Fresh off their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Def Leppard led and all-star jam to close out the 2019 induction ceremony Friday (March 29) at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
“There’s usually an all-star jam but we’re gonna try something different,” Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott told the audience. “More sedate, less messy, more classic.”
The all-star jam of Mott the Hoople’s 1972 David Bowie-penned song “All the Young Dudes” included Queen’s Brian May; the Zombies’ Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent; the Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs; “Little” Steven Van Zandt; and Mott the Hoople’s Ian Hunter.
Earlier in the evening, May gave the induction speech for Def Leppard, calling the pop-metal band a “magnificent rock group, in the classic tradition of what a rock group really is.”
This year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony also included performances by Roxy Music, the Cure, the Zombies, and Stevie Nicks with Don Henley and Harry Styles.
Joining them on stage for the David Bowie-penned song were Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent of the Zombies, Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music, Susannah Hoffs of the Bangles, and Steven Van Zandt. “There’s normally an all-star jam,” frontman Joe Elliott told the audience, “but this is a little different; more up-to-date, less messy, more classic.” He then welcomed the others onto the stage at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., saving Hunter for last and pointing out that it was also the 45th anniversary of Mott the Hoople’s last album, The Hoople. You can watch it all below.
Elliott has regularly cited Mott the Hoople as a major influence on him and formed a side project, Down ‘n’ Outz, to pay tribute to a band he feels has been overlooked. “I think they’re criminally ignored for God knows how many decades when people just go on and on about [Led] Zeppelin and the [Rolling] Stones and the Beatles and rightfully so,” he told us in 2014. “But it comes a point when it’s like: “Well, sometimes the underdog needs reexamining,” whether it be Humble Pie, Spooky Tooth or Mott the Hoople, which just happened to be my favorite band.”
He’s even revealed that he’s written into his will that “All the Young Dudes” and another Mott the Hoople song, “Rest in Peace,” be played at his funeral. “An obvious choice,” he said of the latter, “but it’s just a great song.”
The 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will air April 27 on HBO.
Last night (March 29), Def Leppard were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after first being eligible 14 years ago. Queen‘s Brian May was the one chosen to induct the group and you can watch their speech in the video above.
In the opening moments, singer Joe Elliott thanked his parents and recalled living at home while dreaming of being in a band. “My mom, for example, taught me my first three chords when I was eight years old. I’ve learned two more since and I’ve come to realize you don’t really need them at all,” he quipped.
The singer also thanked his dad for providing the finances for Def Leppard to make their first-ever recording in 1978 “which was absolutely the launchpad for this very wild ride we’ve been on ever since.”
The event was held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn where Stevie Nicks, The Zombies, The Cure, Janet Jackson, Radiohead and Roxy Music were also inducted as part of the 2019 class.
The award ceremony was presented by Klipsch Audio, and Dr. Brian May of Queen presented them with their trophies and made the opening remarks in his thankful speech. They were the seventh and final act that was inducted into this year’s Hall of Fame class. They joined Stevie Nicks, Janet Jackson, The Cure, The Zombies, Roxy Music, and Radiohead
Def Leppard kicked off their live performance with “Hysteria,” which is this music critic’s personal favorite tune in their catalog, as well as “Rock of Ages,” and the fan-favorite tunes “Photograph” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” They were able to put a high-energy, fun and rocking show.
They were also joined on stage with several gifted musicians (Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles, Steven Van Zandt, Roxy Music’s Phil Manzanera, The Zombies’ Rod Argent and Colin Blunstone, Ian Hunter, and May himself) for an impressive cover of “All the Young Dudes” by David Bowie.
Prior to the award ceremony, Def Leppard participated in the backstage interviews. This journalist was privileged to ask them the following question: “How did it feel to earn the largest number in the fan vote in this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?”
Speaking on behalf of Def Leppard, Phil Collen responded, “That was phenomenal. Our fans absolutely insisted for years that we be here. It is totally for them. That was amazing. We love our fans. They are the best. Thank you.”
Dr. Brian May of Queen also partook in a backstage press conference interview in the press room, where he opened up about how it felt to be inducting Def Leppard into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “They are like family to me. I am hugely honored and I am a little nervous, but I am very excited.”
The Queen guitarist added, “I get to play with them.” Joe Elliott and May embraced and he shared that they have known each other for 35 years, and he subsequently joked that they still get into arguments.
To learn more about Def Leppard and their music, check out their official homepage.
Queen’s Brian May praised pop-metal heroes Def Leppard, and recalled the time frontman Joe Elliott literally saved his life, during a gushing speech inducting the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
May has been a longtime friend and fan of the band, joining Def Leppard onstage numerous times. They famously collaborated on a performance of “Now I’m Here” at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness in 1992. In 2006, May and Def Leppard covered T. Rex’s “20th Century Boy” at Vh1’s Rock Honors and way back in 1983, May hopped on stage with the band to perform a clever mashup of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Travelin’ Band” and Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” (the performance was included on the deluxe edition of Pyromaniaand it nearly ended with May being engulfed in flames). This isn’t even the first time May has delivered an induction speech on Def Leppard’s behalf, previously doing so when the band landed a spot on the Hollywood RockWalk in 2000.
Read May’s entire speech below.
Sixty-five years after Bill Haley sang “Rock Around the Clock,” rock & roll is alive and well, am I right? I have the greatest job in the world. I am so honored and privileged to be importing Def Leppard into the Hall of Fame.
I’m going to quote first from the Joe Elliott book of philosophy, which says that you get one chance to do the good shit, don’t fuck it up. So this is my guide tonight, I want to do it justice — I really want to do these boys justice and I’m not going to tell you a history, I’m just going to tell you my personal view. I want to tell you how these guys came into my life and how important they are.
In 1981, Queen were in the studio in Munich recording our album, Hot Space, and I nipped out to see some friends of mine, Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, and who should be supporting but a young precocious bunch of boys called Def Leppard. I got there late and I missed them. And I felt so bad about it, I sought out the dressing room and went in to see them. I poked my head through the door and said, “Hi guys, I just wanted to say hello because I missed you and I’m really sorry. I’m Brian May from Queen.” And they said, “No shit,” which was kind of nice, so I think we got on from that point. They told me that Queen had been a great influence on them, which is always a great thing for me to think about.
Cut to 1983, you know what you do when you’re on tour? We’re out on tour and when you’re in the cars and the planes, you hit the button to see if anybody’s playing your record. So this is what I’m doing, every time I hit the button I’m hearing this amazing kind of clang, sort of an arpeggiated guitar, and I’m hearing amazing harmonies and these big, juicy bass lines, these huge fat drums. And it’s not Queen, it’s these young, precocious boys called Def Leppard and the song is “Photograph”! This amazing song, which catapulted them to fame. It was never off the radio at that time, and before the album was finished that it came from, Hysteria … They sold 10 million copies of that album.
OK, cut to September ’83, I’m in Los Angeles, again we’re recording an album, which, this time, is The Works, I think, and I go out. This time, Def Leppard are playing the local arena, which is the legendary L.A. Forum. I go down there, very inconspicuous, I sit in the back, and when these boys hit the stage, I have to tell you — I have never seen anything like it. I’ve seen some great shows in the Forum, but I’ve never seen an audience react like that. They got to their feet, they never sat down and they screamed and shouted the whole way through the performance. Def Leppard killed that night. I went backstage to see them afterwards, they invited me, and just like when we first played in the States, all their moms and dads are there — very proud moms and dads, and I get introduced to them. And the boys say, “Will you come out and play with us tomorrow night?” So I said yes, and the rest is history. We played “Travelin’ Band.” It’s history because I nearly lost my career and my life because this is Pyromania and the production has all kinds of fire. Joe warned me, he said, “Watch out for the fireworks at the end, just be careful.” But I’m at the end, we finish “Travelin’ Band,” we’re up behind the drums and there’s a kind of chasm in front of us where the fire’s about to come out — I have no idea. I’m gone, I’m like giving it all this, and Joe’s going, “Brian, Brian!” And I’m thinking he’s just kind of appreciating me, you know? He’s going, “Brian, Brian, the fire!” Anyway this huge sheath of flame comes up in front of me, and just in time, Joe’s dragged me out of it — otherwise I wouldn’t be here tonight. So early on in their career, Joe Elliott saved my life!
“Not everybody realizes that these guys are not just crowd pleasers. They also embody such an amazing technical excellence. They have it all.”
You know the history of Def Leppard is incredibly colorful and filled with all kinds of stuff that I can’t even go into because I don’t have the time. But they started August 1977 in Sheffield, England, which is not a very glamorous place and there’s a lot of people who say there’s a great urge to get out. They recorded 11 incredible albums and they played their asses off around the world many, many times. They did it the old-fashioned way. They played and played and played, and they made great music in the studio. They sold, eventually, more than 100 million albums. And they endured being very fashionable and being very unfashionable as well, as sometimes happens, particularly in England where the press wasn’t very kind. I don’t know why this happens. But they kind of got attacked among other things for making hit records. Now, can I just remind you what some of those hits were? We’ve got “Bringin’ on a Heartbreak,” “Photograph,” “Foolin’,” “Pour Some Sugar,” “Armageddon It,” “Hysteria,” “Let’s Get Rocked,” “When Worlds Collide,” “Animal,” “Love Bites,” “Rock of Ages,” “Rocket” — that isn’t even the full list. They released 50 singles, most of which were hits and many were Number Ones. There was this kind of feeling abroad in the press, particularly in the U.K., that maybe that made them uncool. But let me tell you, those songs, the fact that they wrote real songs that people can sing and carry in their heads is the reason that Def Leppard will be remembered in hearts and minds long after all of us have left this Earth.
I got to say something about their endurance. You know the Def Leppard band is a family, an evolving family. I would say the amazing bass man, Rick Savage, he’s the only guy who was there at the beginning and he’s here at the end — it’s not the end, it’s the continuing story. But very soon Joe Elliott joined them and Joe brought the name with him, which apparently refers to some aurally challenged cat of some kind. So these stalwarts are the very birth of the band, but the family grew and evolved and faced all kinds of adversity. The loss of drummer Rick Allen’s arm in 1984 was a massive shock and setback, which would’ve ended the career of a lesser band. But thanks to the incredible fortitude of Rick himself and bringing himself back, and also thanks to the incredible loyalty and cohesiveness of that family, which is Def Leppard, in supporting him when he came back, they actually grew in stature and in every way — not only Rick but the whole band benefitted in a sense. I was there at Donington when he first came back for that triumphant return. Similarly the loss of the fantastic riff-meister, Steve Clark, in 1991 — what a great player, what a wonderful player. I think many people thought that could be a mortal blow to the band, and it could have been for lesser human beings, but the current guitar duo of Phil Collen and Viv Campbell is awesome. In fact, I would say Collen and Campbell are truly frightening as a guitar duo and it’s amazing.
Not everybody realizes that these guys are not just crowd pleasers. They also embody such an amazing technical excellence. They have it all. I regard all these guys as great friends and kind of part of my family, that’s why it’s so important for me to be here. I wouldn’t have let anybody else do this. They also came for our Freddie Mercury tribute, which was 1992, and we’ve played together a bunch of times. Joe and I in particular have shared many precious and fun moments, snatched among the madness of touring life. We have a strong bond and he’s one of my dearest pals. When Steve died, Joe says that the first phone call he got was from me, and when the news got out of Freddie’s passing, the first phone call I got was from Joe Elliott.
These guys are a magnificent rock group, in the classic tradition of what a rock group really is. I’m just going to quote a couple more things. Early on, Joe said, “What’s the story, the secret of a successful rock group?” I said, “Don’t split up.” A few years later, he came back and he said to me, “I have a couple of other secrets to being a successful rock group. You have to not get fat and you have to keep your hair.” I have to say, these guys did not get fat, they did not lose their hair, they did not split up, and they’re here tonight, ladies and gentlemen. They’re also as honest and decent a bunch of magnificent human beings as ever came out of Yorkshire, or Britain, or the world. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s my privilege to welcome to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Def Leppard!
Since forming more than four decades ago, Def Leppard became one of the best-selling bands in the world on the strength of mega-platinum albums like Pyromania and Hysteria and hard-rocking anthems like “Photograph” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” Tonight, they were finally recognized for their contributions to rock & roll.
The band has been eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for 14 years now but they’ve been up for nomination only once. It turns out, that’s all they needed. The group garnered more votes than any other act in the Rock Hall’s fan vote and, with support from the institution’s voting committee, became a no-brainer for the ceremony.
After a speech by Queen guitarist Brian May, an artist whom they’ve shared a stage with on multiple occasions, frontman Joe Elliott delivered an acceptance speech on the band’s behalf. The group members entering the Rock Hall tonight include Def Leppard’s current lineup — frontman Joe Elliott, guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell, bassist Rick Savage and drummer Rick Allen — along with founding guitarist Pete Willis and their late guitarist Steve Clark. Here’s what Elliott had to say.
First of all, massive love and gratitude to our very dear friend Brian May for such a flattering introduction. We love you, mate, and congratulations on the incredible success of the movie. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer chap..
I’d also like to congratulate all our fellow inductees tonight, it’s a real honor to be able to share this stage with the likes of Roxy Music, Stevie Nicks and the Zombies, artists that we’ve admired from a distance for many, many years.
Alright, so down to business, we’d like to take this opportunity to acknowledge a few people, and some significant moments that have played a very important role in getting this band to where it is today, starting off with our parents. Back then, we were just a bunch of teenage wannabes living at home, dreaming the dream, so without their help and encouragement it would be a lot tougher to be standing up here on this stage tonight. My mum for example, taught me my first three chords when I was eight years old. I’ve learned two more since, but I’ve come to realize you don’t actually really need them at all. My dad who lent us £150 to make our first very recording back in 1978 which was absolutely the launch pad for this very wild ride that we’ve been on ever since.
Now that’s just two examples of what our folks did for us along the way and I could stand here all night with great tales of parental support and what have you, but basically it’s of major significance, and it goes without saying that without their support, financial and otherwise, things may have turned out very differently.
Another significant moment in this band’s birth was the simple act of missing a bus, which is something that I did one August night in 1977. By deciding to walk home instead of waiting for the next one, fate would have it that I would bump into a young kid who I knew to be a pretty good guitar player. That kid was a guy called Pete Willis. Pete was a co-founder of the band and one of the best right hands in the business. Now sadly Pete couldn’t be with us tonight, but I want to emphasize how very important Pete’s role in this band was in the early days. He was a terrific player, had a very mischievous sense of humor, but he brought plenty of great musical ideas to the band.
And it was Pete, after a chance meeting in a college canteen, both reaching for the same guitar magazine, who introduced us to the late, great Steve Clark. Over the following 10 years, Steve made a massive musical contribution to this band, his incredible and unique riffs helped shape some of the most important songs we will ever write and it really does go without saying that we love him and we miss him every day.
Two gentlemen who helped take us to a level that we could only previously have dreamt about were Cliff Burnstein and Peter Mensch. They formed Q-Prime management and they looked after us for the best part of 25 years. We will always appreciate the fact that Peter bankrolled this band for years until things started to take off — and boy, did they take off!
But not before the most significant contribution that Peter and Cliff ever made, which was introducing our music to our future producer, co-writer and mentor, Mr. Robert John “Mutt” Lange. We first worked with Mutt in 1981 on an album called High & Dry, but it was 1983 that saw us move into a whole new orbit with the phenomenal success of the album Pryomania, where we were properly introduced to our new boss for the first time — our wonderfully loyal fanbase, without whom we wouldn’t be up here tonight, of that, I have no doubt. You’ve stayed on board for the best part of the following 36 years and supported us through some tough times along the way, but those tough times have helped us make this band what it is today — it’s solid, appreciative of who we are and what we stand for.
Those songs we’ve written over the years were always our main priority, you just have to check out our misguided fashion sense over the years and you’ll understand where I’m coming from here. And although there seemed to be a looming sense of tragedy around every corner, we just wouldn’t let it in. But it’s true, it did seem that every time we made some musical headway, life would knock us back down somewhat. Pyromania is a raging success… then Rick has a life changing accident. He survived it and came out the other side stronger. Hysteria gave us the global success that we’d always craved… and then we lost Steve. But we survived and came out the other side stronger people. And that’s the way it’s always played out throughout our career. So let’s face facts here, if alcoholism, car crashes and cancer couldn’t kill us, the Nineties had no fucking chance!
So finally I’d like to bring this into the now and thank the people who are helping to keep this beautiful machine on the road, hopefully for many, many more years to come. Our manager Mike Kobayashi who took over the reigns from Howard Kaufman who looked after us from 2005 until his passing in 2017. Howard did an incredible job breathing new life into this band at a time when it could have gone either way and Mike continues to do so, so thank you, Mike.
To our friends at Universal Records, past and present, especially present. And to our families, to our wives, to our children, who help to keep us grounded and also give us a good reason to keep doing what we do. And last but absolutely not least, my fellow bandmates here. We’re not blood, but we’re the closest thing to brothers this only child has ever known. I couldn’t and wouldn’t want to do it without you guys.
The jam included Queen’s Brian May, the Zombies’ Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent, the Bangles’ Susanna Hoffs, “Little” Steven Van Zandt and, the surprise guest, Ian Hunter of Mott the Hoople, who emerged from backstage to join the inductees and presenters for the rendition of the David Bowie-penned classic.
“There’s usually an all-star jam but we’re gonna try something different. More sedate, less messy, more classic,” Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott told the crowd at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
The Def Leppard singer also introduced Hunter as “a gentleman whose band 45 years ago today released their last studio album. He fronted that band for about five years; he’s fronted himself about 40.”
Elliott has long professed that Mott the Hoople is his favorite band, telling Rolling Stone of “All the Young Dudes” in 2018, “It’s the anthem of our generation. I first heard it when I was 12. It was the definitive moment for a bunch of scruffy teenage kids in Sheffield and all over the U.K. – maybe more in the U.K. than in America. I had been a fan of the band since their early days when they were making hard rock, and I was totally up with Ian Hunter’s persona, his voice; everything about him resonated with me.”
Even more than most awards shows, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finds itself boxed in by ceremony. Realistically, there’s only so much you can do with a template that rarely veers from performance / induction speech / acceptance speech: At best, you’ll have mind-blowing performances and touching speeches of genuine gratitude, grace and humor; at worst, the opposite, with speeches that more resemble interminable wedding toasts.
And despite Queen guitarist Brian May’s comment on this evening that rock music is “alive and well,” the sort of rock and roll that’s celebrated in this 33-year-old institution is rapidly becoming a museum piece itself: The last culturally galvanizing rock band was Nirvana, over a quarter-century ago. Thus, the Rock Hall’s job has become less about recognizing talents that have finally reached the 25-year-since-first-record eligibility and more about a second chance — or third, fourth, fifth or more — for the ones that were passed over in past years, along with a shamefully token nod to other genres, most often R&B and hip-hop.
Yet the excruciatingly long 34th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Friday night did manage to produce some genuinely moving moments, especially a dignified speech from Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott about the astonishing ups-and-downs of the band’s career, and some trademark hilarious and historically fascinating battiness from Stevie Nicks. The Cure, Roxy Music, the Zombies, Janet Jackson and Radiohead were inducted as well; the latter two did not perform. (A source tells Variety that Jackson decided not to perform because the Rock Hall show will be broadcast April 27 on HBO, the network that produced the controversial “Leaving Neverland” documentary containing multiple allegations of child abuse against Michael Jackson, Janet’s late brother.)
The evening started off with one of the show’s strongest performances — and definitely the most amusing speech — from Nicks, who was joined in song by both former paramour Don Henley and current friend and fanboy Harry Styles. She brought a bevy of her inimitable bon mots to a nearly 15-minute acceptance speech and lots of between-song banter. Nicks talked at length about the “original ‘Stand Back’ scarf” that she was wearing and how her mother said it was too expensive but “look at how well it’s held up over the last 35 years.” She talked about how “Leather and Lace” (for which she was joined by Henley) was originally written for star country couple Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter “but they didn’t stay married so I took the song back,” and how “Edge of Seventeen” was about John Lennon’s death and “something that happened between Tom Petty and his first wife, and it’s so heavy that each time you play it, it feels like you’ve never played it before. So ladies and gentlemen,” she concluded, “go with pain.” Okay then!
Styles, clad in an electric blue suit, took Petty’s duet role for “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” and inducted Nicks, who he said was an early musical influence — he recalled hearing her songs with his parents when he was barely five — and raised eyebrows when he said, “She is everything you’d want in a lover and a friend,” although their long embrace seemed more familial than romantic. At the end of her set Nicks picked up a tambourine bedecked with streamers, swirled her scarves and casually did her trademark witchy dance from one side of the stage to the other — a true pro making sure the audience got what they came for.
Radiohead got a strong induction speech from David Byrne, who said he was “surprised and very flattered” when he first learned that the group had named themselves “after a song I had written, and I couldn’t help wondering why that song?,” he paused. “I don’t want to know!”
While the members of Radiohead were famously on the fence about whether or not they would attend, what was surprising on this night was that the one member who’d said he definitely wanted to go — bassist Colin Greenwood — was not in attendance, but two who were ambivalent — guitarist Ed O’Brien and drummer Phil Selway — did. Both were extremely gracious and grateful: “We may not be the best musicians and we’re certainly not the most media-friendly band,” Selway said, “but when we connect with people it feels amazing.” O’Brien added, “I just want to say this is such a beautifully surreal evening for us, and it’s a very far cry from where we come from. It is a big f—ing deal and I wish the others could be here because they would be feeling it too.”
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock (10181647ba) Roxy Music Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Show, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, USA – 29 Mar 2019
The evening’s first middle-aged screams erupted when Duran Duran’s Simon Le Bon and John Taylor took the stage to induct Roxy Music, recalling being teenagers in the summer of 1972 when David Bowie and Roxy electrified their Saturday television shows. “Their sound was a shock to the system, a psychedelic Sinatra, pulp science fiction,” Le Bon said, with Taylor adding, “I am always proud to say that without Roxy Music there would be no Duran Duran.” The band’s supremely classy frontman, Bryan Ferry, spent most of his speech thanking musicians (including the absent founding members Brian Eno and Paul Thompson), producers, engineers, managers, and of course designers the group has worked with over the years. The group — with classic-era members saxist Andy Mackay, guitarist Phil Manzanera and keyboardist/violinist Eddie Jobson — played a tight set that included abbreviated versions of “Out of the Blue,” “Avalon,” “Love Is the Drug” and “More Than This.”
A different tone of audience enthusiasm greeted Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, who inducted the Cure. He recalled the group’s music breaking into his alienated rural childhood, “Immediately this band struck a chord with me — a lot of darkness I felt in my head was coming back at me through the speakers.” He concluded by saying, “In the past I’ve been ambivalent about certain award ceremonies, and thought ‘How can I take this awards ceremony seriously if they don’t even acknowledge The Cure?’ And then not so long ago I got a phone call I wasn’t expecting and here we are. Let’s just say I’ve never been as happy to eat my words as I was on that day.” (Read his full speech here.)
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock (10181647cs) Robert Smith, The Cure Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Show, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, USA – 29 Mar 2019
Cure frontman Robert Smith, sporting as ever rats-nest hair, heavy makeup and red lipstick, gave a slightly awkward but grateful speech, saying that speaking is “completely different to singing onstage and much more difficult” and comically closed by saying “Where’s my ‘wrap it up’ sign?” The group then paid tribute to former drummer Andy Anderson, who died of cancer earlier this year, by opening their brief set with the cataclysmic “Shake Dog Shake,” a deep cut from their crazed 1984 album “The Top,” before launching into the crowd-pleasers “A Forest,” “Love Song,” “Just Like Heaven” and “Boys Don’t Cry.”
Janelle Monae, rocking black leather, fangirled shamelessly over Janet Jackson, who she called the “queen of black-girl magic” and recalled first hearing about from her mother: “It was so refreshing to see someone who looked like me.” She admitted that Janet’s picture has been the screen-saver on her phone for seven years, and “every time I look at it I remember to focus,” and thanked her not only for her musical and cultural influence but also for being a leader in the LGBTQ community.
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock (10181647ef) Janet Jackson Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Show, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, USA – 29 Mar 2019
Jackson, wearing a black outfit with orange plumage on the pants, talked about how she’d originally wanted to go to college and become a lawyer but “it was my father’s dream for me to become a wonderful performer,” and recalled him bringing her to A&M Records as a 14-year-old, where she signed her first record deal. She spoke about “always tagging along with my brothers” yet “as the youngest, I was determined to make it on my own.” She also recalled her pride at seeing her brothers inducted into the Rock Hall, and said, “But never in a million years did I expect to follow in their footsteps — and tonight your baby sister is here.” She thanked many people but told Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the hitmakers behind her breakthrough album “Control” and many other hits, and Roots drummer Questlove to stand up and be recognized; when thanking her choreographers, she said I never thought I was a good dancer” to uproarious laughter from the crowd. She concluded with a “personal thank-you to every fan,” and finished by saying, “Please Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 2020 induct more women.”
The Zombies could have found few truer fans than Bangles singer Susannah Hoffs to induct them. She recalled hearing their songs on the radio as a child in her parents’ car, and said “I’ve loved the Zombies for as long as I can remember.” The bandmembers gave overly long but gracious speeches, noting that it was 50 years ago to the day that their single “Time of the Season” reached number one, but they’d already broken up because the album from whence it came, the classic “Odessey and Oracle,” had stiffed on the charts. They then performed four songs, also including “Time of the Season” and their first hit, “She’s Not There.”
Queen guitarist Brian May took the stage for the final induction: his longtime friends Def Leppard. He recalled first meeting them backstage at a concert in 1981, saying, “Hi, I’m Brian May from Queen” and they replied, “No sh–.” He singled out singer Joe Elliott as one of his best friends and noted that when Leppard guitarist Steve Clark died of alcoholism-related illness in 1991, May was one of the first people to call Elliott, and that when Freddie Mercury died not long after, Elliott was the first to call him. Elliott gave a gracious and very well-written speech in which he gave considerable credit to the contributions from Clark as well as founding guitarist Pete Willis, producer-cowriter Mutt Lange and early managers Cliff Burnstein and Peter Mensch.
Yet the evening’s most emotional moment came when he addressed the lows that have come with their spectacular highs: Clark’s death, guitarist Vivian Campbell’s ongoing battle with cancer, and drummer Rick Allen losing an arm in a 1984 car accident.
“Although there seemed to be a looming sense of tragedy around every corner, we just wouldn’t let it in,” he said. “It did seem that every time we made some musical headway, life would knock us back down somewhat. [The group’s 1983 album] ‘Pyromania’ is a raging success, then Rick has a life changing accident. He survived it and came out the other side stronger.”
He paused as the crowd gave a rousing standing ovation that didn’t stop after the usual standing-ovation timespan — it grew as everyone gradually realized, seemingly in unison, that this guy really overcame odds that anyone would consider unbeatable. The applause grew louder as Allen noticeably teared up, giving a thumbs-up sign to the crowd and getting hugs from his bandmates, a couple of whom were weeping as well.
Elliott then picked up the narrative of the band’s wildly dramatic career, which has seen them rise and fall in popularity along with the tragedies. “[The 1987 blockbuster] ‘Hysteria’ gave us the global success that we’d always craved… and then we lost Steve. But we survived and came out the other side stronger people. And that’s the way it’s always played out throughout our career. So let’s face facts here, if alcoholism, car crashes and cancer couldn’t kill us, the ’90s had no f—ing chance!”
The group then knocked out four of their biggest hits, “Hysteria,” “Rock of Ages,” “Photograph” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” and although the performance could not match the drama of the speeches, it made for an irresistible final scene for the inevitable Def Leppard biopic.
After a few desultory minutes, Def Leppard was joined onstage by May — brandishing his trademark red guitar — Hoffs and various Zombies and, surprisingly, Mott the Hoople frontman Ian Hunter, for a finale of Mott’s 1972 hit “All the Young Dudes.” The song, penned by David Bowie, has only a tangential connection to the evening’s honorees (May and Def Leppard performed it at Freddie Mercury’s tribute concert in 1992) — and the fact that they’re all actually quite old dudes was not lost on anyone — but it was a fine one to have resonating in the crowd’s collective heads as they exited the arena, more than five hours after most of them had entered. And with that, a few minutes after midnight, the show wrapped.
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Stephen Lovekin/REX/Shutterstock (10181647gu) Def Leppard, Steven Van Zandt, Susanna Hoffs, Ian Hunter Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Show, Barclays Center, Brooklyn, USA – 29 Mar 2019
