It was announced this week that Motorhead has been nominated for a 2020 induction to the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame. Motorhead’s Three Amigos (Lemmy Kilmister, ‘Fast’ Eddie Clarke and Phil ‘Philthy Animal’ Taylor) have been included for 2020 contention. Though the nominated lineup is undoubtedly the classic and essential Motorhead trio, the exclusion of Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee is a glaringly obvious mistake.
Following the departure of Eddie Clarke in 1982, after six years of service, Motorhead recruited Brian Robertson before eventually landing Phil Campbell in 1984. Campbell remained Motorhead’s guitarist until the death of Lemmy Kilmister in 2015, giving Campbell a 31-year career with the band and cementing him as Motorhead’s second-most longstanding member after Lemmy.
Campbell performed on Motorhead classics such as “Killed by Death,” “Orgasmatron” and “Hellraiser,” with the guitarist’s accolades including a Grammy Award for his performance on “Whiplash.”
Mikkey Dee also won the Grammy for “Whiplash,” and as the drummer for Motorhead since 1992, Dee is the third-most longstanding member of Motorhead’s history, having served 23 years behind the kit. Dee’s chops elevated Motorhead instantly after he joined, helping to revitalize an aging band with the release of Bastards in 1993.
The omission of Campbell and Dee is further puzzling after glancing at Soundgarden’s list of members nominated for the Rock Hall. Each longstanding member of the ‘90s alt band has been included, as has Hiro Yamamoto, who spent five years with Soundgarden and recorded just two albums (Ultramega OK and Louder Than Love) with the band.
We’re not arguing that Yamamoto should be excluded, but the achievements of Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee in Motorhead certainly match if not supersede the contributions of Yamamoto to Soundgarden.
Furthermore, drummer Scott Travis has been nominated for the Rock Hall as a member of Judas Priest. While Travis undoubtedly deserves the nod, his tenure with Priest spans just 26 years (considering Priest’s four years of inactivity from 1992-1996) compared to Phil Campbell’s 31 years with Motorhead.
Travis also has played on fewer Judas Priest albums (seven) than both Campbell and Dee have recorded (16 and 12, respectively) with Motorhead.
Classic Priest drummer Dave Holland has been nominated, despite being found guilty of attempted rape and indecent assault of a 17-year-old drum student in 2004. The Rock Hall have also nominated Les Binks, despite the drummer lasting only two years with Judas Priest.
And did you hear the Dave Matthews Band were nominated? With all eight core members? Cool, just checking.
Finally, Motorhead have only made the list of nominees, much like Judas Priest and the MC5 did last year before ultimately being rejected from the final group of inductees. This led to Rob Halford hilariously reading his Rock Hall rejection letter live on the radio, while we later learned Judas Priest were among the least-voted-for nominees in 2019. Janet Jackson and Roxy Music, however, made the cut.
The 2020 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony will be held May 2 at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio.
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