BAD COMPANY Straight Shooter (Swan Song)

Bad Company was conceived by a collection of musical misfits. Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke from Free, Mick Ralphsfrom Mott, and Boz Burrell from King Crimson were dulled with discontent and bored with their respective bands. They all needed a new lease on life, and wanted a stab at surmounting the rock mediocrity that the seventies had spawned so far. Like a rock version of The Towering Inferno, this star studded cast had more than an even chance with a rat-shrewd manager like Peter Grant, and Swan Song’s high voltage VP, Danny Goldberg behind them, their eyes cocked on success. Unfortunately this notorious lineup was burdened with the tag of supergroup, when all they wanted was acceptance as a new band, losing their past that dragged behind them like an ugly shadow. They didn’t have to worry for long, their first gigs in early June of last year were smashes, their popularity blazing like summer sparklers. It was as if Bad Company were a candle that had suddenly flashed incandescent. Whether it was accident or design, this hybrid band was becoming known as the great white hope of the seventies.