[canadaspaceman]

http://www.guitarplayer.com/artists/1013/ritchie-blackmore-blocked-from-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-induction/56739

Ritchie Blackmore Blocked from Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction
BY Christopher Scapelliti
February 19, 2016


Ritchie Blackmore reports that Deep Purple’s manager won’t let him attend the band’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.

The guitarist, who co-founded Deep Purple in 1968, said the band’s long-time manager, Bruce Payne, has refused to allow for him to take part in the ceremony on April 8 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

Blackmore posted the news on his official Facebook page early this morning.

“Rock and Roll Hall of Fame update

“Ritchie was honored by the offer of induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was discussing the possibility of attending, until we received correspondence from the President of the Rock Hall of Fame, who said that Bruce Payne, management for the current Deep Purple Touring Band, had said "No"..........!!!!!"

“Therefore Ritchie will not be attending the ceremony. He sincerely thanks all the fans that voted for him for their support.”

Deep Purple were selected for inclusion in the 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction class along with Cheap Trick, Chicago, N.W.A. and Steve Miller.

The band’s induction has been a long time coming. Though they have been eligible since 1993 and ranked second on the public ballot for inclusion, the Rock Hall committee repeatedly passed on the group. Vocal advocates for Deep Purple’s induction have included Steve Lukather, Slash, Gene Simmons, Geddy Lee and Lars Ulrich.

Deep Purple were confirmed for induction in 2015, but the honor was diminished by the committee’s decision not to extend the honor to founding bassist Nick Simper or current members Steve Morse and Don Airey. Simper told Classic Rockmagazine, “Maybe I am being naïve, but I always thought that if a band gets into the Hall of Fame then all members, past and present, are part of it. Obviously not.”

Singer Ian Gillan also criticized the Hall for omitting guitarist Morse and keyboardist Airey, calling the decision “very silly.” In an interview with Classic Rock last October, Gillan denounced the committee, saying, “I have no respect for them. They’re the kind of people that having seen A Hard Day’s Night decided that the Monkees would be America’s equivalent to the Beatles. They’ve no idea what goes on in the big, wide world outside of their self-arbitrating surroundings. To me, those people are bloody arrogant and rude.”

As for Blackmore, he appears to be taking the whole thing in stride. The guitarist is currently preparing for his first rock shows since 1997, where he’ll be performing with a new lineup of Rainbow, his post–Deep Purple group.

Blackmore recently sat down with Guitar Player for an exclusive interview to be published in its May 2016 issue, on newsstands April 12. Speaking of making his return to music he hasn’t played in years, Blackmore said the process was “interesting, because I now have to relearn the songs that I have completely forgotten about. Some of them have a lot more in them than I remembered, so I am listening to a lot more of the riffs that I used to play and relearning. I haven’t played these songs in 20 years.”

You can read an excerpt from that interview here.

[JumpInTheFire]

I'm actually a big fan of older hip-hop (A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, etc.) - but why does the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame have non-rock bands in it (N.W.A.)? I apologize for even asking the question, because I know the answer, as we all do - that it is just a mainstream body that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the quality of the music, let alone the genre. Rather, just like the Grammys, it is about catering to mainstream numbers.

As for Ritchie, it's still a shame that he can't at least be acknowledge alongside his peers.

[nonseinormale65]

The real shame is that we had to wait 2016 to see Deep Purple inducted in a so called R'n'R Hall of Fame that was established in 1986...
they only needed 30 years...


Alex Lifeson told exactly what i think of it:

[riptorn]

I'm actually a big fan of older hip-hop (A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, etc.) - but why does the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame have non-rock bands in it (N.W.A.)? I apologize for even asking the question, because I know the answer, as we all do - that it is just a mainstream body that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with the quality of the music, let alone the genre. Rather, just like the Grammys, it is about catering to mainstream numbers.

I don't hear too may folks on the board ever mention hip-hop, so i reckon you may be one of the few people here who'll appreciate this: