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
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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, All Music Guide
Contact Grabow for more information or to book
Bad Company for your next corporate or private event.
