Simon Kirke of Bad Company Live on Game Changers With Vicki

I was Live with Simon Kirke, co-founder of Free and Bad Company, two of the greatest rock bands in history. A huge lifelong fan, it was a thrill to sit down and hear how it all went down, including how Snuffy, a guitar player kinda close to my heart, ended up playing on Free’s Heartbreaker.

We heard about Simon’s very humble beginnings with neither running water nor electricity, talk about building character, his transistor radio, listening to big bands, pre-Beatles, making his own drumsticks, and finding his way back to London from the countryside with a time limit to make it and joining Paul Kossoff’s Black Cat Bones just under the wire. How they formed Free, All Right Now, the song that made them, and perhaps, destroyed them. The unrelenting touring, and then Kosoff’s unrelenting drugs. How the band evolved before imploding. Ultimately, in part, morphing into Bad Company, one of the greatest straight-up rock bands of all time with Simon co-writing its anthem. He’s the only member of the band to be in every lineup since its inception, including the band’s last tour. We heard about them all. Thrilling!

I so love Simon’s solo effort, All Because of You, written for Maria, his wife of 6 years. Reminiscent of Roger Daltry for me, it’s in heavy rotation in my kitchen. He’s guested on recordings by Wilson Pickett, Jim Capaldi, and Ron Wood, and has toured with Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, and Ringo Starr & His All-Star Band. The best with the best. We heard great stories about Chuck, Ringo, Peter Frampton, Jack Bruce, Dave Mason, and of course, Kossoff and Rodgers.

We talked at length about addiction––the drinking, the drugs, the debauchery, some great stories there, and recovery, tried more than once, and how it was too long ago for Kossoff. But, has gratefully stuck for Simon, who is doing much to give back. Simon works with Road Recovery, aiding teens to get and hopefully stay sober, is on the board of a Rehab facility, Right Turn, and is in the process of writing a Rock Opera about recovery with its CEO.

Simon fears with Paul Rodgers’ health issues, this is the end of Bad Company after 50 years. He’s scored a few films and looks forward to a lot more of that in his future, mirroring another musician turned composer we know who’s fared pretty well.

They say, be careful meeting your heroes. No worries here. Simon Kirke exceeded all my very high (but sober) hopes, as a person and a rock star. What fun! Can’t Get Enough!

Simon Kirke Live on Game Changers with Vicki Abelson

Wednesday, February 7, 5 PM PT, 8 PM ET

Streamed Live on my Facebook

Replay here:

https://bit.ly/42vW0w0