The pair were part of the band's Mark III lineup alongside Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Paice and Jon Lord, then the Mark IV version with Tommy Bolin in Blackmore's place.

Current frontman Ian Gillan recently said that only the 21st-century "living, breathing" lineup of the band would perform, as a response to present members Steve Morse and Don Airey being left out of the induction.

Blackmore reported he'd been "banned" from attending, although Deep Purple's management said he'd only been advised that he wouldn't get to play.

Now Hughes tells Billboard: "There's a lot of gossip and innuendo about who's saying what. I'd love to play. I'd love to sing. And so would David. A month ago David said to me, 'Shall I reach out to Ian to figure out what we're gonna do?' He came back and told me that there's a problem that Don and Steve aren't getting inducted and there's all sorts of scenarios with that. I said, 'Well, I'm just going to stay out of the way,' and Coverdale is as well.