There isn’t a greater honour for musicians than being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The honour is bestowed on artists that have created a lasting legacy of work, and at present, there are 351 inductees into the Hall of Fame.
The honour was established in 1983, and can be found in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. But, which famous British artists are among those that have been inducted into the Hall of Fame?
The Dave Clark Five
The Dave Clark Five were one of the most famous British bands during the height of their popularity, and were renowned for their lasting rivalry with the Beatles during the British invasion in the United States. They made their first television appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, just three weeks after the Beatles appeared.
They had one American number one during their career, which was ‘Over and Over’ in December 1965. In total, they had 17 top 40 hits in the United States between 1964 and 1967, which made them one of the most commercially successful British acts during that period. The band from Tottenham were eventually inducted into the Hall of Fame by Tom Hanks in 2008.
Black Sabbath
There haven’t been any greater pioneers to the evolution of heavy metal music than Black Sabbath. The group was formed in Birmingham, England, and Ozzy Osbourne was the lead singer. They redefined heavy metal music with the release of their debut album titled’ Black Sabbath’, before releases of ‘Paranoid’ and ‘Master of Reality’ quickly followed. Osbourne left the band in 1979 when the group were at the height of their popularity. However, Osbourne rejoined the band in 1997 as the group toured together.
The final Black Sabbath tour took place between January 2016 and February 2017, with their final show coming in Birmingham. Black Sabbath’s popularity within the heavy metal genre remains unparalleled, as they have sold over 70 million records around the world. Many experts claimed that their release of ‘Paranoid’ changed the landscape of music forever. They were finally inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006 by Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield.
Queen
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame wouldn’t be complete without one of the best-selling groups of all-time- Queen. The group were originally fronted by the legendary Freddie Mercury, and were heavily influential on rock music. They would put extra emphasis on live performances, which leads to many claiming that there were few groups better live.
Their first studio release was ‘Queen II’, but the future releases of ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ and ‘A Night at the Opera’ transformed the music scene. The band have sold up to 300 million records over the past four decades, and have won awards, such as the Outstanding Contribution to British Music at the Brits. Queen were inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2001 by Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl. Nowadays, they continue to tour the world with Adam Lambert fronting the group.
