Bad Company

Manchester Apollo

Monday 23 September 2002

This was sheer brilliance, nothing more, nothing less. It can't quite rank as my favourite concert of all time due to the all round brilliance and nostalgia of Deep Purple, but it will always be well up there. The only grouse I have about it is that it isn't the original group, the guitarist and bass player being 'new'. That's only a small moan though because Paul Rogers is the heart and soul of the group, was in magnificent form, and is without doubt one of the best ever vocalists in rock music. A few work outs in the gym also seemed to have seen him seeing off the years in a way that Robert Plant was soon to have seen signally not to have done. Having said that, he was much more reminiscent of David Baddiel from Football Fantasy league fame than the lean mean seventies singer we recognise so well from umpteen episodes of TOTP 2. Simon Kirke is the original drummer in Free and Bad Company, has a highly distinctive style, and like Paul Rogers, was in top form. And despite my grouse, the guitarist and bass player were brilliant and it would be hard, listening to them, not to believe they actually aren't the original members. Bad Company are one of the select groups that I have liked since time immemorial, perhaps not up there with the likes of Deep Purple or Pink Floyd, but without doubt one of the seminal influences in my record collection. After tonight I suddenly realized how influential they have been on music as a whole: not only have the likes of  Whitesnake and Foreigner based their entire careers on copying them, but they virtually invented the whole concept of Adult Oriented Rock, from whence spring an endless list of imitators. Tonight's concert was close to perfection, only one new song, first up, and then a run through of every classic Bad Company and Free song you can think of, plus some Beatles and others for good measure. I was perfectly placed in the middle of the stage just a few rows back, had a fantastic view and the sound was even better, without doubt the best acoustics yet at a concert. It was very loud indeed; totally outdoing Deep Purple, yet was crystal clear. The bass was deep and punchy and the drum was sharp and verily went through you, indeed it really was a wall of sound, the air vibrated in tune with the music. Towering above the acoustics though were the fantastic vocals of Paul Rogers, and despite advancing years he is obviously on a 10 point plan fitness regime – for once the rock dinosaurs were in the audience, not in the band. In short, this was rock music like it used to be: I went away with an enormous smile on my face and a warm feeling inside and enjoyed it so much that immediately on getting home I scoured the internet to get a live video so that the memory can stay with me forever. (19.10.03)