Paul Rodgers Says Bad Company Still Has a 'Lot of Life'

Paul Rodgers said that Bad Company is not done and expressed optimism that the band may tour again one day. The group’s last performance took place on Oct. 18, 2019, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The gig was the culmination of Bad Company’s tour opening for fellow rock legends Lynyrd Skynyrd. At the time, Rodgers said the band was “in the studio, just kicking things around and seeing what we've got." However, in the four years since then, Bad Company has made little noise.

During a recent interview with Sirius XM’s Eddie Trunk, Rodgers was asked if Bad Company is over.

“I don’t think so,” the singer responded. “I think there’s still a lot of life there. We’ll see. Give it time.”

Although he’s adopted a “never say never” attitude toward Bad Company’s future, Rodgers added that “there are no plans” regarding what’s next for the group.

Bad Company’s most recent lineup featured Rodgers on vocals, co-founder Simon Kirke on drums, guitarist Howard Leese and bassist Todd Ronning. Brian Howe, who fronted Bad Company from 1986-94 while Rodgers was away from the band, died in 2020. Meanwhile, the group’s original guitarist, Mick Ralphs, remains in a care home after suffering a stroke in 2016.

“He’s doing OK,” Rodgers reported, noting that he still keeps in regular contact with Ralphs. “Not too brilliantly, but he’s still chipper, he’s still very cheerful, still making jokes.”

Paul Rodgers' Road to Recovery

Like Ralphs, Rodgers has weathered serious medical problems recently. The singer suffered a total of 13 strokes over the past seven years, including one that left him severely debilitated in 2019.

“I couldn’t do anything, to be honest,” Rodgers explained to CBS Mornings. “I couldn’t speak. That was the very strange thing. You know, I’d prepare something in my mind and I’d say it, but that isn’t what came out and I’d go, ‘What the heck did I just say?'”

Rodgers underwent surgery to remove plaque clogging one of his arteries and spent many months rehabilitating. His new album, Midnight Rose, marks his first solo LP in nearly 25 years.