Short Biography
Support comes from Joe Perry Project!
Bad Company announce eight exclusive 2010 UK dates! The tour marks the first time the original members of Bad Company perform together in the UK in over three decades. The tour includes the first Wembley Arena concert in the history of the band and also features some very special guests - the Joe Perry Project!
London 17 November 2009 - The original members of Bad Company; Paul Rodgers, Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke have announced that they will reunite for a series of eight UK shows in April 2010. This marks the first time the original members will perform in the UK together in over three decades.
The opening show will take place at the Birmingham LG Arena on 1 April with the final show on 11 April at Wembley Arena - the first Wembley Arena concert appearance in the history of the band. Additionally, a new Bad Company live CD/DVD set is set for release prior to the tour on 9 February 2010 (Image/Universal Music Group).
Rodgers, celebrating over four decades as a writing and recording artist (Free, Bad Company, The Firm, Queen + Paul Rodgers), was recently presented with the "Classic Songwriter " award by Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck at the annual Classic Rock Magazine Roll of Honour 2009. Rolling Stone recently named Rodgers one of the "Top 100 Singers of All Time," Classic Rock UK placed him at #2 on their "50 Greatest Singers in Rock" list and England's Planet Rock Radio fan poll placed him at #3 on their "Greatest Voices of Rock" list. His debut solo DVD "Live in Glasgow" is certified Gold and charted at #1 in Canada, #2 in Japan, #3 in the US and #4 in the UK .
"These dates are to thank the fans for keeping the music alive," said Rodgers. "It's great to be with Paul and Simon," said Ralphs. "We made great music together and had the time of our lives doing it. I'm really looking forward to us bringing Bad Company back to the UK." Ralphs recently regrouped with 70s rock band Mott the Hoople for five sold-out reunion shows at the Hammersmith Apollo in London Autumn 2009.
After the break up of Free (known internationally for their smash hit "All Right Now" co-written by Rodgers) Paul connected with ex-Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs. Free drummer Simon Kirke would later join that year and the trio would begin rehearsing. Ex-King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell came aboard a few months later and the supergroup Bad Company was solidified. In 1974 they signed to Swan Song Records (owned by Led Zeppelin and distributed via Atlantic Records) to release their highly anticipated debut album, titled Bad Co. Rodgers' concept to write a song titled the same as the band's name was a first. Propelled by the hit single "Can't Get Enough", the album would quickly hit #1 on the charts and remain in the Top 40 for four straight months. Bad Company were at the forefront of the 70's arena rock movement. To this day, the multi-platinum Bad Co. album arguably remains one of the most accomplished debuts in rock history, reading as a virtual greatest hits set in itself.
Straight Shooter, Run with the Pack, Burnin' Sky and Desolation Angels would all follow within a five year run throughout the ‘70s with the writing team of Rodgers and Ralphs yielding more multi-platinum awards with hit after hit, "Feel Like Makin' Love," "Seagull," "Run with the Pack," "Burnin' Sky," "Rock ‘N' Roll Fantasy," making Bad Company one of the biggest concert attractions of the decade. In 1982, the band released their final recording Rough Diamonds and the single "Electricland" would be their last before disbanding. The group's multi-platinum award-winning greatest hits set 10 from 6 has become a music collectors staple.
In-depth Biography
Formed in 1973, the British hard rock outfit Bad Company was a supergroup comprised of ex-King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell, former Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs, and singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke, both previous members of Free. Powered by Rodgers' muscular vocals and Ralphs' blues-based guitar work, Bad Company was the first group signed to Led Zeppelin's Swan Song vanity label. Bad Company's eponymous 1974 debut was an international hit, topping the U.S. album charts and scoring with the number one single "Can't Get Enough of Your Love."
Straight Shooter, issued the following year, was another major success, notching the hit "Feel Like Makin' Love," while 1976's Run With the Pack was Bad Company's third consecutive million-selling record. After 1977's Burnin' Sky, Bad Company recorded 1979's Desolation Angels, which embellished the group's sound with synthesizers and strings; a three-year hiatus followed before the release of Rough Diamonds, the group's final LP in its original incarnation.
In 1986, Ralphs and Kirke resurrected the Bad Company name, enlisting former Ted Nugent vocalist Brian Howe to replace Rodgers. The reconfigured unit's debut, Fame & Fortune, was a commercial failure, but 1988's Dangerous Age became a minor hit. Released in 1990, Holy Water fared even better, as the power ballad "If You Needed Somebody" became a Top 20 success. Here Comes Trouble, issued in 1992, achieved platinum status, and earned another Top 40 hit with "How About That." On their 20th anniversary, Bad Company expanded into a quintet with the addition of bassist Rick Wills and rhythm guitarist Dave Colwell, and released the live retrospective The Best of Bad Company Live...What You Hear Is What You Get.
Two more LPs -- 1995's The Company of Strangers and the next year's Stories Told and Untold -- followed, and in 1998 the original lineup of Rodgers, Ralphs, Kirke, and Burrell reunited to record a handful of new tracks that surfaced alongside past material early the following year on The Original Bad Company Anthology. A reunion tour followed that spring. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
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