<\/p>\n It\u2019s a story that begins with the demise of Free due to the erratic nature of guitarist Paul Kossoff, whose addiction to hard drugs eventually led to his death in 1976 at the age of 25.<\/p>\n Article continues below <\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n Free enjoyed considerable success in the early \u201970s with a string of acclaimed albums and three hit singles in My Brother Jake, Wishing Well and the famous anthem All Right Now.<\/p>\n But by 1973 Free had split for the second and final time, and within a year the debut Bad Company album was launched.<\/p>\n As Rodgers recalls to MOJO: \u201cAfter Free, we wanted a band that was really sharp and together. I don\u2019t know if Bad Company finished what Free started. But without Free there wouldn\u2019t have been a Bad Company.\u201d<\/p>\n Joining Rodgers and Kirke in Bad Company were guitarist Mick Ralphs and bassist Raymond \u2018Boz\u2019 Burrell.<\/p>\n Ralphs had struck up a friendship with Rodgers back in 1971. At that time, with Free temporarily disbanded, Rodgers was fronting a trio named Peace. Ralphs was a member of Mott The Hoople, a band that would achieve a major breakthrough in 1972 with the hit song All The Young Dudes, written by David Bowie.<\/p>\n On a UK tour with Peace serving as Mott\u2019s opening act, Rodgers and Ralphs bonded over a love of vintage soul music. The pair reconnected after Free split and Ralphs left Mott.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we started writing together,\u201d Rodgers says, \u201cthat songwriting turned us into a band.\u201d<\/p>\n What to read next<\/p>\n Once Kirke was on board, there was a brief period when they considered bringing Paul Kossoff into the group. That idea was quickly abandoned when it became clear that Kossoff couldn\u2019t get his act together.<\/p>\n Boz Burrell was the final piece of the jigsaw. Previously a member of progressive rock pioneers King Crimson, Burrell loved to play jazz, but easily adapted to Bad Company\u2019s blues-based hard rock style.<\/p>\n Peter Grant, the fearsome figure handling the affairs of Led Zeppelin<\/a>, was enlisted as co-manager of Bad Company and signed the new supergroup to Zeppelin\u2019s vanity label Swan Song.<\/p>\n As Rodgers recalls: \u201cPeter said, \u2018You take care of the music, I\u2019ll look after everything else.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Bad Company\u2019s self-titled debut album was a sleeper hit that eventually climbed to No 1 on the US Billboard 200 in 1974.<\/p>\n The album\u2019s opening track and lead single Can\u2019t Get Enough was a Mick Ralphs composition that had been rejected by Mott The Hoople. The song\u2019s lean power and swagger defined the band\u2019s sound, as did Rodgers\u2019 soulful voice.<\/p>\n At Rodgers\u2019 suggestion, Bad Company also reworked Ralphs\u2019 song Ready For Love, which had been included on Mott\u2019s All The Young Dudes album.<\/p>\n Rodgers, meanwhile, provided the band\u2019s moody signature song Bad Company.<\/p>\n The group\u2019s second album Straight Shooter was another big seller. The single Feel Like Makin\u2019 Love \u2013 co-written by Rodgers and Ralphs \u2013 was a top 10 hit in America.<\/p>\n The third album Run With The Pack opened with Live For The Music, a powerful hard rock track from Ralphs, and included a number of Rodgers\u2019 finest songs \u2013 the epic title track, Love Me Somebody, Do Right By Your Woman and Silver, Blue & Gold.<\/p>\n Do Right by Your Woman (2017 Remaster) – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n But that was the last truly great Bad Company record. And after two weaker efforts in Burnin\u2019 Sky (1977) and Desolation Angels (1979), tensions between Rodgers and Boz Burrell came to a head during the recording of the 1982 album Rough Diamonds at Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey.<\/p>\n As Simon Kirke recalls: \u201cBoz was growing as a musician and would make suggestions. But it came as a complete shock to me and Mick when they came to blows. Judging by Paul\u2019s language, he seemed to think Boz was trying to become the leader of the band, when nothing could have been further from the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n The confrontation was also witnessed by Phil Carlo, the head of the band\u2019s road crew, who tells MOJO: \u201cI remember the fracas. Simon stood in the middle and said to Rodgers, \u2018If you want to hit anyone, hit me\u2019 \u2013 so he did.\u201d<\/p>\n When the Rough Diamonds duly bombed, Paul Rodgers called time on Bad Company and promptly made a solo record \u2013 pointedly titled Cut Loose.<\/p>\n Paul Rodgers – Cut Loose (Official video) – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n Rodgers later joined forces with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page<\/a> in another supergroup, The Firm, who made two albums in the mid-1980s.<\/p>\n At the same time, Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke relaunched Bad Company with singer Brian Howe, formerly a member of guitarist Ted Nugent\u2019s band.<\/p>\n Boz Burrell kept a lower profile, working on and off with fellow veterans such as Roger Chapman of Family and Jon Lord of Deep Purple.<\/p>\n
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