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Great new interview (long article + 40-minute video) with drummer Simon Kirke of Free and Bad Company
https://www.goldderby.com/music/2025/bad-company-simon-kirke-rock-hall-ceremony-paul-rodgers/Exclusive
Bad Company’s Simon Kirke reveals what to expect from Rock Hall ceremony — and why it took so long for the band to be inducted: ‘Justice has been done’ (exclusive)
The founding drummer reveals if the ailing Paul Rodgers will perform, who will induct them, and how late guitarist Mick Ralphs felt about the long-overdue honor.
By Lyndsey Parker
October 28, 2025 3:45 pm
When it was announced that arena-rock supergroup Bad Company would be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, fans had many questions.
Who would induct the band at the ceremony? What songs would they play? Would lead singer Paul Rodgers, who experienced 13 strokes between 2016 and 2019 that temporarily rendered him unable to sing or even speak, be able to perform? How did guitarist Mick Ralphs, who died just two months after the Hall’s Class of 2025 announcement, feel about Bad Company’s long-overdue induction? And, speaking of long overdue, what took the Hall so long to recognize Bad Company — a band that sold 40 million records worldwide, charted four top 10 albums, and had such influence that their new tribute LP features everyone from Slash and Def Leppard to Halestorm, the Pretty Reckless, the Struts, and even country star Hardy?
Speaking with Gold Derby from his New York home — just one week after traveling to England for Ralphs’ memorial, and one week before he travels to Los Angeles to rehearse for the Rock Hall ceremony (and, almost as excitingly, dines with all of the Class of 2025 inductees at Spago) — Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke answers all of these questions and more.
Kirke also discusses his disappointment that his previous band with Rodgers, Free, has yet to be inducted; how Bad Company became the first signing to Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label and how notorious music manager Peter Grant discovered them; Kirke's on-and-off, 40-year battle with substance abuse and the near-death experience that finally scared him straight; his forthcoming rock musical about addiction; and what to expect from his acceptance speech and performance at the Rock Hall ceremony, which will take place Nov. 8 at L.A.’s Peacock Theater. If you can’t get enough of great Bad Company stories, this Q&A is a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy come true.
-snip-
Bad Company’s Simon Kirke reveals what to expect from Rock Hall ceremony — and why it took so long for the band to be inducted: ‘Justice has been done’ (exclusive)
The founding drummer reveals if the ailing Paul Rodgers will perform, who will induct them, and how late guitarist Mick Ralphs felt about the long-overdue honor.
By Lyndsey Parker
October 28, 2025 3:45 pm
When it was announced that arena-rock supergroup Bad Company would be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, fans had many questions.
Who would induct the band at the ceremony? What songs would they play? Would lead singer Paul Rodgers, who experienced 13 strokes between 2016 and 2019 that temporarily rendered him unable to sing or even speak, be able to perform? How did guitarist Mick Ralphs, who died just two months after the Hall’s Class of 2025 announcement, feel about Bad Company’s long-overdue induction? And, speaking of long overdue, what took the Hall so long to recognize Bad Company — a band that sold 40 million records worldwide, charted four top 10 albums, and had such influence that their new tribute LP features everyone from Slash and Def Leppard to Halestorm, the Pretty Reckless, the Struts, and even country star Hardy?
Speaking with Gold Derby from his New York home — just one week after traveling to England for Ralphs’ memorial, and one week before he travels to Los Angeles to rehearse for the Rock Hall ceremony (and, almost as excitingly, dines with all of the Class of 2025 inductees at Spago) — Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke answers all of these questions and more.
Kirke also discusses his disappointment that his previous band with Rodgers, Free, has yet to be inducted; how Bad Company became the first signing to Led Zeppelin’s Swan Song label and how notorious music manager Peter Grant discovered them; Kirke's on-and-off, 40-year battle with substance abuse and the near-death experience that finally scared him straight; his forthcoming rock musical about addiction; and what to expect from his acceptance speech and performance at the Rock Hall ceremony, which will take place Nov. 8 at L.A.’s Peacock Theater. If you can’t get enough of great Bad Company stories, this Q&A is a rock ‘n’ roll fantasy come true.
-snip-
The article includes lots of music videos, too.