The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame dinner and show on Thursday (at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center) is a disaster in the making. Cat Stevens finally said he’d come from the UK, but now his visa is up in the air. He’s waiting to hear if he’ll be approved. According to sources, no one has been consulted who would induct the singer now known as Yusuf Islam.
This year the original managers of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, respectively Brian Epstein and Andrew Loog Oldham, are finally being inducted. I’m told no one from Epstein’s family has been invited or is attending.
Worse, Oldham is not coming, and is starting to speak out about his unhappiness. Sources say he was told that if he came, he’d have to have his speech approved in advance. He was also offered only two tickets. Today the LA Times’s Randy Lewis summarized Oldham’s situation, citing comments he’s made during a talk in Berlin and on Cleveland.com
Today Oldham Tweeted:
@futurerocklgnds like brian epstein i was not consulted as regards this matter & like dear brian i will not be going.
— Andrew Loog Oldham (@loogoldham) April 4, 2014
On top of all that, Linda Ronstadt isn’t coming. Nirvana won’t perform. And KISS is already not performing. But now Paul Stanley is accusing various members of the group of anti-Semitism, among other things.
No trip to Brooklyn is worth all this. Watch the show on HBO later this month.
