Bon Jovi, Radiohead among Brit-heavy Rock Hall of Fame nominees

LOS ANGELES - 6 October 2017: “Livin’ on a Prayer” rocker Bon Jovi, British singer Kate Bush and influential English alt-rock band Radiohead were nominated on Thursday for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on a list heavy with British artists.

Eight of the 19 nominees for 2018 induction, including 1980s rock band Dire Straits, electro-pop band Depeche Mode and progressive 1960s rockers the Moody Blues - best known for “Nights in White Satin” - are British musicians.

Artists must have released their first recording at least 25 years ago to be eligible for nomination.

Music fans and industry experts will vote on the list, which will be reduced to five or six Hall of Fame inductees whose names will be announced in December. The 2018 induction ceremony will take place in Cleveland in April.

Posthumous nominations this year included American blues singer-songwriter and activist Nina Simone, 1940s gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the J. Geils band, whose founder J. Geils died in April, and 1950s American guitarist Link Wray.

Other nominees included British heavy metal band Judas Priest, British 1980s duo Eurythmics, U.S. rapper and actor LL Cool J and The Cars.

The inductees are chosen by fans voting online and by an international body of more than 900 artists, historians and members of the music industry who are asked to consider musical influence, innovation, and length and depth of career.

(The story corrects song title in second paragraph from “knights” to “nights”)