The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame's 2022 class of inductees include UK metal gods Judas Priest, who will receive the "Musical Excellence" award at the event on November 5 in Los Angeles.
Speaking with Arizon Republic's Ed Masley, Rob Halford discusses learning that Priest had gotten in without actually being inducted as performers, receiving a bit of a consolation prize. An excerpt follows:
Ed Masley: How did it feel to be given the Musical Excellence Award by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year?
Rob Halford: (laughs) "You really want to know, Ed?"
Masley: Yes, I really want to know.
Halford: "Why haven't they given us the the same title as all of our friends. Black Sabbath, for example. There's a different tag, isn't there?
Masley: There is a different tag. That's why I wondered how you felt about it.
Halford: "Well, yeah, I was pissed. I was a bit pissed. At the end of the day, does it matter? Some days, I go, 'No, it doesn't matter. We're in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Be grateful. Shut the hell up.' And then there are other days where I'm like, 'God damn, why did they give us the Musical Excellence Award?' Because it sounds very, you know, grandiose. 'The Musical Excellence Award, reserved for blah, blah, blah.' And I'm like, 'Yeah, but I want to be with that bunch of musicians over there that have got the performance or whatever it is that they've got.' I don't know why they gave us the Musical Excellence Award. I have no clue. I just felt a little bit like, 'Well, Sabbath got this. So why can't we have that?' Not that I'm jealous of Sabbath. I'm just talking about this tag that they give it. Why do they put these tags on the damn thing? Why don't they go, 'Welcome. You're in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame' and leave it at that. A lot of our fans went, 'What the hell?' 'Oh, you know, they're a great band. They are an excellent band.' 'But why put the musical excellence? Why don't you give them like everybody else has got?'"
Read the full interview at Arizon Republic.
