18 Bands Who Should Be In The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame But Aren't

Iron Maiden in 1983
Iron Maiden: one of the bands excluded from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 2017 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Talk about better late then never. Almost 50 years after they formed, prog legends Yes have finally been nominated for inclusion in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. They join the likes of ELO, Journey and Steppenwolf, plus such young bucks as Pearl Jam and Jane’s Addiction, on the longlist of bands who could – that’s ‘could’, by the way, not ‘definitely will’ – join the illustrious ranks of artists already granted entry the Hall Of Fame.

While Yes are long overdue their shot, the event’s organisers – whose rules state that a band become eligible for consideration 25 years after their first album came out – continue to make some glaring omissions.

How about global metal superstars Iron Maiden, who are bigger today than they have ever been before? Or prog pioneers Jethro Tull, who were one of the most successful live bands of the 70s on both sides of the Atlantic? Or Def Leppard, a band who reinvented rock not once but twice in the 1980s with Pyromania and Hysteria? Or Motörhead, Mötley Crüe, Judas Priest, King Crimson, Soundgarden… well, you get the picture.

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It might be an oversight on the part of the people behind the Hall Of Fame, or it could just be snobbery. Either way, we’ve put together a list of bands we think should be in there as soon as possible. And once you’ve looked through the gallery, tell us which band you think should be inducted in our poll…

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