IRON MAIDEN were officially inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame on Saturday, November 14, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles — without a single current or former member in the room. The band is in the middle of the Australian and New Zealand leg of its 50th-anniversary "Run For Your Lives" world tour, so Jack Black handled the induction speech and then led an all-star tribute through "The Trooper".
"Has there ever been a band that has rocked this hard for this long? The answer is 'no,'" Black told the audience. "In fact, they're not even here tonight because they're rocking halfway around the world."
The TENACIOUS D frontman then fronted a one-night lineup he christened ST. RAGETALLICA 5: METALLICA's Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo, MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist John 5, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE drummer Brad Wilk and St. Vincent, who shared lead vocals with Black.
The induction covers the band's whole history: Steve Harris, Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith, Dave Murray and Janick Gers, plus former singers Paul Di'Anno and Blaze Bayley, ex-guitarist Dennis Stratton and former drummers Nicko McBrain and Clive Burr.
The absence was no surprise. Back in April the band confirmed it would stay on the road in Australia rather than fly to the ceremony, and in a Metal Hammer interview this summer both Harris and Dickinson made it clear the honor doesn't keep them up at night. Harris said he was glad it had happened "so the Americans will stop banging on about it," while Dickinson said he couldn't "even summon the energy to be vitriolic about it." Asked whether he would have attended if the band weren't touring, Bruce answered with a flat "No."
That is a softer tone than in 2018, when Dickinson called the Cleveland institution "an utter and complete load of bollocks" and vowed to refuse any induction. Longtime manager Rod Smallwood was more diplomatic when the 2026 class was announced, thanking the Hall for including the former members "who were all part of our story" and noting that the timing fits the band's 50th-anniversary celebrations.
IRON MAIDEN had been eligible since 2004 but were nominated only twice before, in 2021 and 2023. They now join a short list of metal and metal-adjacent inductees that includes BLACK SABBATH, JUDAS PRIEST, METALLICA and Ozzy Osbourne. The rest of the 2026 Performer class is Phil Collins, Billy Idol, JOY DIVISION/NEW ORDER, OASIS, Sade, Luther Vandross and WU-TANG CLAN.
The ceremony will air on ABC and Disney+ in December. Meanwhile the "Run For Your Lives" tour rolls on, with a third and final North American leg booked for spring 2027.