After decades of eligibility, the legendary band Bad Company finally received their long-overdue nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in February 2025, a moment met with understandable excitement and gratitude.
In a recent conversation with U.K. radio personality Paul Stephenson of VRP Rocks, Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke shared his feelings about this milestone. However, his reflections also unearthed a rather spirited and definitive stance from another iconic British rock act regarding the coveted honor.
As Kirke recounted a congratulatory text from his friend and Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain. “Well, it’s the first time we’ve been nominated,” Kirke said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth), “and a very good friend of mine is Nicko McBrain from Iron Maiden. He sent me a congratulatory text. He said, ‘By the way, Simon, Maiden have been nominated 11 f**king times and we haven’t been inducted ever. So our management wrote to the Hall Of Fame and said, ‘Stop nominating us. Bollocks. F**k off.’”
“What can I say? If I was truly honest, I would say it’s about time because we’ve been around for so long,” Simon continued. “And hello? How about Free, which superseded Bad Company? A lot of people have a lot of affection for Free.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame‘s criteria for eligibility—25 years after the release of an artist’s first official recording—should, in theory, open its doors to a vast and influential array of musicians. Yet, the ongoing exclusion of seminal hard rock and metal titans like Iron Maiden and Motörhead raises eyebrows and fuels debate. Both bands have undeniably left an indelible mark on the landscape of popular music, shaping generations of artists and commanding legions of devoted fans worldwide. The fact that Guns N’ Roses, a band of similar stature and impact, was inducted in their very first year of eligibility only amplifies the perceived disparity and leaves many wondering about the Hall‘s selection process and its seeming reluctance to fully embrace these foundational pillars of hard rock and heavy metal.
In 2018, Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson described Rock Hall as “an utter and complete load of bollocks run by a bunch of sanctimonious bloody Americans who wouldn’t know rock and roll if it hit them in the face.”
Speaking to Rolling Stone, Maiden‘s Steve Harris expressed his lack of concern over their non-induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, even though they’ve been eligible for over two decades.
“I don’t mind that we’re not in things like that. I don’t think about things like that,” Harris said back in 2019. “It’s very nice if people give you awards or accolades, but we didn’t get into the business for that sort of thing. I’m certainly not going to lose sleep if we don’t get any sort of award, not just that one, any award. I don’t think we deserve to have this or that necessarily. With what we do, whatever comes of it is great. Whatever doesn’t come of it is great, too.”
Writer and extreme metal devotee, Ialdagorth has spent over a decade covering the darkest corners of heavy music. A black metal lifer, he spends his free time wandering the Carpathian Mountains, likely humming blast beats to the trees.
