The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted its class of 2026 on November 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, headlined for hip hop by Wu-Tang Clan entering in the performer category. The ceremony was taped for broadcast, airing as a three hour special on ABC on December 8 and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu from December 9.
iimiTV previewed the hip hop angle when the class was set. This is the night itself: 18 honourees across four categories, a room full of tributes, and three of the biggest performer inductees honoured in their absence.
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Wu-Tang Clan and the hip hop honourees
Wu-Tang Clan arrived as first-time nominees and left as Hall of Famers, the Staten Island collective of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa and the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard taking their place in the performer class. Hip hop’s footprint on the night ran wider than one group. Queen Latifah and MC Lyte both received the Early Influence Award, recognition reserved for artists whose work shaped the music that followed, and producer Rick Rubin was honoured in the Musical Excellence category.
Phil Collins takes the room
The emotional centre of the night was Phil Collins, inducted as a solo artist for the second time after entering with Genesis in 2010. Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker inducted him. Collins attended, was visibly moved during the tribute, and did not perform, having ruled out singing because of health related physical limitations. At 75, his induction closed a solo catalogue that ran from In the Air Tonight through a decade of chart dominance.
The absent inductees
Three performer inductees were honoured in absentia. Oasis did not attend and did not perform; actor Bob Odenkirk inducted the band and Stephen Wilson Jr. played an acoustic rendition of Wonderwall. Sade confirmed through a statement on the group’s official website on November 11 that its members would not attend in person, adding that the absence took nothing away from the honour. Iron Maiden missed the ceremony because the band is on tour in Australia.
Their absence “takes nothing away” from the honour. (Sade, in the group’s November 11 statement)
Joy Division, New Order and the full class
Joy Division and New Order entered together in a rare two bands, one banner induction, presented by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails. Bassist Peter Hook was the only member of either group in the room, performing Love Will Tear Us Apart and Bizarre Love Triangle with Deftones and CHVRCHES singer Lauren Mayberry. Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert stayed home as Gilbert undergoes cancer treatment in the United Kingdom, and Bernard Sumner also did not attend. Hook thanked the fans in his speech.
The full performer class reads Phil Collins, Billy Idol, Iron Maiden, Joy Division and New Order, Oasis, Sade, Luther Vandross and Wu-Tang Clan. The Early Influence class adds Celia Cruz, Fela Kuti, Queen Latifah, MC Lyte and Gram Parsons, with Fela Kuti becoming the first African-born artist to enter the Hall and Cruz its first inductee whose work was performed primarily in Spanish. Musical Excellence went to Linda Creed, Arif Mardin, Jimmy Miller and Rick Rubin, and the Ahmet Ertegun Award went posthumously to television pioneer Ed Sullivan. The ceremony returns to the museum’s home city of Cleveland in 2027.
