Iron Maiden will miss the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony this fall, their manager has confirmed, because they’ll be doing the thing that made them Hall of Fame–worthy in the first place: playing live. The band has dates scheduled in Australia this November, and they’re not about to disappoint their fans.
“As the most observant have already noticed, the band will be on tour in Australia around the November date of the Induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Los Angeles,” manager Rod Smallwood said in a statement on Thursday. “In accepting, Iron Maiden made it very clear to the R&R HoF that the fans always come first and that the shows will of course go on.”
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in Los Angeles on Nov. 14, square between Maiden’s dates in Sydney and Melbourne. The band has been eligible for induction since 2005.
Although the group’s six touring band members will be Down Under, there is the possibility that three Maiden members could show up. Drummer Nicko McBrain, who joined the band in 1982 and retired from touring in 2024, might be available. Similarly, guitarist Dennis Stratton, who played only on the band’s self-titled debut in 1980, appears to have a free schedule, as does singer Blaze Bayley, the band’s frontman on The X Factor (1995) and Virtual XI (1998).
A rep for Iron Maiden did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment about whether or not McBrain would attend. Similarly, reps for Bayley and Stratton did not respond.
“I’m waking up … to lots of msgs congratulating me on being inducted into the RNRHOF,” Stratton wrote on his website when it was announced he was among the members who’d be inducted. “I would just like to say that I feel very proud and honoured to be part of this fantastic band. I just hope I get something to hang on the wall to remind me of this great achievement.”
Although the band has been dismissive of the Rock Hall in the past, Smallwood issued a statement upon news of the band’s induction on Monday thanking the institution. “We’d like to thank the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for including us (and former members who were all part of our story) in the 2026 roll call of inductees,” he said. “Iron Maiden have always been about our relationship with our fans above anything else, including awards and industry accolades. However, having said that, it’s always nice to be recognised and honoured for any achievements within the music industry too!”
Frontman Bruce Dickinson was remarkably less kind to the institution at a spoken word show in 2018. “I actually think the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is an utter and complete load of bollocks, to be honest with you,” he said. “It’s run by a bunch of sanctimonious bloody Americans who wouldn’t know rock & roll if it hit them in the face. They need to stop taking Prozac and start drinking fucking beer.”
In 2019, the band’s bassist and founding member, Steve Harris, told Rolling Stone the fact that the band wasn’t yet inducted at the time didn’t bother him. “I don’t mind that we’re not in things like that,” he said. “I don’t think about things like that. It’s very nice if people give you awards or accolades, but we didn’t get into the business for that sort of thing. I’m certainly not going to lose sleep if we don’t get any sort of award, not just that one, any award. I don’t think we deserve to have this or that necessarily. With what we do, whatever comes of it is great. Whatever doesn’t come of it is great, too.”
