Sex Pistols join rock's fame list

The Pistols' hits included Pretty Vacant

Punk band the Sex Pistols and rock acts Black Sabbath and Lynyrd Skynyrd have been awarded places on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the US.

British heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath and Lynyrd Skynyrd were each rejected on seven previous votes.

Jazz legend Miles Davis, Blondie and A&M Records founders Jerry Moss and trumpeter Herb Alpert also make the class of 2006 inductees.

The official induction will take place on 13 March in New York.

'Part of game'

Musicians become eligible for consideration 25 years after their first recording.

A shortlist of nominees is sent to an international body of about 700 voting "rock experts".

If I was 20, maybe I'd be upset (about being inducted), but it's all part of the game Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones

"It's about time," Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward told Reuters, adding he had long ago given up on getting inducted.

Former Pistols lead singer Johnny Rotten once famously derided the rock and roll accolades as "a place where old rockers go to die", dubbing it the "Rock and Roll Hall of Shame".

On hearing of their impending entry, Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones, now 50 and a radio DJ in Los Angeles told Reuters: "If I was 20, maybe I'd be upset (about being inducted), but it's all part of the game."

The Pistols hits included Anarchy in the UK and God Save The Queen.