The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony has wrapped for another year and, as usual, the event didn’t lack for controversy or a stack of otherwise memorable moments .
For actual fans of rock and/or roll, the Hall Of Fame has never really meant all that much. The organisation uses the term “rock and roll” notoriously loosely and has a history of snubbing numerous worthy artists, particularly from the heavier genres *cough* Maiden, Faith No More, Pantera, Dio, the list goes on *cough*.
But you do have to give it to the Rock Hall: its induction ceremonies are never boring. And sure enough, this year there were a stack of unforgettable bits, which we’ve categorised as ‘Fuck You’ moments or ‘Fuck Yeah’ moments.
Check ’em out in the gallery below, and watch some of the video footage underneath.
Also ICYMI: these five artists all got inducted this year.
Gallery: 9 Massive ‘Fuck You’ And ‘Fuck Yeah’ Moments From The 2016 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction
David Byrne and the roots team up to perform David Bowie's 'fame' at #RockHall2016 pic.twitter.com/RAwDmfWjhA
— Adam Edelman (@abedelman) April 9, 2016
9 Massive 'Fuck You' And 'Fuck Yeah' Moments From The 2016 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction
-
Fuck Yeah: Lars Honours Deep Purple (And So Does His Outfit)
During his induction speech honouring metal lords Deep Purple, Metallica's Lars Ulrich dressed to impress in a fancy crushed-velvet blazer. "For Christmas, my middle son gave me this coat," he explained, "And seriously, I just took the tag off it offstage and the colour, I kid you not, says 'deep purple. Can we pass this around to show I'm not making this up?" #illuminaticonfirmed -
Fuck You: N.W.A. Sticks It To Gene Simmons
N.W.A. used their rock hall induction speech to shut down loudmouth KISS bassist Gene Simmons, who recently commented that he was "looking forward to the death of rap" after previously expressing the opinion that hip-hop didn't belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In response, MC Ren basically told the Demon to "kiss this": "I want to say, to Mr. Gene Simmons, hip-hop is here forever. Get used to it. Get used to it. We supposed to be here," he said to cheers of approval from the crowd. -
Fuck Yeah: Kimbra, The Roots & David Byrne Honour David Bowie
One of the most unforgettable moments of the ceremony came at the very start, when Kiwi songstress Kimbra teamed up with The Roots & David Byrne to honour the late great David Bowie with a cover of his Fame. It came after all three parties pulled out of last week's Bowie tribute concert. Check out some fan-shot footage of the performance below. -
Fuck You: Steve Miller Rips The Rock Hall For Misogyny Just Moments After Getting Inducted
Classic rocker Steve Miller of the Steve Miller Band didn't mince words during his induction speech, tearing the Hall Of Fame a new one for its lack of support for female artists, as well as a number of other issues. "I encourage [the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame] to keep expanding your vision," he said, "to be inclusive of women, to be more transparent in your dealings with the public and most importantly, to do much more to provide music to our schools." -
Fuck Yeah: Ice Cube Defines Rock And Roll
Building on his bandmate MC Ren's big FU to Gene Simmons, Ice Cube changed it to a "Fuck Yeah!" by answering the question of whether N.W.A. belong in the Rock Hall. "Are we rock & roll?" he asked. "I say, 'You goddamn right, we rock & roll.' Rock & roll is not an instrument; rock & roll is not even a style of music. Rock & roll is a spirit. It's a spirit. It's been going since the blues, jazz, bebop, soul, R&B, rock & roll, heavy metal, punk rock and yes, hip-hop. … Rock & roll is not conforming to the people who came before you, but creating your own path in music and in life. That is rock & roll, and that is us." Amen to that. Still doesn't explain why Richie "La Bamba" Valens got a nod while the legendary Ronnie James Dio remains forever snubbed though. Just sayin'. -
Fuck You: Drummer From Chicago Turns Out To Be A Badass
During his speech inducting Chicago into the rock hall, Rob Thomas tried his best to convince fans that the horn-rock band was cool. "Chicago is a kick-ass rock band with horns", he told the crowd. "If you think Chicago is your mum's band, then I want to party with your mum!" Then former Chicago drummer Danny Seraphine proved his point with a big FU to the showrunners trying to hussle the band off the stage mid-speech: "'Please wrap it up?' Screw you. I've waited 25 fucking years for this!" he said. Later in the night, Kid Rock expressed his approval: "The drummer for Chicago turns out to be a fucking badass!" -
Fuck Yeah: Kendrick Lamar's N.W.A Induction Speech
Fellow Compton graduate Kendrick Lamar made a passionate, kickass speech introducing Rock Hall inductees N.W.A. paying tribute to the artists who did so much to inspire him: "I know each and every one of them said they never wanted to be role models, but look: The first time I saw Eazy bust through that screen out the jail cell on stage on [the video for] We Want Eazy, I felt like every single one of them was black superheroes where I come from," he said. "People from our community can be on that television screen, be on awards, and still have their voice and be real to themselves." Dr. Dre later said of Lamar: "He’ll be on this stage one day in the future getting inducted." Feel the love, you guys. -
Fuck You: Kid Rock's Pro-Drugs Rant
Kid Rock's FU moment was in the form of a random tangent during his Cheap Trick induction intro which would have made Reverend Lovejoy's wife from The Simpsons faint in horror. He stuck it to every anti-drugs campaign you've ever seen or heard, saying: "As long as we're keeping it real, I'd like to really quickly address the issue of drugs in America. If you do drugs, kids, there's a good chance you're going to ruin your life. But there's also a pretty good fucking chance you'll end up in a band and be rich and bang hot chicks." Not sure if there's a causal relationship there m8 but cool try. -
Fuck Yeah: Cheap Trick Reunite (Possibly For The Last Time) & Trash The Place
Cheap Trick and former drummer Bun E. Carlos don't really get along so good these days, and haven't communicated without lawyers present since he left the group in 2010. But you wouldn't have had any clue about that watching what was by all accounts a kickass three-song set featuring classics I Want You to Want Me, Dream Police and Surrender at the 2016 Rock Hall induction ceremony, during which the band apparently destroyed the place. Extra fuck yeah factor for probably being the last time that the original lineup will ever play together.
