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Bad Company are an English hard rock supergroup formed in Westminster, London in 1973 by two former Free band members—singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke— as well as Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also managed Bad Company until 1982.
Bad Company enjoyed great success throughout the 1970s. Their first three albums, Bad Company (1974), Straight Shooter (1975), and Run With the Pack (1976), reached the top five in the album charts in both the UK and US. Many of their singles, such as "Bad Company", "Can't Get Enough", "Good Lovin' Gone Bad", and "Feel Like Makin' Love", remain staples of classic rock radio.
History
Original Paul Rodgers era (1973–1982)
Contrary to speculation that singer Paul Rodgers named the band after the Jeff Bridges film Bad Company Rodgers, in an interview with Spinner.com, explained that the idea came from a book of Victorian morals that showed a picture of an innocent kid looking up at an unsavoury character leaning against a lamp post. The caption read "beware of bad company".
Bad Company consisted of four seasoned musicians: two former members of Free, singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke; former Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs; and ex-King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell. The band signed to Swan Song Records/Atlantic Records in North America, and with Island Records in other countries. (Island Records had until that time been the UK home to both Free and King Crimson, as well as to Mott the Hoople for their first four albums; Atlantic, in turn, released King Crimson's and Mott's early albums in the US through a licensing agreement with Island). Atlantic/Warner Music would later acquire the non-North American rights to the band's catalogue.
The band's 1974 debut album, Bad Company, was recorded at Headley Grange, Hampshire in Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio. The album reached number one on the Billboard 200 in the US, and number 3 in the UK Albums Chart, spending 25 weeks in the UK charts. The album has been certified five times platinum in the US, and became the 46th–best-selling album of the 1970s. The singles "Can't Get Enough" and "Movin' On" reached No. 5 and No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1975 their second album, Straight Shooter, reached No. 3 in both the UK and the US, and also went platinum in the US. The album also spawned two hit singles, "Good Lovin' Gone Bad" at No. 36 and the slower "Feel Like Makin' Love" at No. 10.
Their third album, Run With the Pack, was released in 1976 and reached No. 4 in the UK and No. 5 in the US. Bad Company scheduled a British tour with the band of former Free member Paul Kossoff, Back Street Crawler, to support the album, as well as a new album by Back Street Crawler. This double headline tour was scheduled to commence on 25 April 1976 but was halted due to Kossoff's death on 19 March 1976.
1977's Burnin' Sky fared the poorest of their first four records, reaching No. 15 in the US and No. 17 in the UK. 1979's Desolation Angels did better than its predecessor, peaking at No. 3 in the US and No. 10 in the UK. Desolation Angels also embellished the group's sound with synthesisers and strings. It had two charting singles: "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" at No. 13 and "Gone Gone Gone" at No. 56.
By the end of the 1970s, however, the band grew increasingly disenchanted with playing large stadiums. In addition, Peter Grant lost interest in the group and management in general after Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham died on 25 September 1980. In the words of Simon Kirke, "Peter was definitely the glue which held us all together and in his absence we came apart".
A three-year hiatus from the studio ended with the release of Rough Diamonds in 1982. This would be the sixth and final LP in the group's original incarnation until four new songs were recorded in 1998. The album was the worst selling Bad Company album of those that had Paul Rodgers as the front man. The album peaked at No. 15 in the UK and No. 26 in the US.
After the release of Rough Diamonds, Bad Company disbanded. Mick Ralphs said, "Paul wanted a break and truthfully we all needed to stop. Bad Company had become bigger than us all and to continue would have destroyed someone or something. From a business standpoint, it was the wrong thing to do, but Paul's instinct was absolutely right".
Despite being famous for their live shows packing the largest stadiums for almost a decade, Bad Company did not release an official live album of performances from this time period until the 2006 album Live in Albuquerque 1976. The recordings were made by Mick Ralphs, who regularly taped the group's shows and used the tapes to critique the band's performances. Bootlegs of Bad Company's live performances from this period were also available, including "Boblingen Live" (1974), "Live in Japan" (1975) and "Shooting Star Live at the L.A. Forum" (1975).
Brian Howe era (1986–1994)
In 1985, Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke, having just worked together the previous year on Ralphs' solo album Take This, decided to reteam for a new project. But in 1986, their label, Atlantic Records, insisted they resume the Bad Company name. Unfortunately, Paul Rodgers was already engaged with a new supergroup called The Firm. With Rodgers gone, the remaining two members partnered with ex-Ted Nugent vocalist Brian Howe as the new lead singer. In addition, they hired Steve Price as the new bass player and Greg Dechert (ex-Uriah Heep) on keyboards. Howe's vocal style brought more of a pop-rock sound to the band, which Atlantic Records, looking to bring the band back up to arena status, was looking for after declining turnouts to previous live performances and the dismal sales of Rough Diamonds. The band hired Foreigner producer Keith Olsen to produce the new line-up's initial album, 1986's Fame and Fortune. Burrell agreed to rejoin the band and was name checked on the Fame and Fortune album, even though he didn't play on it. But just before the supporting tour, he left once again (Steve Price then returned). Among the subsequent projects Burrell was involved with was a nine-piece jazz outfit called The Tam White Band.
Reflecting the musical style of the mid-80s, Fame and Fortune was laden with keyboards, unlike previous Bad Company albums, but was only modestly successful. The single "This Love" managed to reach No. 85 on the Singles charts but was not the success the band hoped for. But things were about to change.
In 1987, Dechert was dropped from the line-up as the group decided not to play up the keyboards in their sound as much. They toured that year supporting Deep Purple.
For the next Howe-era album, 1988's Dangerous Age, the band replaced Olsen with producer Terry Thomas, who got rid of most of the keyboards and returned the band to a guitar-driven sound. Thomas also added small amounts of keyboards as well as rhythm guitars and backing vocals and wrote most of the songs with the band. Dangerous Age fared better than its predecessor, spawning several MTV videos and the AOR hits "No Smoke Without A Fire" (#4), "One Night" (#9) and "Shake It Up" (#9, also No. 89 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart). The album went gold and hit the Top 60. For the Dangerous Age tour, the band was augmented by Larry Oakes (keyboards, guitar), who had also played with Foreigner. Price and Oakes both left at the conclusion of the tour.
The band's next album, Holy Water, written mostly by Brian Howe and Terry Thomas, was released in June 1990. The album, also produced by Thomas, was enormously successful both critically and commercially, attaining Top 40 and platinum status by selling more than one million copies. Holy Water was the band's first album on the Atlantic subsidiary Atco. The album spun off the singles: "If You Needed Somebody" (#16), the title track "Holy Water" (#89) and "Walk Through Fire" (#28). "Holy Water" also hit No. 1 for 2 weeks on the AOR charts with "If You Needed Somebody" reaching No. 2. The album received significant radio airplay (five songs made the AOR charts in all) and spawned several video hits. Felix Krish played bass on the CD while Paul Cullen was recruited for live shows.
Ralphs, who was taking care of personal and family matters, sat out for most of the Holy Water tour, although he did perform on the album. Beginning in June 1990, Ralphs was replaced on the road and in the videos by ex-Crawler guitarist Geoff Whitehorn. Ralphs returned later on during the tour (in April 1991) and Whitehorn went on to join Procol Harum in December 1991 with whom he still plays to this day. Also joining at this time was ex-ASAP guitarist Dave "Bucket" Colwell as second guitarist. Their subsequent tour, supported by Damn Yankees, was heralded as one of the top 5 grossing tours of 1991 during a year which saw many other rock acts facing a downturn in concert attendance brought on by rising ticket prices and economic recession.
The final studio album of the Howe era, 1992's Here Comes Trouble, featured the Top 40 hit "How About That" (#38) and "This Could Be The One" (#87). The album went gold. Before touring in support of Here Comes Trouble, the band added ex-Foreigner, Roxy Music and Small Faces bassist Rick Wills and Colwell, a protégé of Ralphs, was now a full-time member. The band toured with several acts, including Lynyrd Skynyrd, and recorded a live album, What You Hear Is What You Get: The Best of Bad Company on the Here Comes Trouble tour. The critically acclaimed album, released in November 1993, featured live versions of hits from both the Rodgers and Howe eras of the band.
Howe left the band in 1994. Regarding his departure from the band, Howe stated: "Leaving Bad Company was not a difficult decision. It had got to the point where nobody was contributing anything to songwriting and quite frankly, the band was getting very very sloppy live. I quite simply, along with Terry Thomas, got tired of doing all the work and then getting nothing but resentment for it from Mick and Simon
Bad Company 1973
 Bad Company is the debut studio album by the English hard rock supergroup Bad Company. The album was recorded at Headley Grange with Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio in November 1973, and it was the first album released on Led Zeppelin's Swan Song Records label
01. Can't Get Enough
02 .Rock Steady
05. BAD COMPANY
06. The Way I Choose
07. Movin' On
08. Seagull
Straight Shooter 1975
Straight Shooter is the second studio album by British super group Bad Company. The album was released in April 1975, a month after the release of the single "Good Lovin' Gone Bad" and four months before the album's second single "Feel Like Makin' Love" (see 1975 in music)
The album reached number 3 in the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. It was certified gold (500,000 units sold) by the Recording Industry Association of America a month after its release.
Mick Ralph's and Simon Kirke revealed on In the Studio (which devoted an episode to Straight
Shooter) that the track "Shooting Star" (which told the story of a rock star who died early) was lyrically inspired by the drug and alcohol-related deaths of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Jim Morrison.
Track List
03. Weep no more
04. Shooting star
06. Wild fire woman
07. Anna
08. Call on me
1976 Burnin' Sky
Burnin' Sky is the fourth studio album by British rock band Bad Company. It was released on March 3, 1977.Burnin' Sky was recorded in France at Château d'Hérouville in July and August 1976 with future Rolling Stones engineer Chris Kimsey but its release was delayed until March 1977 as to not compete with the band's then-current album Run with the Pack.
The album peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and No. 17 in the UK Albums Chart. The album was remastered and re-released in 1994. The cover is similar to the poster for the 1969 Sam Peckinpah film "The Wild Bunch". In the movie Almost Famous, the fictitious band Stillwater's first tee shirt is strikingly similar to the Burnin' Sky album cover.
01. Burnin' Sky
1976 Running with the pack
Run with The Pack is the third studio album by British supergroup Bad Company. It was released in January 1976. Run with The Pack was recorded in France with The Rolling Stones Mobile Truck in September 1975 with engineer Ron Nevison and mixed in Los Angeles by Eddie Kramer. The album was the only original Bad Company album not to feature artwork from Hipgnosis as it featured artwork from Kosh instead.The album peaked at No. 4 in the UK Albums Chart and No. 5 on the US Billboard 200. It has sold to date three million copies in the US alone.
Their cover of the Coasters single "Young Blood" peaked at No. 20. The album also spawned rock radio classics "Silver, Blue and Gold", "Live For the Music", and the title track. Although "Silver, Blue & Gold" remains one of the band's most popular compositions, the song was never released as a single.
The album was remastered and re-released in 1994. The vinyl had a shiny, silver cover, but CD versions feature a simple, light grey cover.
01. Live for the Music
02. Simple Man 03. Honey Child 04. Love Me Somebody 05. Run With The Pack 06. Silver, Blue & Gold 07. Young Blood 08. Do Right by Your Woman 09. Sweet Lil' Sister 10. Fade Away
Rough Diamonds 1982
 Rough Diamonds is the sixth studio album by the English rock band Bad Company. The album was released in August 1982. Rough Diamonds, like its predecessor, Desolation Angels, was recorded at Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey, England in March and April 1981 and engineered by Max Norman (famed for his work with Ozzy Osbourne). It was the last album by Bad Company's original line-up. The sessions were rough going from the beginning. First, their manager, Peter Grant, withdrew from view after the death of Led Zeppelin drummer, John Bonham in 1980. Then, on another occasion, a fistfight broke out between Paul Rodgers and Boz Burrell, the two bandmates restrained by Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke. The album's opening track, "Electricland", written by Rodgers, was the album's biggest hit. Rodgers' "Painted Face" also received substantial airplay on rock stations. The album became the original line-up's worst-selling album, reaching a disappointing No. 26 on the Billboard album charts in 1982. The album was remastered and re-released in 1994.
Fame and Fortune 1986
Fame and Fortune is the seventh studio album by Bad Company. The album was released in October 1986. It is the first album released by the reformed Bad Company, featuring original members Mick Ralphs (guitar) and Simon Kirke (drums), with the addition of new frontman Brian Howe (formerly of Ted Nugent's band) substituting for original singer Paul Rodgers. While original bassist Boz Burrell appears credited as part of the line-up, the liner notes reveal that session player Steve Price plays on the album.
The album was produced by Foreigner producer Keith Olsen, and Foreigner's Mick Jones serves as executive producer and co-writer of several tracks.Track listing
1. Burning Up
2. This Love 3. Fame and Fortune 4. That Girl 5. Tell It Like It Is 6. Long Walk 7. Hold on My Heart 8. Valerie 9. When We Made Love 10. If I'm Sleeping" |
Bad Company
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