At Saturday night’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, U2 opened with “Silencio” before Phil Collins, Luther Vandross and Wu-Tang Clan were honoured.
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U2 was the surprise opener at Saturday night’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, playing their new single “Silencio” as dancers in riot squad gear with helmets and shields took the stage. The band then launched into their 1984 classic “Pride (In the Name of Love),” with Bono alternating between raising a peace sign and a fist.
Phil Collins, whose mobility issues and other health problems kept him from performing, took the stage slowly using a pair of canes and cried at a huge ovation from a crowd that included his daughter, actor Lily Collins. Collins had already been inducted as a member of Genesis, but received the solo honour at this ceremony. Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker inducted Collins and called his “unprecedented dual stardom” as a drummer and a hit-making pop singer in the 1980s. Collins said, “I grew up just wanting to play the drums,” adding, “Everything else has been a really happy accident. I can’t believe, when I look back, how life has gone.”
Barker then played “In the Air Tonight” himself, immediately after Collins’ remarks, while Cynthia Erivo followed with a slowed-down, epic rendition of the song, building to a wailing crescendo that brought the crowd to its feet. Collins told the audience, “you haven’t heard the last of me.”
Oprah Winfrey inducted the late Luther Vandross, describing him as “the maestro of the love song” and saying he was once correctly named “the top artist that people make looove to.” Vandross, who died in 2005, was honoured for his velvet-voiced impact as one of the defining R&B singers of the 1980s and ’90s, and Winfrey said, “Luther Vandross sang with such passion and soul it could reach something deep inside that you didn’t even know needed to be reached.” Usher then performed a medley of Vandross hits including “Here and Now” and “So Amazing.”
Wu-Tang Clan, the hip-hop collective from New York’s Staten Island, filled the stage with its 10 current members. Backed by a big jazz band, the group performed a medley including “C.R.E.A.M.,” “Method Man” and late member Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya.” Chris Rock, who inducted Wu-Tang, said, “Wu-Tang rewrote the rules of hip-hop and did it without a big machine behind them,” while RZA said, “We took Staten Island to the world” and added, “We had a desire to conquer.”
Earlier in the ceremony, MC Lyte became the first artist inducted with hip-hop star Remy Ma doing the honours and calling her “one of the first women in hip-hop to make sure there was room for the rest of us.” Lyte said, “B-girl from Brooklyn just looking for my chance to inspire and motivate,” and was not performing at the moment of her induction but may be part of an ensemble later in the evening. Queen Latifah was inducted later, wearing a leather crown and matching trenchcoat and tie, and was inducted by Megan Thee Stallion, who said Latifah “taught us to recognize royalty within ourselves.” Latifah said, “It’s difficult enough being a woman in hip-hop, let alone being a hip-hopper in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” before Latifah and MC Lyte performed together a medley including Latifah’s “U.N.I.T.Y.” and Lyte’s “Ruffneck.” Wu-Tang and Chuck D of Public Enemy danced and rapped along in the audience.
The ceremony also featured inductions for producer Rick Rubin and joint recognition for Joy Division and New Order. Rubin accepted with a one-sentence speech: “You can’t kill rock ‘n’ roll,” and the Red Hot Chili Peppers appeared with white wigs and long white fake beards to play “Give It Away.” Neil Young inducted Rubin, praising his care for artists. Joy Division and New Order were jointly inducted by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails, with Peter Hook appearing to perform Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and New Order’s “Bizarre Love Triangle,” alongside the Deftones and singer Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches.
Oasis did not appear, and guitarists Noel Gallagher and Liam Gallagher were cited as reasons for the no-show. Stephen Wilson Jr. gave an acoustic rendition of “Wonderwall,” and Sade also skipped the induction. Iron Maiden was set to enter the Hall later in the evening, and the Rock Hall returned to its earlier model in which the public will not see the ceremony until an edited version airs on ABC and Disney+ on Dec. 9.
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