Following the exclusion of British Heavy Metal band Iron Maiden from the 2021 list of inductees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, CEO Greg Harris has stepped forward to defend the decision.
The ‘Fear of The Dark’ performers were included within a list of nominees for the Class of 2021 which was compiled and released in February of this year but were left off when the list of inductees was officially announced last week.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame took to Instagram to announce the news on 12th May 2021, the post features a video of Greg Harris that was shot inside the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and lists all contenders and the categories in which they are competing within.
The list of inductees includes Tina Turner, Carole King, The Go-Go’s, Jay-z, Foo Fighters and Todd Rundgren, all of which are within the Performer Category. Within the Early Influence Award list are Kraftwerk, Charley Patton and ‘The Revolution Will Not Be Televised’ artist and icon Gil Scott-Heron. The three acts within the Early Influence Award list include LL Cool J, Billy Preston and Randy Rhoads.
The last prize is the Ahmet Ertegun award, which is given to non-performing professionals within the industry who have exhibited passion whilst leaving their mark. This year, the award will be bestowed upon Clarence Avant, the American music entrepreneur, executive and founder of Venture Records Inc and Sussex Records which ran from 1969- 1975.
The decision to omit Iron Maiden from the Class list was met with outrage and backlash from fans, who felt strongly about the East London rockers influence and contribution to music. The heavy metal band which formed in 1975 in Leyton have been performing, writing and touring since their inception and with a total of 40 albums under their belt, the band are a frequent favourite of any music fan.
Harris has insisted that the decision to omit the band from the Class list was not based on the band’s influence and impact within music and the industry. The CEO spoke with WBAB, the classic rock radio station from New York, about this decision.
“There’s no doubt that Iron Maiden are an impactful, influential band, and that’s why they were nominated this year, along with 15 other artists and acts, and when the votes came in, these six were the leaders,” he said. “So we’re not questioning, are they an important band, are they impactful and influential. Of those that have been nominated throughout history, over 80 per cent of them have been eventually inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. So everybody has their favourites; everybody has different artists that impacted them or impacted other artists. So, if you look at this list, you can make that case for all of these folks, just like people make that case for Iron Maiden.”
In the interview, Harris was also asked whether The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will be renamed to The Music Hall of Fame. The question was raised as the acts nominated and inducted in more recent years have been from varied genres of music and not just rock bands and acts.
“I think to get to the core of it, people like the stuff that’s closest to them, and I think they need to expand their thinking of rock and roll,” he replied. “It’s a big tent and everybody fits under it. It’s an attitude, it’s a spirit, and that’s rock and roll.”
Much like Iron Maiden, Harris has had a long and varied career; he was previously a senior executive at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, but music is no doubt Harris’ passion. The ex-road manager co-founded the Philadelphia Record Exchange in 1985, which specialises in locating and selling hard to find Vinyl records.
