Arriving in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Bad Company‘s 29th October 2016 performance at London’s O2 Arena, comes Live In London, available for the first time ever on blue-coloured vinyl, CD and digital formats from 13th November.
That 29th October appearance was Bad Company co-founder, guitarist and hit songwriter Mick Ralphs‘ final live appearance with the band. Ralphs later succumbed to health problems, passing away in 2025, and this previously unreleased album captures a remarkable night in the band’s history and stands as a tribute to founding member Ralphs.
Captured directly from the soundboard, this historic recording finds the guitarist and other original members, singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke, delivering a career-spanning set drawn from one of rock’s most enduring catalogues.
Live In London features ‘Live For The Music’, ‘Gone, Gone, Gone’, ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’, ‘Electricland’, ‘Burnin’ Sky’, ‘Run With The Pack’, ‘Ready For Love’, ‘Crazy Circles’, ‘Troubleshooter’, ‘Movin’ On’, ‘Shooting Star’, ‘Can’t Get Enough’, ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy’, ‘Bad Company’ and ‘Seagull’.
“Both the fans and the band were in great form that night in London,” said Rodgers. “The rapport with the audience was deeply felt, and they sang their hearts out. Thinking back to that evening in retrospect, Mick’s song ‘Ready For Love’ was particularly moving, singing ‘Walking down this rocky road wondering where my life is leading’; little did we know that Mick would suffer a stroke just four days after this concert.”
“When Bad Company last played in London, it was at the O2 Arena. We had enjoyed a great tour of England, and it would culminate in this final show,” Kirke recalled. “We were all in good spirits. Paul performed brilliantly every night, and Mick was playing with his usual taste and panache… It was the last time I ever played with Mick… had I known that at the time, I would have hugged him a little tighter and a little longer.”
The blue-coloured vinyl edition, presented in a double-vinyl gatefold, and CD feature previously unseen photographs from the O2 Arena concert, a reproduction of the original set list, and liner notes from Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke, who reflect on the performance, their memories of Mick Ralphs, and Bad Company‘s enduring legacy. A National Album Day coloured vinyl pressing will also be part of the release campaign.
Formed around the unmistakable songwriting and chemistry of Rodgers and Ralphs, with Kirke on drums and bass player Boz Burrell (who passed away in 2006), Bad Company became one of the defining rock bands of the 1970s, building a catalogue whose songs have remained fixtures of rock radio and live music for generations.
Live In London is out on 13th November, while ‘Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy (Live: O2 Arena, London – October 29, 2016)’ is out now alongside its accompanying official music video that you can check out below.
Read more about Bad Company on RAMzine.
