SIMON KIRKE Was Surprised To See BAD COMPANY Finally Nominated For ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

In a new interview with Shelli Sonstein of New York’s classic rock radio station Q104.3, BAD COMPANY drummer Simon Kirke spoke about the British supergroup’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nomination, which was announced earlier this month after decades of eligibility. Asked how it feels to finally be nominated, Simon said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It feels good. I mean, it does feel good, but I have to add a note of caution that I’m not familiar with the voting process, or I wasn’t until last week. So we’re nominated, but then we have to get voted in on April — I believe it’s April the 23rd the votes are cast. So we’ll see. But I have to say finally, ’cause I’ve always advocated that FREE and BAD COMPANY should have been in a while ago. But I won’t dish out sour grapes. I’m just happy to be nominated. And I was saying to a friend of mine earlier on that I hope that we can get on the podium because Mick [Ralphs], our guitarist, as you know, is not well and we don’t know how long he’s gonna be around. But it would be wonderful if me and Paul [Rodgers, BAD COMPANY singer] could get on the stage and say, ‘This is for Mick as well,’ and so on. But, yeah, it feels good.”Asked if it was a surprise to finally get nominated, Simon said: “It was. It was a surprise sort of tempered with, ‘Wow, at last.’ And also what I didn’t realize is there’s a two-pronged attack. There’s the popular vote, and then there’s the voting committee of the Hall Of Fame, who are made up… Once you’ve been nominated and accepted, you become automatically a voting member. So, I didn’t know that. Yeah. So, there are hundreds and hundreds of musicians and executives who are now on the board, as it were. So there’s also the popular vote where fans can go on the Hall Of Fame web site and vote. So when the votes are cast on the end of April, that’s when the committee steps up and they cast their vote. I mean, I’m a friend of Steven Van Zandt, who’s been on the Hall Of Fame committee for years. And every year they sit around the table and they scratch their head and say, ‘Why the hell isn’t FREE and BAD COMPANY in?, because of our influence. I think a lot of bands were influenced [by us] — like we were. We were influenced by a lot of bands before us — THE [ROLLING] STONES and THE BEATLES and black music. We’re just passing it on.”In a statement to Billboard about BAD COMPANY’s nomination, Rodgers said: “BAD COMPANY fans and friends have been lobbying for this nomination persistently for years and they never gave up, so big thanks to them. According to them, BAD COMPANY fits all of the criteria and then some to be inducted.”Kirke, for his part, told the publication: “I think it’s been a long time coming. It has rankled me a bit. We’ve been around a long time and we’ve influenced a lot of bands, and I think it’s a place that we deserve. I’m just pleased that we’re at least on the ballot. I’m happy and I’m honored, and fingers crossed that we make it.”Back in November 2023, Kirke was asked by “The Bob Lefsetz Podcast” how he felt about BAD COMPANY not having been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. He responded: “I think it’s such a travesty, quite honestly. And not just that, but FREE — FREE certainly should be [in the Hall], because FREE has been around since 1968, and the two bands have been responsible for influencing a lot of bands who are already in the Hall. So I feel pretty bad about it. But I’m not gonna go on too much about it. It’s just I think we should be in. Certainly FREE. And I think Paul Rodgers should be in on his own merits, as one of the great rock vocalists of all time. If Eric Clapton and Rod Stewart and Jeff Beck can be inducted as solo artists, then certainly Paul Rodgers should be in there. That’s my two cents.”Later in the chat, Kirke offered one possible explanation for why BAD COMPANY had been overlooked by the Rock Hall.”I think because of BAD COMPANY’s changing lineups over the 50 years that we’d been together, it kind of devalued our currency a little bit,” he said. “You had the Brian Howe era, you had the Paul Rodgers era, one and two, when Paul rejoined the band, we had Robert Hart. So I honestly don’t know why we have not been nominated — not even inducted; you have to be nominated first, as you know.”In September 2023, Rodgers told SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” that he wasn’t bothered by his absence from the Rock Hall. “Well, it doesn’t affect my daily life. It doesn’t affect what I do in any way at all,” he said. “It’s one of those things. But I remember years and years ago, Ahmet Ertegun, who was the head of Atlantic Records [and a co-founder of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame], said to me, ‘Paul, we’re making this museum of rock and roll. Do you guys wanna be part of it?’ And I said, ‘What, a museum of rock and roll? What’s it called?’ He said, ‘Well, it’s called the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.’ I said, ‘Well, I don’t think rock and roll belongs in a museum.’ So it’s my bad, I guess. And he asked me a couple of times, and I kind of like refused, I guess, basically. So, you know, there you go. Onwards and upwards.”Born and raised in London, THE BEATLES perked a teenage Simon’s interest in rock music, and he picked up the drums — leading to a gig with a local band called THE MANIACS, on which Simon supplied drums and lead vocals (something quite uncommon at the time).Simon worked out a deal with his parents after graduating high school, that if he couldn’t “make it” as a drummer in a band within a two-year period, that he would begin a college career. Just a few months before the deadline, Simon landed a gig with a group called the BLACK CAT BONES. The drummer befriended the group’s talented guitarist, Paul Kossoff, who in turn convinced Simon to leave the group with him and begin a new outfit with singer Paul Rodgers. Soon ex-JOHN MAYALL’S BLUESBREAKERS bassist Andy Fraser signed on and FREE was officially formed in 1968. Mixing blues with hard rock, the group would prove to be quite influential, especially on the strength of their classic 1970 release, “Fire And Water”, and its strutting, anthemic hit single “All Right Now”.When the band broke up, it didn’t take Simon long to find another gig, joining Paul Rodgers in a new band, BAD COMPANY, which was quite similar stylistically to FREE. Joined by ex-KING CRIMSON bassist Boz Burrell and ex-MOTT THE HOOPLE guitarist Mick Ralphs, BAD COMPANY was the first group signed to LED ZEPPELIN’s record label, Swan Song. Their debut album, 1974’s “Bad Company”, would go on to become one of hard rock’s all-time classics, as it birthed such long-standing rock radio standards as “Can’t Get Enough”, “Ready For Love” and the title track, written by Paul and Simon himself. The group hails as one of the all-time top rock outfits. Kirke is the only member of BAD COMPANY who’s been in every lineup of the band.[embedded content]