The nominees for this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame have been announced, with Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine and Nina Simone among the candidates.
The winners will be chosen by a body of around 900 artists, historians and music-industry figures with input from the public, who will be able to cast their votes until 5 December. The list of successful artists will be announced at the end of the year and inducted at a ceremony next April. Other acts nominated include Bon Jovi, Eurythmics and LL Cool J.
To be eligible for the 2018 class, acts must have released a single or album in or before 1992. It means that this is the first time that Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine have qualified; Kate Bush, Dire Straits and Judas Priest are also first-time nominees.
Various shortlisted artists have been less than positive about the Hall of Fame in recent years. When asked by Rolling Stone in 2015 if he cared about the accolade, Rage Against the Machine’s bassist Tim Commerford said: “It would be funny to me if we got in there. I don’t know that I would go because I look at that as, if you take part in that, you’re admitting that you’re no longer relevant.”
Earlier this year, Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien told Rolling Stone: “Culturally I don’t understand it. I think it might be a quintessential American thing. Brits are not very good at slapping ourselves on the back.” Drummer Phil Selway described the award as “a bit like having the free bus pass”.
Full list of nominees
Bon Jovi
Kate Bush
The Cars
Depeche Mode
Dire Straits
Eurythmics
J Geils Band
Judas Priest
LL Cool J
MC5
The Meters
Moody Blues
Radiohead
Rage Against the Machine
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
Nina Simone
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Link Wray
The Zombies
