As announced Wednesday, Judas Priest will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year in conjunction with receiving the Musical Excellence Award.
Unlike inductees in the main Performer category, which are chosen by the full list of eligible voters, Musical Excellence Award honorees are selected by a smaller committee.
Priest frontman Rob Halford tells ABC Audio that has no qualms about his band being welcomed into Rock Hall via the special category.
“I quite like the idea of the ‘musical excellence,’ because here is a band that’s been making metal from way back in the early ’70s, and we’re still making metal now,” Halford notes.
“Equally, as I understand, what this…’musical excellence’ refers to…[is] the quality of your music and the influence that your music has had,” the powerhouse singer continues. “So it’s covering a lot of important parts of Judas Priest, and that’s a good feeling.”
Many of Judas Priest’s fellow 2022 inductees actually come from outside of the rock genre, including Lionel Richie and Dolly Parton, but Halford says he has no issue with that.
“It’s a real display…of the inclusivity of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” he says of the diverse class of 2022.
The Priest members being inducted includes three musicians no longer in the group — longtime guitarist K.K. Downing and drummers Les Binks and the late Dave Holland. Halford says he hopes Downing — who’s had a contentious relationship with his old band mates since leaving the group — and Binks will both take part in induction ceremony.
“Everybody [being inducted from the band]…should be there, and I hope they will,” says Rob. “And I think that we’ll get to that place.”
The Rock Hall Induction Ceremony is set for November 5 in Los Angeles.
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