Iron Maiden have confirmed they will not be attending their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, scheduled for November 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The reason is so entirely on-brand it barely needs explaining: they’ll be on tour in Australia. The band plays Melbourne on November 13 and Sydney on November 15, bracketing the ceremony on both sides without so much as a gap in the schedule.
Manager Rod Smallwood made the band’s position clear in a statement to Billboard: “As the most observant have already noticed, the band will be on tour in Australia around the November date of the induction ceremony for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Los Angeles. In accepting, Iron Maiden made it very clear to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame that the fans always come first and that the shows will, of course, go on.
“We would like to assure all our fans in Australasia that the Australian and New Zealand dates will remain unaffected and we look forward to bringing the ‘Run For Your Lives’ tour to them on the penultimate stop of our 50th-anniversary celebrations,” Smallwood added.
Iron Maiden are among the performers inductees in the Rock Hall’s class of 2026, alongside Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Oasis, Sade, Luther Vandross, and Wu-Tang Clan. The musicians being honored are Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris, Nicko McBrain, Adrian Smith, Dave Murray, and Janick Gers, along with former members Dennis Stratton, Paul Di’Anno, Blaze Bayley, and Clive Burr.
When the induction was first announced, Smallwood set the tone: “We’d like to thank the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for including us (and former members who were all part of our story) in the 2026 roll call of inductees. Iron Maiden have always been about our relationship with our fans above anything else, including awards and industry accolades. However, having said that, it’s always nice to be recognized and honored for any achievements within the music industry too!”
He added: “It also seems appropriate for the band to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this year as we continue our 50th-anniversary celebrations with our ‘Run For Your Lives’ world tour visiting the Americas and beyond. We would also like to congratulate our fellow 2026 inductees and extend our gratitude as ever to our fans for their loyalty, perseverance, and support for over 50 years now! See you all, somewhere on tour.”
What makes all of this particularly enjoyable is the backstory. In 2018, Dickinson famously called the Rock Hall “an utter and complete load of bollocks” during a spoken-word show in Australia, insisting the institution is “run by a bunch of sanctimonious bloody Americans who wouldn’t know rock and roll if it hit them in the face.” He later clarified that his comments had been taken out of context, but didn’t exactly walk them back: “I’m really happy we’re not there, and I would never want to be there. If we’re ever inducted, I will refuse — they won’t bloody be having my corpse in there. Rock and roll music does not belong in a mausoleum in Cleveland. It’s a living, breathing thing, and if you put it in a museum, then it’s dead. It’s worse than horrible, it’s vulgar.”
Harris, for his part, has always been characteristically measured on the subject. “I don’t really think about it, to be honest. I think awards are things that are nice to have when you get them, but it’s not something you’re really striving for — it’s not what it’s about,” he told Rock Talk With Mitch Lafon. “It’s never been about that. It’s always been about just trying to make good music and go out and play good live shows, and that’s it, really.”
That Iron Maiden‘s entry into the Hall of Fame comes mid-tour, mid-anniversary, with Megadeth in tow and Australia as the excuse, is perhaps the most Maiden way this could have gone. The ceremony airs on ABC and Disney+ in December. The band will be soundchecking in Brisbane.
