Brian May on being up for the Band of the Year Award. LISTEN HERE:
On Tuesday night in Los Angeles, Classic Rock Magazine’s annual awards show, the Roll of Honour, took place at the Avalon Ballroom and rock royalty filled the venue for the event, which Sammy Hagar hosted. The big winner of the night was Gregg Allman, who took home with the Living Legend Award, while Queen + Adam Lambert scored the trophy for Band of the Year and The Doors won the Inspiration award. Other winners included Joe Perry, Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Mustaine, Jeff Lynne, Eric Burdon and more, plus there were performances from Scott Weiland, California Breed and some epic jams from Kings of Chaos. This year marked the first time the awards show was held outside of London.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Ahead of the show, the rock stars in the audience chatted with one another. Zakk Wylde spoke to Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt as NCIS actress Pauley Perrette chimed in. Nearby, Brian May and Adam Lambert shared a table with Dave Mustaine.
Also before the awards, Scott Weiland played with his new band, The Wildabouts, and then The Rival Sons also performed.
Before taking the stage to host the show, Sammy Hagar fluffed up his hair and kissed his wife. When he opened the show, he promised to keep things quick because everyone there is “old” and wants to “go home and go to bed early.” Throughout the night, Sammy would take swigs from a flask and a bottle he kept under the podium.
The award for Film of the Year, which fans voted on, was given to Metallica for Through the Never. The band didn’t make it to the event but drummer Lars Ulrich recorded a filmed message where he thanked fans.
Sammy told a story about meeting Eric Burdon, having him come by his house and cooking him seafood risotto. He then presented the Animals and War singer the Bluesman award. As Burdon accepted, he joked that he went to a doctor who diagnosed him with Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Eric said he didn’t understand why since he’d never been to a war zone and the doctor said the rocker got PTSD from the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.
Sammy then presented the Band of the Year award to Queen and Adam Lambert, who, along with guitarist Brian May, thanked the fans who voted for them.
Next, Sammy announced the winner of Album of the Year. The trophy went to Wilko Johnson and Roger Daltrey for Going Back Home, but neither was in attendance to pick it up.
Def Leppard’s Joe Elliott told of an early tour they were a part of as support band. Joe explained how the headliner was very kind and checked in on them in their dressing room, but he was also very drunk and opened the window to pee, but wound up peeing on the fans in line to go in to the show. That man was Ozzy Osbourne, who Joe then presented with the Classic Album award for Blizzard of Ozz. Ozzy got a standing ovation and thanked late guitarist Randy Rhoads saying, “I owe my career to him.”
Up on the balcony, Glenn Hughes and his California Breed bandmate Andrew Watt performed an acoustic version of their band’s song “All Falls Down.”
Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian took the stage and described what a guru is, then gave the award for Metal Guru to Megadeth singer Dave Mustaine. As he accepted, Dave told the crowd that some people there like him, others do not, but just to remember, “It’s the irritant that gets inside of the oyster that makes the pearl.”
Hagar gave out the award for Reissue of the Year, voted on by fans, to Led Zeppelin for the deluxe reissues of Led Zeppelin I, II and III. In a taped message, guitarist Jimmy Page thanked everyone who voted for them.
Henry Rollins then gave a speech about listening to The Doors as a child and thinking, “A guy yelling on a record – I’ll hold on to that. I might be able to use it later.” He discussed his relationship with late keyboardist Ray Manzarek over the years and then presented drummer John Densmore with the Inspiration award.
Monty Python’s Eric Idle was next to take the stage, commenting, “If you think you’re here to see Billy Idol you can f*** off.” He then described his close friendship with Electric Light Orchestra’s Jeff Lynne, with whom he revealed he has a duo he named The F*** You Two. Idle then gave Jeff the Outstanding Contribution award. When he accepted, Jeff revealed that after a successful ELO reunion gig this year, he plans to do more next year.
NCIS star Pauley Perrette said how she’s always wanted to be in the Osbourne family, at which point Kelly Osbourne jokingly yelled out, “It’s actually a nightmare, trust me!” Pauley went on to present Kelly’s mom, Sharon Osbourne with the VIP award. As she accepted, Sharon spoke about how she loves classic rock, stating, “I f***ing hate rap music. God bless classic rock!”
Queen guitarist Brian May presented the Maestro award to Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, who he described saying, “Joe Perry is everything a rock artist could be.”
ZZ Top’s Billy F. Gibbons presented the final award of the night, the Living Legend honor, which went to Gregg Allman. As he thanked everyone in his acceptance speech, Allman confessed to not being much of a speaker and said, “I wish I could sing this to you.”
Sammy thanked the crowd and went to join Kings of Chaos on stage to close out the show. His mic was still on though and the audience could hear Duff McKagan tell him he did a great job hosting.
The final performance of the night was Kings of Chaos, the band featuring Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke and Nuno Bettencourt. They first did two songs with Sammy – Montrose’s “Rock the Nation” and “Rock Candy.” Next, Glenn Hughes took on vocals for a song then Joe Elliott belted out Queen’s “Tie Your Mother Down” with Brian May on guitar. Finally, Billy F. Gibbons grabbed the mic and, with Joe Perry as a guest guitarist, performed ZZ Top’s “La Grange” and Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxey Lady,” much to the audience’s delight.
WINNERS LIST Living Legend – Gregg Allman
Band of the Year – Queen + Adam Lambert
Album of the Year – Wilko Johnson & Roger Daltrey Going Back Home
Reissue of the Year – Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin I, II & III
Film of the Year – Metallica Through the Never
Classic Album – Ozzy Osbourne Blizzard of Ozz
Inspiration – The Doors
Outstanding Contribution – Jeff Lynne
Bluesman – Eric Burdon
Maestro – Joe Perry
Metal Guru – Dave Mustaine
VIP – Sharon Osbourne
Thanks to VH1 Classic Rock Radio for Report