Bad Company Reuniting For Summer Tour

BAD COMPANY REUNITING FOR SUMMER TOUR:

March 31, 2009

Gary Graff Billboard reports that after gathering for a one-off reunion last August, the surviving members of the original Bad Company — vocalist Paul Rodgers, guitarist Mick Ralphs and drummer Simon Kirke — will play a 10-show tour this summer.

The mostly East Coast dates, which kick off June 17 at the Seminole Hard Rock & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., will herald the release of Bad Company’s “Hard Rock Live” DVD, which was recorded at the same venue in 2008. The DVD will be sold at this summer’s concert, then released to retail on August 8.

Lynn Sorenson, the bassist from Rodgers’ solo band, will step in for Boz Burrell, who died in 2006, while Howard Leese, the former Heart principal who also works with Rodgers, will play second guitar. The Doobie Brothers will be opening all but the final show in Atlantic City.

Rodgers tells Billboard.com that the success of the 2008 reunion date inspired the band to play some more concerts together.

“It was a really good show — both the band and the fans were on fire,” recalls the singer, who broke away from his rehearsal schedule with Queen + Paul Rodgers to do that date. “Queen does fantastic versions of my material, but it was very authentic playing with the (Bad Company) guys, very much the real deal, I guess.”

And, Rodgers added, “we recorded a DVD that night, which we’re very proud of. The idea of releasing the DVD was a reality and supporting it is also a reality, and I think we really need to go out and do some dates in support of it. But I wanted to keep it to a minimum and keep it somewhat exclusive, too.”

The singer says he hopes to dig even deeper into the Bad Company catalog than the group did in 2008, mentioning “Silver, Blue and Gold” from 1976’s “Run With the Pack” as one he’d particularly like the bring into the set.

Rodgers says additional Bad Company shows are unlikely, as he plans to take the rest of the year off to focus on writing new material.

Courtesy of www.sleazeroxx.com and www.billboard.com