Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Paul Rodgers to miss Bad Company’s induction due to health issues
Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers will miss the band’s upcoming induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as he is focusing on prioritising his health.
Rodgers admitted the unfortunate news in a statement on his Instagram on November 3rd, ahead of the ceremony on November 8th.
In his post, the singer said: My hope was to be at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony and to perform for the fans, but at this time I have to prioritise my health. I have no problem singing, it’s the stress of everything else. Thank you for understanding.”
Rodgers, alongside his fellow surviving bandmate, drummer Simon Kirke, had been due to perform at the event at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles, marking their first outing as Bad Company since 2019. Despite the frontman’s health issues now getting in the way of this, he added in his statement: “Simon along with some outstanding musicians will be stepping in for me – guaranteed to rock.”
He and Kirke are now the only two remaining members of the 1970s rock supergroup, after guitarist Mick Ralphs died at the age of 81 in June this year, and their bassist Boz Burrell passed away in 2006. Additionally, the band’s original lead singer, Brian Howe, also died back in 2020.
The frontman’s health issues began a number of years ago when he suffered a series of strokes, which left him unable to speak and having to start a process of relearning to talk. He admitted in an interview two years ago: “I couldn’t do anything, to be honest. I couldn’t speak. That was the very strange thing. You know, I’d prepare something in my mind and I’d say it, but that isn’t what came out and I’d go: ‘What the heck did I just say?'”
Despite this, Rodgers managed to make enough of a recovery that, even though Bad Company had retired performing by this point, he was able to release his album, Midnight Rose, in 2023.
Elsewhere at the induction ceremony, Bad Company are still set to receive their honour alongside OutKast, Soundgarden, The White Stripes, Cyndi Lauper, Chubby Checker, and Joe Cocker in the ‘Performance Category’.
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