Rod Stewart pulled out of his scheduled performance with his old band, The Faces, at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame last night [April 14] after contracting ‘flu.

It would have been the first time the surviving members have played live in public since Stewart was awarded the Lifetime Achievement honour at the Brit awards in 1993.

But in a joint statement with organisers, Stewart said he was “absolutely devastated” to be missing out. Simply Red man Mick Hucknall stood in for Stewart when the Faces play a short set at the ceremony.

Steve Van Zandt, who inducted both The Small Faces and The Faces, called them profoundly influential. He said they produced some of the most soulful music ever.

Guns N’ Roses were among the other inductees, but singer Axl Rose also skipped the event after claiming he didn’t feel “wanted or respected” by his former bandmates.

Rose was booed at the event when his name was mentioned by Green Day‘s Billie Joe Armstrong, who was inducting the band.

According to Reuters, boos rang out across the venue when Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong asked the 6,000 in attendance “who was missing”, as ex-Guns N’ Roses members Slash, Duff McKagan, Steven Adler and Matt Sorum were on stage accepting their award.

Armstrong then added: “Most singers are crazy, I can vouch for that. He is one of the best front men to ever touch a microphone. Sometimes you have to look back at chapters of your life to move forward.”

Rose was the first artist to publically snub the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, where artists are chosen by a panel of 600 industry experts to be inducted, since the Sex Pistols refused to attend in 2006.

This year’s other inductees were Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys, late singer-songwriter Laura Nyro and folk legend Donovan.