Bad Company’s classic rock standard “Ready For Love” first appeared on Mott The Hoople’s 1972 album, All The Young Dudes. Produced by David Bowie, the album was a success, but it marked a turning point for guitarist Mick Ralphs.
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In 1973, Ralphs left Mott The Hoople and abandoned glam rock at its peak. He formed the supergroup Bad Company, with members from Free (singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke) and King Crimson (bassist Boz Burrell). And “Ready For Love” became the connective tissue between Ralphs’s two very different rock bands.
Ralphs, who’d been bedridden after suffering a stroke in 2016, died on June 23, 2025. He was 81. “Ready For Love” remains an important part of the English guitarist’s legacy—from his glam rock chapter in Mott The Hoople to Bad Company’s recent induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
About “Ready For Love”
Written by Ralphs, “Ready For Love” begins with an aimless narrator who appears ready to commit to a relationship after years of bitter endings and setbacks.
Walking down this rocky road
Wondering where my life is leading
Rolling on to the bitter end.
Finding out along the way
What it takes to keep love living
You should know how it feels, my friend.
The narrator references Bob Dylan’s folk classic, “The Times They Are A-Changin’”. But where Dylan’s protest anthem aimed for the communal reach of old Irish and Scottish ballads, “Ready For Love” became a standard of its own. One of many classic rock staples recorded by Bad Company, such as “Feel Like Makin’ Love”, “Shooting Star”, and “Can’t Get Enough”.
Now I’m on my feet again
Better things are bound to happen
All my dues surely must be paid.
Many miles and many tears
Times were hard, but now they’re changing
You should know that I’m not afraid.
Mott The Hoople and David Bowie
Mott The Hoople had considered breaking up before David Bowie offered two songs that changed their career. They passed on Bowie’s first offering, “Suffragette City”, but chose instead to record “All The Young Dudes”, which reached No. 3 in the U.K.
All The Young Dudes also features a cover of The Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane”. But Mott The Hoople’s version of “Ready For Love” doesn’t resemble the spacey glitz of Ziggy Stardust. Instead, it foreshadows the craftsman-like blues rock of Ralphs’s post-glam chapter with Bad Company.
Despite the commercial success of All The Young Dudes, Ralphs wanted to move on from Mott The Hoople. So he connected with Rodgers over a shared love of the blues, and the connection turned out to be pretty good company for both musicians.
Photo by Rick Kern/WireImage
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