Metallica - Burton's Dad To Join Metallica At Hall Of Fame Induction

METALLICA have invited the father of their late bassist CLIFF BURTON to join them onstage when they're inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame next month (Apr09).

Ray Burton will take the stage with the current Metallica line-up and Jason Newsted, the bass player who replaced his son in the band, when they're honoured in Cleveland, Ohio on 4 April (09).

Newsted, who quit the band in 2001, admits he was thrilled when drummer Lars Ulrich called and asked him to be a part of the induction ceremony - and then perform with his former bandmates at the event.

He tells Rolling Stone magazine, "I think it was just a hard-and-fast rule... anyone who has recorded on any Metallica recordings that have been released to the public as an official release were invited to the induction.

"I talked to Lars, and it’s all good. I was happy to hear from him. I hadn’t talked to him for a long time, so it was nice to hear his voice.

"It was basically as if no time had passed, as far as the conversation went. We picked up right where we left off. It was just absolutely positive. It was like, there we were, getting ready to get a beer some place. And Lars is ready to rock. He sounded like a kid again talking about the induction, and I felt pretty much like that, too. Getting fired up to rock after that many years... it’s pretty special.”