Wu-Tang Clan go into the Rock Hall tonight. Oasis say it’s too far, and Iron Maiden are busy in Australia

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has a hip-hop night on its hands.

Wu-Tang Clan, the Staten Island collective that rewrote East Coast rap in the 1990s, will be inducted on Saturday night at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, which is Sunday in Australia. Queen Latifah and MC Lyte, two of the women who made space for everyone who followed them, are being honoured with the Early Influence Award. All three are expected to appear and probably perform.

That puts them ahead of some of the biggest names in the class, who will not be in the room at all.

Who is skipping the night?

Oasis lead the absentees. Noel Gallagher has a London gig on the same night, and Liam Gallagher said on X: “It’s too far to be going for the night.” He added that he does not like award ceremonies.

Iron Maiden are on the other side of the world, in the middle of the Australian leg of their 50th anniversary Run For Your Lives tour, with Megadeth as support. Sade said they could not attend in person, and that their absence does not diminish the honour. Key members of New Order, inducted together with their earlier incarnation Joy Division, are missing for health reasons.

Phil Collins is expected to be there but will not perform. He has said a performer has to be “match fit” for that. Billy Idol is expected to take the stage, inducted alongside his longtime guitarist Steve Stevens.

Luther Vandross, who died in 2005, is inducted posthumously.

Who else is in the class of 2026?

The performer inductees are Billy Idol, Phil Collins, Sade, Queen Latifah, New Order, Luther Vandross, Iron Maiden, Oasis and Wu-Tang Clan.

Alongside Latifah and MC Lyte, the Early Influence Award goes to three artists who have died: country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons, Afrobeat creator Fela Kuti and the Cuban salsa singer Celia Cruz. Kuti is the first African-born artist inducted. Cruz is the first member who sang primarily in Spanish.

The Musical Excellence Award goes to producer Rick Rubin, whose early records helped take hip-hop into the mainstream, as well as songwriter Linda Creed and producers Arif Mardin and Jimmy Miller. Television host Ed Sullivan, whose show introduced America to Elvis Presley and The Beatles, receives the Ahmet Ertegun Award for non-musicians who shaped rock history.

Why is hip-hop the story?

For years, the Hall’s critics argued it was too slow to recognise rap. This class gives the genre a full block of the night: a group that changed how rap was made and sold, two women who broke through when few did, and a producer whose early records helped carry rap to a mainstream audience.

Parsons was honoured early, at a separate tribute at the Troubadour in West Hollywood on Wednesday, where Emmylou Harris, Elvis Costello and Sheryl Crow sang his songs.

Can Australians watch it?

Not live. The Hall is going back to its older model this year and will not stream the ceremony. An edited version airs in the US on ABC and Disney+ on 9 December. Many guest stars are expected to induct the new members or perform the songs of those who are absent, but the Hall has not named them.

Australian Iron Maiden fans already have the better seat: the band is here.