Bad Company will put out the complete recording of the last show Mick Ralphs ever played with them. Live In London arrives on November 13, 2026 and documents the band’s performance at London’s O2 Arena on October 29, 2016.
Four days after that concert, Ralphs suffered a stroke. He never played again.
The album has been held back for a decade and is released to mark the tenth anniversary of the show. Pre-orders open today alongside the first track, “Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy (Live: O2 Arena, London – October 29, 2016)“, which comes with a video.
The recording was taken straight from the soundboard and captures Paul Rodgers, Ralphs and Simon Kirke working through fifteen songs spanning the band’s catalogue.
Rodgers pointed to one performance in particular.
“Both the fans and the band were in great form that night in London. The rapport with the audience was deeply felt, and they sang their hearts out. Thinking back to that evening in retrospect, Mick‘s song ‘Ready For Love‘ was particularly moving, singing ‘Walking down this rocky road wondering where my life is leading’; little did we know that Mick would suffer a stroke just four days after this concert,” he said.
Kirke described a night that gave no sign of what was coming.
“When Bad Company last played in London, it was at the O2 Arena,” he recalled. “We had enjoyed a great tour of England, and it would culminate in this final show. We were all in good spirits. Paul performed brilliantly every night, and Mick was playing with his usual taste and panache… It was the last time I ever played with Mick… Had I known that at the time, I would have hugged him a little tighter and a little longer.”
The concert closed the band’s 2016 British run, which had been billed as the Swan Song tour after the Led Zeppelin label that first signed them. Ralphs was due back onstage on November 4 with his own group, the Mick Ralphs Blues Band. The stroke came first, and left him bedridden. He spent his remaining years in a nursing home.
Mick Ralphs died on June 23, 2025 at his home in Henley-on-Thames. He was 81. He is survived by his partner, Susie Chavasse, two children and three stepchildren.
His death came two months after Bad Company were voted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and five months before the band were formally inducted on November 8, 2025. It was their first appearance on the ballot, despite having been eligible for more than 25 years.
The set ended with an acoustic encore of “Seagull“.
The double vinyl gatefold and the CD both carry previously unseen photographs from the night, a reproduction of the original setlist, and liner notes written by Rodgers and Kirke.
Live In London Tracklist:
- “Live For The Music“
- “Gone, Gone, Gone“
- “Feel Like Makin’ Love“
- “Electricland“
- “Burnin’ Sky“
- “Run With The Pack“
- “Ready For Love“
- “Crazy Circles“
- “Troubleshooter“
- “Movin’ On“
- “Shooting Star“
- “Can’t Get Enough“
- “Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy“
- “Bad Company“
- “Seagull“
Bad Company were formed in 1973 by Rodgers and Kirke, both from Free, with Ralphs arriving from Mott The Hoople and bassist Boz Burrell from King Crimson. Managed by Peter Grant, they became the first act signed to Swan Song. Their 1974 self-titled debut went five times platinum and produced “Can’t Get Enough“, “Movin’ On“, “Ready For Love” and the title track. Burrell died in 2006.
