Photo: TORBEN CHRISTENSEN / AFP / Getty Images
Despite being selected for induction into the iconic Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, legendary heavy metal band Iron Maiden will not be in attendance for the ceremony in Los Angeles later this year.
The British rockers will, instead, be on the stage elsewhere.
"As the most observant have already noticed, the band will be on tour in Australia around the November date of the induction ceremony," longtime band manager Rod Smallwood told Billboard last week. "In accepting, the band made it very clear to the Hall of Fame that the fans always come first and that the shows will of course go on."
Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson sparked buzz back in 2018 when he spoke out against the Hall of Fame.
"I'm really happy we're not [in the Rock Hall] and I would never want to be there," he told the Jerusalem Post. "If we're ever inducted, I will refuse. Rock'n'roll music does not belong in a mausoleum in Cleveland. It's a living, breathing thing, and if you put it in a museum, then it's dead. It's worse than horrible; it's vulgar."
Along with the band, fellow inductees include Phil Collins, Oasis, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Sade, Wu-Tang Clan and the late Luther Vandross.
The induction is scheduled for November 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. ABC and Disney+ will air the induction in December.