Bad Company Vinyl Reissues & Tour Dates

When I was a wee sprout of a rock ‘n’ roll fanatic, the British blues-rock outfit Free was one of my fave rave bands. As such, I couldn’t understand why they broke up when they broke up…back in those days, there was no Internet to provide gossip, lies, and innuendo, so Paul Kossoff’s drug problems and inter-band tensions weren’t widely-known knowledge…especially to snot-nosed teenage fans.

When former Free frontman Paul Rodgers and the band’s drummer Simon Kirke formed Bad Company with former Mott the Hoople guitarist Mick Ralphs and former King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell, I begrudgingly gave their self-titled 1974 album a spin. Although Bad Company, the album, wasn’t Free, it was still pretty good, and I soon had another favorite band. Quite a few other young rockers must have shared my feelings, because Bad Company shot up to number one on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, eventually selling five million copies on the strength of hit singles like “Can’t Get Enough” (charted at #5) and “Movin’ On” (#19) as well as featuring tunes like “Ready For Love,” “Rock Steady,” and the atmospheric album title track.

On July 1st, 2014 Rhino Records will reissue Bad Company’s first two classic albums – Bad Company and Straight Shooter – on 180-gram vinyl with the complete original packaging. Like its predecessor, Straight Shooter rose up the album charts to the number three position, scoring hit singles with “Feel Like Making Love” (#10) and “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad” (#36) and the classic rock radio standard “Shooting Star.” Accompanying the vinyl reissues of their two classic albums, Bad Company will be touring the U.S. this summer with another legendary 1970s era band, Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Sadly, Boz Burrell passed away in 2006, but the current Bad Company version includes original members Rodgers, Ralphs, and Kirke along with guitarist Howard Leese and bassist Todd Ronning (from Rodgers' solo band). Vinyl copies of both albums will be on sale at the band’s shows as well as available through fine record shops everywhere.

Bad Company/Lynryrd Skynyrd Summer Tour Dates

07/10/14 @ Waterfront, Bangor ME                           
07/12/14 @ Xfinity Center, Mansfield MA                      
07/13/14 @ Darien Lake Performing Arts Center, Darien NY                             
07/15/14 @ Walnut Creek Amphitheater, Raleigh NC                           
07/16/14 @ PNC Pavilion, Charlotte NC                        
07/18/14 @ Susquehanna Bank Center, Camden NJ                                 
07/19/14 @ Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow VA                           
07/22/14 @ Blossom Music Center, Cuyahoga Falls OH              
07/23/14 @ First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre, Tinley Park IL                      
07/25/14 @ DTE Energy Music Theatre, Clarkston MI