Bad Company and Mott the Hoople co-founder was 81

Mick Ralphs, co-founder of Bad Company influential rock groups and Mott the Hoople and soon inducted in rock and roll Hall of Fame, died. He was 81 years old.

The death of Ralphs was announced with a message on the official Facebook page of Bad Company, which did not give a date or cause of death from Ralphs.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce the death of our beloved Mick Ralphs,” wrote the group. “Paul Rodgers of free met Mick Ralphs for the first time in 1971. After an inspired Jam session and a mutual sharing of songs, Ralphs made the daring decision to leave Mott Le Cerceau and to form a new group with Rodgers, and Bad Company was born. The company became the first group signed with the Swan Songlin Label.”

Bad Company noted that Ralphs “had undergone a debilitating stroke” after his last performance with them, on October 29, 2016, at the O2 Arena in London, and “stayed in bed until his death”.

Ralphs started playing the guitar blues in adolescence in England, according to the Associated Press. In 1966, when he was at the beginning of the twenties, he co -founded the group which would finally become Mott Le Cerceau. But while they attracted fans of the hard-core, including David Bowie, who gave them the song “All The Young Dudes”, their albums failed.

He left to form a bad company with Rodgers, and they were joined by Kirke and Burrell, who had all left their own groups. This new group was an immediate success and its first three albums – 1974 Bad business1975 Right shooterAnd Run with the pack (1976) – reached the top five charts both in the United Kingdom and American songs such as “Bad Company”, “Can’t Get Enough”, “Shooting Star”, “Burnin ‘Sky” and “Rock’ N ‘Roll Fantasy” were radio tubes.

“Feel Like Makin ‘Love”, from 1975, for example, became a must in classical rock. And it was Ralphs who added “the big guitar Bada Bada Ba”, according to the group’s biography.

While Bad Company broke up in 1982, various queues continued to record in the following decades and turn even beyond. Ralphs was part of it.

Bad Company is one of the 13 acts selected for the 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class, which will be inducted in November.

Rodgers shared in the post: “Our Mick has passed, my heart has just hit the ground. He left us exceptional songs and memories. He was my friend, my partner of song composition, an incredible and versatile guitarist who had the greatest sense of humor. Our last conversation a few days ago.

Kirke made his own statement: “He was a dear friend, a wonderful songwriter and an exceptional guitarist. We will miss it deep.”

Ralphs is survived by “the love of her life” Susie Chavasse, her two children, three Beaux-Enfants, as well as Rodgers and Kirke. The group said that, moreover, it “leaves millions of fans and devoted friends behind the world behind”.