Bad Company - A Legendary English Classic Rock Band

Bad Company was a legendary English classic rock band from London which was established in 1973. Their overall sound was a mixture of hard rock and blues rock. Bad Company was the second band in which legendary vocalist Paul Rodgers was musically active, after another fantastic English classic rock band called Free. Aside from Paul Rodgers, other original or founding band members were Simon Kirke (drums; also previously part of Free), Mick Ralphs (guitar; previously of Mott the Hoople), and Boz Burrell (bass; who was part of King Crimson before). Throughout the band’s entire existence, drummer Simon Kirke was the only constant member while he and guitarist Mick Ralphs were the only two members of the group to contribute on all studio albums by the band. In terms of management, it is important to mention the fact that this band was managed by the same manager as Led Zeppelin, more specifically Peter Grant (thanks to whom Led Zeppelin achieved great commercial success).

Bad Company performing live in 1977. Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Bassist Boz Burrell passed away in 2006 and guitarist Mick Ralphs in 2025. The only two surviving members of the band are thus Paul Rodgers (lead vocals) and Simon Kirke (drums). They were initially musically active between 1973 and 1982, then from 1986 and 1999, followed by a brief period of time between 2001 and 2002, and then once more for the last time between 2008 and 2019.

The band was quite successful during the 1970s. Their first three studio albums (or LPs) enjoyed both commercial success and critical acclaim, becoming staples of classic rock music. These three studio albums were, in chronological order, the following ones: Bad Company (1974; their debut self-titled studio album), Straight Shooter (1975), and Run with the Pack (1976). In addition, these three albums charted very well both in the United Kingdom and in the United States, reaching top 5 in the album charts. Their best-known singles (and hits) are Bad Company (1974), Can’t Get Enough (1974), Feel Like Makin’ Love (1975), Shooting Star (1975), Burnin’ Sky (1977), and Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy (1979). These great songs are often part of any classic rock playlist on any respectable rock radio station in the world (and rightfully so)! Two major themes of some of their songs from their early catalogue are represented by the Vietnam War and love.

In commercial regards, they sold more than 20 million copies of their records in the United States alone according to the R.I.A.A. (i.e. Recording Industry Association of America) and 40 million copies worldwide respectively (which is quite commending). They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2025 (and I also voted digitally/electronically for them; better late than never, they should’ve been inducted there a long, long time ago if you’d ask me).

Their discography consists of 12 studio albums as follows:

Bad Company (1974)
Straight Shooter (1975)
Run with the Pack (1976)
Burnin’ Sky (1977)
Desolation Angels (1979)
Rough Diamonds (1982)
Fame and Fortune (1986)
Dangerous Age (1988)
Holy Water (1990)
Here Comes Trouble (1992)
Company of Strangers (1995)
Stories Told & Untold (1996)

Additionally, they also released 5 live albums, 29 singles, and 6 music videos. Below you can listen to a personal selection of favourite songs from their entire discography. I truly hope you will like listening to them as much as I did, still do, and will always like to. Thank you very much for your time, attention, and readership! All the best and rock on! 🙂 🤘