For years, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame didn’t deem the Sex Pistols, the revolutionary punk rock band, worthy of inclusion into its ranks. Now that the Sex Pistols have gained entry into the club, they’ve decided the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame isn’t worthy of their presence.
The group was finally picked late last year to join the Hall, along with Black Sabbath, Miles Davis, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blondie, and induction ceremonies are scheduled for March 13 in New York City.
However, in a crude letter posted on its Web site Friday morning, the group made it clear that they would not be attending.
Comparing the rock hall to “urine in wine,” the handwritten letter said: “We’re not coming. We’re not your monkeys and so what?
“Fame at $25,000 if we paid for a table, or $15,000 to squeak up in the gallery, goes to a nonprofit organisation selling us a load of old famous,” the letter read, apparently referring to the cost of attending the dinner, although a representative for the hall said each inductee gets two free tickets, and other tickets are $2,500.
When informed of the group’s statement, Susan Evans, the executive director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said: “They are being the outrageous punksters they are, and that’s rock and roll.”
The Sex Pistols had been eligible for the Rock Hall since 2001, but voters snubbed the groundbreaking punk rock band in favor of contemporaries like Clash, Police and Talking Heads.
They broke up after just one album but left a lasting legacy in rock, as Johnny Rotten and the late Sid Vicious shocked the rock establishment with songs like “God Save the Queen” and “Pretty Vacant.”