Bruce Dickinson doesn’t want Iron Maiden in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: “We don’t make disposable pop music”
“Some people feel almost actively threatened by metal,” the singer says.
Image: Venla Shalin / Getty Images
Let it be known that Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden is not a fan of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, nor does he care about the approval of those who run it.
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Speaking in a new interview with Telegraph, the British metal icon discusses his disdain for the organisation and how feels about Iron Maiden being left out – once again – at the 2023 Rock Hall induction.
“We don’t give a monkey’s,” Dickinson says. “Because the people that get us are not the people that run the music business establishment, whatever that is. Because that is largely run by people that can’t make a living doing anything else.”
“I don’t want to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Because we’re not dead yet! Some people feel almost actively threatened by metal,” he explains. “Not by the nature of the music. But by the fact that it doesn’t conform to their worldview of what pop music should be, which is: pop music is disposable, darling.”
“Well, we don’t make disposable pop music,” Dickinson adds.
While the band has been eligible to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame since 2004, they’ve only been nominated a total of two times in 2021 and 2023. Explaining the Rock Hall’s decision on a recent episode of the Audacy Check-In podcast, Rock Hall president and CEO Greg Harris said, “We love that people… care if [Iron Maiden are] in or out, and that their fans care.”
“The truth is anybody that’s nominated, the odds are good that they’ll eventually gonna get in. In fact, I think it may be as high as 90 percent eventually go in. Rage [Against the Machine], this was their sixth time, I believe, fifth time on the ballot, or sixth time, and so sometimes it takes a while.”
While we wait, Iron Maiden recently kicked off the European leg of their Future Past Tour in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The tour features previously unperformed songs from the band’s latest studio album, Senjutsu, along with a focus on 1986’s Somewhere In Time LP, plus other classic cuts.
Tickets for the trek are still available via the band’s website.