Artists only become eligible for induction 25 years after releasing their debut record. (Faroutmagazine)
For many artists getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is the very pinnacle of their illustrious career. It is recognition of a career at the top, and the exclusivity of the club makes it the place that most musicians would love to be, however, here we’re taking a look at figures in music who couldn’t care less about awards or accolades and turned the opportunity of a lifetime down.David Bowie - Knighthood (2003), CBE (2000) (Planetradio)
The Thin White Duke snubbed two honours from The Queen – first a CBE at the turn of the millennium and then a Knighthood in 2003. "I would never have any intention of accepting anything like that," Bowie said of becoming a 'Sir.' Asked to comment on Mick Jagger, who accepted a Knighthood the previous year, Bowie said: "I seriously don't know what (the Knighthood is) for. It's not what I spent my life working for. It's not my place to make a judgment on Jagger, it's his decision. But it's just not for me."
Keith Richards – ‘Refused CBE’
Richards turned down a CBE from the Queen. It's easy to believe, however, as Richards publicly lambasted his band mate Mick Jagger after he was knighted. Confirming he went "bezerk", Richards told Uncut: "I thought it was ludicrous to take one of those gongs from the establishment when they did their very best to throw us in jail and kill us at one time."
John Lennon - Returned MBE (1969) Lennon's letter to The Queen read: "Your Majesty, I am returning my MBE as a protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam and against 'Cold Turkey' slipping down the charts. With love. John Lennon of Bag"
Paul McCartney
When The Beatles were inducted into the inaugural Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, not all the surviving members of the iconic band would attend the event. George Harrison and Ringo Starr would arrive at the show without Paul McCartney.
The singer boycotted the event as the result of ongoing business disputes. “After 20 years, the Beatles still have some business differences, which I had hoped would have been settled by now,” he said in a statement. “Unfortunately, they haven’t been, so I would feel like a complete hypocrite waving and smiling with them at a fake reunion.”
Macca would later have a change of heart when he attended the ceremony for his solo work in 1999, inducted John Lennon into the Rock Hall in 1994 and then Ringo Starr in 2015.
George Harrison - OBE (2000) Already an MBE, late Beatles legend George Harrison turned down an OBE three years after Paul McCartney received the higher honour of a knighthood. Harrison's friend Roy Connolly said in 2013: "Whoever it was who decided to offer him the OBE and not the knighthood was extraordinarily insensitive. George would have felt insulted and with very good reason."
The Sex Pistols refused their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the most public and abrupt manners back in 2006.
Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters
When Pink Floyd were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, it arrived at a time when Roger Waters couldn’t stand being in the same room as David Gilmour. When Waters initially withdrew from the group, he immediately locked horns with Gilmour in a bitter legal battle which would last years. To announce his departure, Waters issued a statement to EMI and CBS invoking the ‘Leaving Member’ clause in his contract, and as the main creative force in the band, he didn’t believe Pink Floyd could continue in his absence. Therefore in October 1986, Waters started High Court proceedings to formally dissolve Pink Floyd, labelling the group a “spent force creatively”.
David Gilmour and Nick Mason opposed this, stating that Pink Floyd was going nowhere and that Waters couldn’t declare it was dead while the group were still trying to make music. Waters eventually agreed, which saw him resign after careful legal considerations in 1987. However, he did note: “If I hadn’t, the financial repercussions would have wiped me out completely.” Ten years on from that lacklustre apology, he still wanted nothing to do with his former bandmates.
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