10 Artists Who Refused To Be In The Rock And Roll Music Hall Of Fame
9. David Bowie
Another artist who avoided collecting their own award but still made it into the Hall of Fame is David Robert Jones (David Bowie). David Bowie was on tour at the time while promoting his Outside album in Europe and could unfortunately not attend the ceremony. Madonna kindly accepted the award on his behalf, but the Starman never issued a statement about his absence or even acknowledged the honour of the award.
He may have not publicly rejected the award, unlike some artists, but the fact that he never mentioned the award or thanked David Byrne for his induction was a little suspicious. What did the artist have against the Hall of Fame?
Clearly, there was no bad blood between the musician and the institution because in 2016, at the 31st annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, David Byrne appeared again and took part in a tribute act to the singer alongside Kimbra and the Roots. The performance was spectacular and well-received by the mourning crowd. Bowie probably wasn't watching from space, but we like to think he appreciated the act.