Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
U2 was the surprise opener of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, playing their new single Silencio while surrounded by dancers in riot squad gear with helmets and shields, before launching into their 1984 classic Pride (In the Name of Love).
Singer Bono alternately raised a peace sign and fist as guitarist the Edge and the rest of the band played the song about Martin Luther King, Jr on the stage at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
U2 was inducted into the hall in 2005.
It was an apt opening for what may feel like ’80s night, with the new members including Billy Idol, Phil Collins, Sade, Queen Latifah, New Order, Luther Vandross and Iron Maiden.
Many of the inductees opted out of performing or appearing, and the Hall of Fame revealed next-to-nothing about the show, so it’s likely to be full of surprises.
After streaming the ceremony live the past few years, the Rock Hall is returning to its previous model, where the public won’t see it until an edited version airs on ABC and Disney+ on December 9.
Oasis, youngest of the inductees, won’t be coming. Guitarist Noel Gallagher is playing a gig in Britain, and his little brother, Liam Gallagher, just doesn’t want to come.
“It’s too far to be going for the night,” he said in a post on the social platform X. He added in another, “I dont like award ceremonies they freak me out I dont know why I just get weird vibes.”
Iron Maiden is on tour in Australia. Sade is opting to sit it out, too. Collins is likely to appear, but cannot perform due to health reasons. Key members of New Order, getting a joint induction with their previous incarnation Joy Division, will also be out for health reasons. Vandross died in 2005.
But the show will go on, and hip-hop could be the highlight. Wu-Tang Clan will be inducted along with Queen Latifah and MC Lyte, and all are expected to appear and probably perform.
And Idol, being inducted with his longtime guitarist Steve Stevens, will take the stage ready to rock.
Latifah and Lyte enter the hall as recipients of the Early Influence Award along with posthumous nominees Gram Parsons, Fela Kuti and Celia Cruz.
