On April 8th, rock legends Deep Purple were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame by Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich, who has never made a secret of his love for the band and has been pushing for Deep Purple's induction for years. Check out his speech below.

Ulrich recently spoke with Radio.com about his love for the band and what, in his opinion, makes them a driving force in music.

Ahead of the inductions at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, which honoured Cheap Trick, Deep Purple and more, Matt Sorum (ex-Guns N’Roses), Glen Hughes (ex-Deep Purple), Robin Zander (Cheap Trick) and John Varvatos spoke at a panel discussion presented by Klipsch Audio on April 6th in New York City.

"It will be a little disjointed," former Deep Purple bassist/singer Glenn Hughes admitted to Billboard on the evening of the Klipsch Audio event. "A couple of us aren't going to be there because they're dead, and a couple... or three... or four... aren't being inducted."

And then there's Ritchie Blackmore, the band's most iconic guitarist, who has made it clear he will not be attending. "I can't lie to you. I wish I could tell you we're all brothers, but we don't get together enough," Hughes laments. "But I hope we can be a band, a family [at the induction ceremony]."

Hughes says he recently made a last-ditch effort to get Blackmore to attend the RRHOF ceremony, but couldn't even get him on the phone.

"I did try to coax him into it," Hughes says. "His wife answered the phone and said, 'He's not coming.' It was very normal - there wasn't any back and forth. 'He's not coming but he loves his fans,' that's what I was told to say."

Regardless, Hughes seemed genuinely humbled by the impending honour. "We're so stricken with gratitude. It's strange thing to say 'stricken with gratitude,' but I am."

Read the full story at Billboard.com.

Photo by Rolling Stone