Queen's Brian May to induct Def Leppard into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Queen guitarist Brian May will induct Def Leppard into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center later this month.
Last updated 9th Aug 2021
Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen said that May is the "really obvious" choice to induct the the Sheffield rockers and praised him as “one of my biggest influences.”
Regaling a story about bumping into Brian recently, Phil said (via Blabbermouth): "We just played Vegas just a few months ago, and Queen were playing just around the corner, and I bumped into Brian at the gym, actually.
"And he said, 'You're playing tonight?' I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'Me too.' He goes, 'What time do you finish?' And I said, 'We finish about 11.' He said, 'We finish at 8. I'll be over later. I'll finish and I'll come straight over.' He turned up. He'd done a show with Queen, and he came over. And it was just, like, amazing.
“Brian is one of my biggest influences. I love him. I just can't get over how amazing he is. And we all do — we're huge Queen fans and Brian fans.”
Elsewhere, One Direction singer Harry Styles will induct Stevie Nicks into the Rock Hall having previously dueted with the Fleetwood Mac star on ‘Landslide’ at the Troubadour in Hollywood in 2017.
Styles also performed ‘The Chain’ with Fleetwood Mac at the MusiCares’ Person of the Year event in January 2018. Stevie Nicks later commented: "(Mick Fleetwood) has always wanted a son, and I think he adopted Harry. It's Harry Styles-Fleetwood now.
Other presenters at the Rock Hall ceremony include Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor (who will induct The Cure), David Byrne (Radiohead), and Simon Le Bon and John Taylor of Duran Duran (Roxy Music).
The Rock on Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony takes place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Friday 29th March. It will be aired on HBO at 8pm on 27th April.