Bad Company - (Almost) Rockin' Steady In London

My pal and fellow 70's rock nutter, Ziggy, saw Paul Rodgers play at Hammersmith last week, and got more than he expected. Here's his report live from London...


When I arrived, Paul Rodgers had already been on stage for ten minutes. Neither the dreadful weather nor Friday evening traffic was stopping anyone from attending this London “one-off” that had been promoted by Classic Rock magazine.
I entered during a stunning version of Ride On Pony, and then, for the first time live on stage Soon I Will Be Gone followed by The Stealer. The mention of “a new song written with Queen” had the female element of the audience screaming away. The song, which sounded as if it was called Take A Chance On Your Love doesn’t seem familiar, nor does it appear on The Cosmos Rocks, so this must have also been a first. Pretty much the rest of the set ran like a brilliantly performed Best of Free, with the exception of The Firm’s Satisfaction Guaranteed, You Are My Saving Grace and an incredible version of Run With The Pack.

Surprise of the Night Number One was a duet with a blonde lady (PR did mention her name twice but I didn’t get it) on Be My Friend that transformed the original plea of a lonely man into a sexually charged commitment to be a little more the just one’s friend.  Once again, the girls in the audience were screaming for more, including a seemingly out of place girl with a mohican in the front row.

A storming version of All Right Now signalled the end of the main set, and then Surprise of the Night Number Two; a guest appearance by Mick Ralphs. Given that Simon Kirke was drumming, this was the first time that a UK audience would have seen Bad Company on stage in around 20 years. Those who had seen Mott The Hoople’s incredible return to the stage at this very same venue barely a month ago will not be surprised to hear that Ralphs is in great form, as witnessed on the most incredible version of Can’t Get Enough. A final reading of Hendrix’s Angel left the audience wanting more, but probably wanting too much more, and unfortunately there were some boos when the house lights went on……I guess it did seem early at a few minutes before ten.

As always, Paul Rodgers delivers brilliantly, his voice is in perfect shape! As with the Mott shows the concert was recorded for a limited edition live album that can be ordered online (unlike the Mott show it wasn’t available for sale at the gig). It was such a great show I’m more then likely to order it.

Ziggy Rokita