Bad Company is a hard rock band from the United Kingdom which had many hits from the 1970s and 1980s. The group first formed when vocalist Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke, of the band Free, teamed up with guitarist Mick Ralphs of Mott The Hoople. Ralphs had written a number of songs that Mott The Hoople didn't record, but when Rodgers heard them, he immediately wanted to sing them. They held many auditions for a bass player, and finally selected Boz Burrell of King Crimson. The band named themselves after a 1972 Western movie with the same name, and wrote a song based on that same movie. They were then signed to Swan Song Records, Led Zeppelin's label.
Their first hit, "Can't Get Enough", from the debut album Bad Company (1974), was one of the songs Ralphs wrote for Mott The Hoople. Their theme song, "Bad Company", also became a major hit. The album quickly went platinum, and the band was off on a worldwide tour, with many dates in the U.S.
Their second album, Straight Shooter (1975), was another successful release with the hits "Feel Like Makin' Love" and "Shooting Star". The next album, Run With The Pack (1976), featured the hit title track and the band's first true ballad, "Love Me Somebody". This album also featured a change in Bad Company's style, with the use of orchestration.
By 1977, Bad Company was starting to lose their luster. When the album Burnin' Sky was released, only the title track became a major hit. After a short tour, the band took off a year to rest and refocus.
The band made a huge comeback in 1979, with the release of Desolation Angels. This album featured the smash hit "Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy". However, this would prove to be the last major success from the original lineup. By 1980, things started to go downhill for the band. Their manager passed away, and Swan Song Records folded when Led Zeppelin broke up after the death of John Bonham. By the time they released their sixth album, Rough Diamonds in 1982, Bad Company's train of success came to a sudden stop. "Rough Diamonds" was not a big seller, and the only major hit from the album was "Electric Land".
The band split up in 1983, and Rodgers went on to pursue a successful solo career. A compilation album, 10 From 6, was released in 1985 on Atlantic Records. It was supposed to be 10 songs from 6 albums, but did not include songs from "Burnin' Sky", so it would have been more appropriately called "10 From 5".
Ralphs, Kirke, and Burrell resurrected Bad Company in 1986 with former Ted Nugent vocalist Brian Howe. Their first album together, titled Fame And Fortune, did not catch on very well, as die hard fans were not willing to accept the band without Paul Rodgers. Burrell soon left the band, and Bad Company relied on session bassists for several years afterward.
In 1988, Bad Company made a remarkable comeback with the album Dangerous Age. Hits included "No Smoke Without A Fire" and the title track. Video airplay from MTV helped to boost interest in Bad Company again. Two years later, the album Holy Water became the best selling album for Bad Company since "Desolation Angels" in 1979. The song "If You Needed Somebody" included a hit video on MTV. The last studio album with Howe was titled Here Comes Trouble, released in 1992. It featured the title track and "How About That". Bad Company's first live album, Live-What You Hear Is What You Get, was recorded during the tour, and released in 1993.
Internal tensions between Howe and the rest of the band led to Howe leaving Bad Company to pursue a solo career. New vocalist Robert Hart, who had a voice much like Paul Rodgers, took over as frontman. In 1995, the album Company Of Strangers was released, and featured a minor hit in the song "Down And Dirty". By then, the 'alternative craze' had wiped out arena and glam rock bands, and Bad Company was left in the shadows, except for recording and performing for die hard fans. In 1996 came the album Stories Told & Untold, which featured acoustic remakes of their old hits, plus new songs as well.
By 1997, Ralphs and Kirke longed to reunite the original lineup of Bad Company. Hart and the other members left the band, and by 1998, Paul Rodgers and Boz Burrell were back in the band. In 1999, The Original Bad Co Anthology was released, and featured two discs of material from the band's first six albums, as well as unreleased songs. As a bonus, the original lineup recorded four new songs for the album, including the hit "Hey, Hey". The original Bad Company went on tour that year to promote the album, and it seemed that Bad Company was back on top of their game.
Unfortunately, the reunion of the original members didn't last long. Paul Rodgers released another solo album in 2000. By the time he returned to Bad Company, Mick Ralphs and Boz Burrell bowed out of the band for good, with Ralphs continuing a solo career and Burrell returning to a classical music band. Still, Rodgers and Kirke were undaunted. They brought new bassist Jaz Lochrie and former guitarist Dave Colwell back into the band, and signed to Sanctuary Records in 2001.
The year 2002 saw the release of another live album, In Concert-Merchants Of Cool, with two new songs, "Joe Fabulous" and "Saving Grace". Bad Company spent the next two years touring with other classic rock acts like Ted Nugent and Styx, among others.
These days, Paul Rodgers continues to record solo albums and work with other artists. He recently joined the famed rock band Queen, trying to keep the memory of Queen vocalist Freddie Mercury alive. Simon Kirke is also pursuing solo projects at this time. The future of Bad Company is unknown at this time.