Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 2020 nominations announced

The longlist of nominations for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 2020 has been announced, led by the likes of Depeche Mode, Notorious B.I.G., Nine Inch Nails and Whitney Houston.

To be eligible to enter the hallowed hall, an artist’s first commercial records need to have been released 25 years ago, in 1994. Last year’s longlist featured the likes of Rage Against the Machine, Kraftwerk, MC5, Rufus & Chaka Khan, LL Cool J, Devo, Todd Rundgren, and John Prine – but failed to make the final cut when the final list of inductees was whittled down to  Radiohead, The Cure, Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, Roxy Music, Def Leppard, and the Zombies.

While eligible, this year’s list snubs the likes of Jeff Buckley, Oasis, Weezer, Kate Bush, Aaliyah, and Daft Punk. Soundgarden, Kraftwerk, and Motörhead are all among 2020’s favourites to be inducted.

Fans can vote for their favourites via the Rock Hall website here, and the final list of inductees will be announced in January before the ceremony takes place on May 2, 2020.

The full list of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2020 Nominees is:

Pat Benatar
Dave Matthews Band
Depeche Mode
The Doobie Brothers
Whitney Houston
Judas Priest
Kraftwerk
MC5
Motörhead
Nine Inch Nails
The Notorious B.I.G.
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
Todd Rundgren
Soundgarden
T.Rex
Thin Lizzy

Last year saw the majority of Radiohead decline the chance to appear at the induction ceremony, with the band previously saying that they “didn’t understand it“. Mystery now surrounds whether Nine Inch Nails would appear if inducted. Despite making a moving speech for The Cure’s entry in 2019, Trent Reznor has previously been somewhat disparaging about the Hall.

“I remember distinctly saying to myself, among other things, how can I even take this awards ceremony seriously if they’ll open their doors to X, Y and Z and not acknowledge the Cure,” Reznor said. “Let’s just say I’ve never been as happy to eat my words as I was tonight.”

Last year also saw The Cure’s Robert Smith go viral for his brutal putdown of an interviewer, while Janet Jackson used her speech to call for more female nominees, and Stevie Nicks shared the stage with Harry Styles for a performance.