mr. Roboto’s sitting around, faceless tuxedo-wearing prats. This is the way I look at it as there are two hats. They pull out the one, “Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Kiss, Motley Crue, fuck that, no.” “Leonard Cohen, John Cougar Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, REM, the Pixies, we want all them in because they’re cool. We don’t want Ratt, we don’t want Poison.” I was really happy when I saw Johnny Rotten tell them to go f**k themselves. That’s what I would do… even if I did get talked out of it by the other guys in the band. But I don’t care. I don’t gain anything from it. If you get an Oscar, your next film you’re gonna be offered five times the money of your last film, and better scripts. When you get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the next day you wake up in the same bed. You don’t get tours thrown at you to open for Led Zeppelin or find out Paul McCartney wants to write a song with you. It’s rubbish. There’s no gain from it.”
Elliott describes the suspected rift in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thinking between the traditional Rock acts and the critically loved acts. He is correct, that Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction does not equate to any financial gain, however the reality is that eligible acts are usually past their musical prime anyway and would not do much, other than satisfy their fan bases.
Still, we can’t help but be fascinated by the disdain that so many top Rock and Roll acts have for the Hall of Fame, and we are certain that there will be a lot more similar comments to come.
For what it is worth, Def Leppard currently holds the number 47 spot of those we think should be considered for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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