Nirvana, KISS And Peter Gabriel Among This Year's Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees

The inductees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's class of 2014 have been chosen, with Nirvana, Kiss, Peter Gabriel, Hall And Oates, Cat Stevens and Linda Ronstadt all being honoured in the latest induction. As well as these, the E Street Band will be presented with the Award for Musical Excellence at the ceremony, with Beatles manager Brian Epstein and original Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham also being honoured as non-performers.

Nirvana have been honoured at the first time of asking

For Nirvana, their induction comes at the first time of asking, with the band only becoming eligible for induction this year. According to the rules of the Hall of Fame, an artist only becomes eligible for recognition 25 years after the release of their first album or single. For Nirvana, their first single came in 1988 with the release of 'Love Buzz,' with their induction coming as "no surprise" to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame President and CEO Joel Peresman or many other people for that matter.

"People see the relevancy of that band. We're just getting into the creative of the show, so I don't know what's going to happen with that performance. They have to figure it out," Peresman continued in his statement, via Rolling Stone.

Watch Nirvana perform 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' at Reading '92

Next page: KISS, Hall & Oates and more are recognised

__

__

As far as KISS are concerned, their induction comes with little surprise from Peresman too. Despite being eligible for induction for the past 15 years, they have been overlooked until now, but the Hall of Fame's oversight hasn't gone unnoticed by the public. Peresman continued, "The Kiss Army has descended on Cleveland in recent years and we've gotten thousands of letters. They also did extremely well in the public vote."

The induction of KISS has been a long time coming

Linda Ronstadt's induction comes following her announcement that she is battling Parkinson's Disease, with her illness sadly preventing her from singing or travelling to the event. She told RS, "It's most likely I that I won't be able to make it to New York in April. Travel is very difficult for me."

For Peter Gabriel, this is his second induction to the Hall of Fame, his first coming in 2010 when he was honoured as a member of Genesis. At the time of his initial induction Gabriel was touring in the UK and was unable to attend the ceremony, however he has promised this time that he will be at the event and will probably be performing too.

"It was a bit of a surprise to me," Daryl Hall told Rolling Stone upon the announcement of their success. "I've always been sort of on the other side of the fence with the old guard and the powers that be...This whole new generation of people are looking at me and John in a different way."

Cat Stevens, now known as Yusuf Islam, has yet to comment on his induction, but it is hoped that he will attend and possibly perform at the event in April.

Daryl Hall and John Oates didn't expect their induction

Next page: the E Street Band and two non-performers are recognised for their service

__

__

As for the special honourees, Bruce Springsteen's regular backing group will be honoured with the Award for Musical Excellence for their ongoing commitment to their musical cause. Springsteen was inducted to the Hall of Fame individually in 1999, however next year marks the first time the E Street Band have been honoured for their services to rock.

The E Street Band perform at Hard Rock Calling in London this summer

Brian Epstein, the manager for The Beatles throughout their career, will be awarded the Ahmet Ertegun Award for non-performers for his irreplaceable contribution to music by popularising The Beatles. Andrew Loog Oldham, the original manager for The Rolling Stones, will also be given the same award for the services he provided with them.

The induction ceremony will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on 10 April, 2014. The ceremony will then be aired on HBO the following month.

See Epstein remembered in the 2013 documentary The Fifth Beatle