Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine, Starr said it meant "recognition" of his work. He added: "And it means, finally, the four of us are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame even though we were the biggest pop group in the land."
Eagle Joe Walsh will perform some of Starr's music, while Withers' music will be performed by John Legend. It is not known if Withers, who quit the music business more than 30 years ago, will sing himself. Patti Smith will induct Reed, who died in 2013, while Beck will perform the Velvet Underground singer's music.
Bass Notes - Bassist Andy Fraser, who co-wrote Free's 1970 hit All Right Now, has died in California aged 62. The musician had been fighting cancer and Aids, according to an official statement regarding his death.
Mike Porcaro, bass-player of US rock band Toto which had hits with Africa and Rosanna, has died at 59 after a long battle with Motor neurone disease. Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro said in a statement that his brother had died peacefully in his sleep at home, surrounded by family. Toto, which broke up in 2008, reformed in 2010 to raise money for Porcaro and raise awareness of his illness.
Diary Date - Take That frontman Gary Barlow is to write a musical based on The Calendar Girls, tourism bosses have revealed. The singer-songwriter's new project tells the story of 11 members of the Women's Institute in Rylstone, North Yorkshire, who posed nude for a charity calendar in 1999. Their efforts inspired a hit movie, starring Julie Walters and Helen Mirren, and a stage show. The musical is being backed by tourism agency Welcome to Yorkshire. Gary Verity, chief executive of the organisation, said, "To have someone of Gary Barlow's calibre working on a Yorkshire musical is amazing and I am sure, like the Calendar Girls film and the stage play, this musical will be a huge success."
Silver Service - Iron Maiden are to receive the Silver Clef prize for outstanding contribution to music at this year's Nordoff Robbins awards ceremony. The band said they were "extremely proud" to be honoured by the "exceptional" music therapy charity. "Their dedication to changing people's lives through music therapy is something we all very much support," they added. The awards luncheon will be held on 3 July. Previous winners include David Bowie, Queen, Eric Clapton and Oasis. Pop-opera crossover group Il Divo will pick up the classical prize at the awards luncheon, with more winners to be revealed on the day.
Phoenix Rising - Battersea Arts Centre has been given £1m from the government to support it following the fire that destroyed the venue's Grand Hall. Half the money will help the venue to find an off-site location that will enable it to accommodate productions that were due to be staged in the Grand Hall. The rest of the £1m given by the government will go towards BAC's ongoing £13m redevelopment project, which needed an additional £500,000 to reach its target.
Culture secretary Sajid Javid, who visited the site after the blaze, said, "The arts centre is having to divert all its available resources into dealing with the aftermath and so I am pleased to be able to confirm that the government will provide £1m towards the ongoing redevelopment work to help get this south London venue back on track."
Off Road - Top Gear Live shows due to have been held in Norway next week ha
