The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has officially announced next year's inductees: DEF LEPPARD, RADIOHEAD, Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, THE CURE, ROXY MUSIC and THE ZOMBIES will all join the class of 2019. This was the first time that DEF LEPPARD appeared on the ballot. DEF LEPPARD singer Joe Elliott told Rolling Stone: "Now we can stop holding our breath. How wonderful to be in the same club as THE ROLLING STONES and THE BEATLES and THE WHO and QUEEN … It's a nice badge of honor." Elliott told Billboard that he was pleased to learn that original guitarist Pete Willis, who was fired after the band's second album, was included in the list of members who will be inducted into the Rock Hall next year. "Pete is very important in the very early embryonic version of this band," Elliott said, adding that he is open to reconnecting with Willis when the group is inducted. "I really couldn't tell you how that's going to pan out," Elliott said. "Would we welcome his company? Well, why not? He does deserve to be on the list." In addition to Willis, the current lineup of DEF LEPPARD is listed for Rock Hall induction along with the late Steve Clark. Willis was an integral member of DEF LEPPARD who co-wrote many songs on "On Through The Night" (1980), "High 'N' Dry" (1981) and several on the band's 1983 breakthrough album, "Pyromania" ("Photograph", "Too Late For Love", "Comin' Under Fire" and "Billy's Got A Gun"). The 34th annual Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony will be held March 29 at Brooklyn, New York's Barclays Center. HBO will broadcast a truncated version of the ceremony later in the year. Ballots were sent to a voting group of more than 1,000 artists, historians and music-industry professionals. The public was invited to participate again this year in the fan vote. The top five artists made up a fan's ballot, which counted as a single vote. Rock Hall rules state that artists become eligible 25 years after their first records were released, but the Hall also claims that other "criteria include the influence and significance of the artists' contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock 'n' roll," which is, of course, open to interpretation. One of the top-selling rock acts of of all time, DEF LEPPARD has been eligible for the Rock Hall since 2004. The 2019 nominees had to release their first recording no later than 1993. Despite being eligible for induction since 1999 — 25 years after the release of its first disc — KISS didn't get its first nomination until 2009, and was finally inducted in 2014. DEEP PURPLE was eligible for the Rock Hall since 1993 but didn't get inducted until 2016.
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