Bad Company are an English rock supergroup formed in Albury, Surrey in 1973 by singer Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs, drummer Simon Kirke and later adding bassist Boz Burrell. Peter Grant, who managed the rock band Led Zeppelin, also managed Bad Company until 1982.
Paul Rodgers is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was vocalist of Free and Bad Company. After stints in two lesser-known bands in the 1980s and early 1990s, The Firm and The Law, he became a solo artist. He has more recently toured and recorded with Queen. A poll in Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 55 on its list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". In 2011 Rodgers received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.
Free were an English rock band formed in London in 1968, best known for their 1970 signature song "All Right Now". They disbanded in 1973; lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become the frontman of the band Bad Company, which also featured his Free bandmate Simon Kirke on drums. Lead guitarist Paul Kossoff formed Back Street Crawler in 1973, but died from a pulmonary embolism at the age of 25 in 1976. Bassist Andy Fraser formed Sharks.
Paul Francis Kossoff was an English blues rock guitarist. He was most notably a member of the band Free.
Simon Frederick St George Kirke is an English rock drummer best known as a member of Free and Bad Company, the latter of which he has been the only continuous member since their inception.
Tons of Sobs is the debut album by English blues rock band Free, released in the UK on 14 March 1969. While the album failed to chart in the UK, it did reach number 197 in the US. Free are cited as one of the definitive bands of the British blues boom of the late 1960s, even though this is the only album of their canon that can strictly be called blues rock. According to group bassist Andy Fraser, the title effectively summed up the album.
Fire and Water is the third studio album by the English rock group Free. It became the band's breakthrough, achieving widespread commercial success after the band's first two studio albums had faced a more muted response. With the "tremendous" acclaim of Fire and Water at their backs, in the words of AllMusic, Free headlined the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival and "appeared destined for superstardom".
Free at Last is the fifth studio album by English rock band Free. It was recorded between January and March 1972, and released in May that year. After breaking up in April 1971 due to differences between singer Paul Rodgers and bassist Andy Fraser, the band had reformed in January 1972.
Heartbreaker is the sixth and final studio album by English rock group Free, that provided them with one of their most successful singles, "Wishing Well". It was recorded in late 1972 after bassist Andy Fraser had left the band and while guitarist Paul Kossoff was ailing from an addiction to Mandrax (Quaaludes), and features a different line up from previous albums. Tetsu Yamauchi was brought in to replace Fraser, while John "Rabbit" Bundrick became the band's keyboard player to compensate for the increasingly unreliable Kossoff. Both Yamauchi and Bundrick had played with Kossoff and drummer Simon Kirke on the album Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu & Rabbit during that period in late 1971 when Free had broken up for the first time. Also, several other musicians were used on the album. The album was co-produced by Andy Johns as well as Free themselves.
Crawler was a British heavy rock band formed in the late 1970s as an offshoot of Back Street Crawler, following the death of guitarist, Paul Kossoff.
In Concert: Merchants of Cool is a live album and DVD by English hard rock band Bad Company. It was recorded principally at The Paramount Theater, Denver, Colorado and The Grove of Anaheim, Anaheim, California, in January 2002. It features hits from both Bad Company and precursor band Free as well as two new studio tracks, "Joe Fabulous" and "Saving Grace". It is their only album not to feature guitarist Mick Ralphs. Longtime session guitarist Dave “Bucket” Colwell, who had appeared on the three previous studio albums, plays in Mick’s place. Additionally, Jaz Lochrie plays bass instead of Boz Burrell. The band covers two songs from the Beatles, "Ticket to Ride" and "I Feel Fine", as well as one from Paul Rodgers' and Simon Kirke's former band Free, "All Right Now".
Electric is a studio album by Paul Rodgers of Free and Bad Company fame. It was recorded in 1999 at Lartington Hall Studios near Barnard Castle in the North East of England. Electric was released in 2000.
Live: The Loreley Tapes...... is a live album by Paul Rodgers of Free and Bad Company fame. It was recorded at the Rockpalast Open Air Festival, at Freilichtbühne Loreley, St. Goarshausen, Germany on 8 July 1995 and released in 1996.
Kossoff Kirke Tetsu Rabbit is a 1972 rock album made by guitarist Paul Kossoff, drummer Simon Kirke, bassist Tetsu Yamauchi and keyboard player John "Rabbit" Bundrick.
Live in Glasgow is a Live album by Paul Rodgers of Free, Bad Company and Queen + Paul Rodgers fame. A DVD of the same name and concert was also released in May 2007
Back Street Crawler is the first solo album by Paul Kossoff. The same year as Free's demise, Kossoff was able to pull himself together, moderating his drug addiction enough to record a solo album, Back Street Crawler, which surprisingly featured contributions from his former Free bandmates as well as Yes drummer Alan White.
Now is the third studio album by English rock musician Paul Rodgers, of Free and Bad Company fame. Released on 17 June 1997, Now is Paul Rodgers' second solo work of original material, following 1983's Cut Loose. Now the album is more known as a part of 2-CD set, Now & Live including a disc of the 1995 live performance at which Rodgers performed many Free and Bad Company favourites.
Free – Live at the BBC is an album by the English rock band Free. It was recorded between 1968 and 1971 on BBC on various occasions both "in session" and "in concert". It was released in 2006 by Island Records.
20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of Free is a greatest hits album by the band Free released through Universal Music Group. The collection spans the band's history from 1968 through 1973.
