Bad Company is one of 14 artists who have been nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the Performer category in 2025. The veteran British supergroup has been eligible for the honor for more than 25 years, but this marks the first time the band has received a nomination.
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Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke has long been frustrated about the group being consistently overlooked by the Rock Hall. That being said, Kirke expressed positive feelings about the nomination during a new interview with New York City rock radio station Q104.3.
“It does feel good,” Kirke told Q104.3 DJ Shelli Sonstein. “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.”
Kirke and Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers both were members of Free before co-founding Bad Company in 1973 with Mott the Hoople guitarist Mik Ralphs and ex-King Crimson bassist Boz Burrell.
Why Kirke Hopes Bad Company Gets Inducted This Year
Simon also pointed out a specific reason why he hopes Bad Company is inducted into the Rock Hall this year.
“I was saying to a friend of mine earlier on that I hope that we can get on the podium, because Mick, our guitarist … is not well and we don’t know how long he’s gonna be around,” he explained. “But it would be wonderful if me and Paul could get on the stage and say, ‘This is for Mick as well,’ and so on. But, yeah, it feels good [to be nominated].”
Ralphs, who is 80, suffered a serious stroke in 2016 that forced him to retire from music. As for Burrell, he died of a heart attack at age 60 in 2006.
Kirke Talks More About Bad Company’s Rock Hall Nomination
Asked to elaborate on his feelings about Bad Company’s nomination, Kirke said, “It was a surprise, sort of tempered with, ‘Wow, at last.’”
Simon also discussed how the Rock Hall voting process works. He noted that “hundreds and hundreds of musicians and executives” cast ballots, while an online fan poll also factors into who gets inducted.
Regarding his bands being overlooked for so long, Kirke pointed out, “I’m a friend of Stevie 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.”
Simon added, “I think a lot of bands were influenced [by us,] like we were [by other bands]. We were influenced by a lot of bands before us, [including] The [Rolling] Stones and The Beatles and Black music. We’re just passing it on.”
The 2025 Rock Hall inductees are expected to be announced in late April. This year’s induction ceremony will be held on an as-yet-unannounced date in the fall in Los Angeles.
As of the afternoon of Friday, February 28, Bad Company was in fourth place on the online Rock Hall fan poll. Ahead of them, in order, were Phish, Billy Idol, and Soundgarden.
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