Mick Ralphs, of Mott the Hoople and Bad Company, Dies at 81
Mick Ralphs, a British guitarist and songwriter who glittered at the peak of glam rock with Mott the Hoople before joining forces with the vocalist Paul Rodgers to form Bad Company, the hard-rock quartet that rode high in the feathered-hair 1970s with anthems like 'Can't Get Enough' and 'Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy,' has died. He was 81.
His death was announced on Monday in a statement on the official Bad Company site, which noted that he had suffered a stroke days after his final performance with the group in October 2016 and had remained bedridden until his death. The statement did not say where or when he had died, or give a specific cause.
Bad Company, scheduled to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November, combined muscular stadium rock with infectious hooks to become one of the most commercially successful groups of its era.
Formed in 1973, the group originally consisted of Mr. Ralphs (late of Mott the Hoople, known for the 1972 hit 'All the Young Dudes'); Mr. Rodgers and the drummer Simon Kirke, both previously of Free, whose arena-shaking 'All Right Now' was a No. 4 hit in 1970; and the bassist Boz Burrell, a veteran of King Crimson.
Bad Company became an FM radio force. It sold more than a million copies of its first three albums, starting with its 1974 debut, called simply 'Bad Company,' which hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and featured 'Can't Get Enough,' a bluesy thumper written by Mr. Ralphs that soared to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jeff Bezos Reportedly Spoils New Wife Lauren Sanchez With Multi-Million Dollar Jewelry As Wedding Gift
As Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez celebrate their long-awaited wedding in Venice, new reports have emerged claiming that the Amazon founder gifted his bride a multimillion-dollar piece of jewelry to mark the occasion. The jewelry is said to feature a diamond necklace with a large center stone, accompanied by matching earrings to complement the set. This comes amid reports that Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez have actually been "secretly married" for over a month, with an ironclad prenuptial agreement in place. Tying the knot with billionaire Jeff Bezos was always going to be a grand affair, and now, insiders say Lauren Sánchez has been spoiled with a jaw-dropping gift fit for a queen. The gift is said to be a diamond necklace from a high-profile jeweler valued at a whopping $3 million to $5 million. "It's a diamond necklace that circles her neck with a large center stone and matching earrings," a source told Page Six. While pictures of the gift have yet to be seen, guests at the wedding may get a first glimpse of it, as the insider claimed that Sánchez will wear the "dazzling new gems" for the ceremony. "You won't be able to miss this elegant diamond necklace as it's almost as massive as Jeff's superyacht," the source added about the expensive piece. "Lauren is thrilled with her blinding new necklace and earrings that take her already impressive collection up several notches." Should Sánchez choose not to wear the new piece during her wedding festivities, she is expected to wear several others, whose total cost is said to be worth four to six times more. "It's said Lauren will wear a long list of precious jewels throughout the festivities that could easily be worth up to $20 or $30-plus million." This may include her $2.5 million ring, which the tech mogul gave her in 2023 when he popped the question. "I'm also told Lauren has her jewels and looks photographed days before she goes out in public so she knows what the photos will look like, and can change them if she's not absolutely thrilled with the way everything looks," the insider also said about Sanchez's jewelry. Previously, a Florida-based attorney claimed that Bezos and Sanchez had already tied the knot in the U.S. "Often, a marriage in foreign country is not valid in the USA, or creates other issues, so yes, it is likely they are already married," said the source, hinting at the reason behind the decision, per Page Six. Seemingly supporting the claim, an Italian official also revealed that Bezos and Sanchez did not file any documents to conduct a civil ceremony in Venice. If the couple's marriage is to be recognized as legal in Venice, they are required under Italian law to file these documents, including a "Dichiarazione Giurata" and an "Atto Notorio." "I can totally rule out that they will have a civil ceremony in Venice under Italian law," the official confirmed to The Times of London. A separate source confirmed the rumor of a secret wedding to the Daily Mail, telling the news outlet that Bezos and Sanchez have been married for over a month now. "They have been married for at least a month, more than a month. The marriage is fully legal and took place in America under American law," the source said. They continued, "When they were planning the wedding, they were clear about the fact that they were already secretly married." "There is no application for a wedding licence from the couple because it was not required," the source added. "Whatever happens at the wedding on Friday, it will not be a wedding. Under Italian law, it will not be a wedding celebration; any vows said or rings exchanged will have no legal meaning." Another rumor that has circulated is that Bezos and Sanchez have already signed a prenuptial agreement to secure the billionaire's $226.7 billion fortune. Although the details of its contents remain under wraps, sources say it will be enforceable despite the couple having their big wedding overseas. "They can get married anywhere as their prenup would generally be drafted to include its enforceability everywhere," a source said.
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Florence Pugh Stars in Yungblud's Emotional Video for New Single ‘Zombie': Watch
Yungblud has enlisted Florence Pugh for an emotional music video for new single 'Zombie.' The emotional ballad will feature on his upcoming fourth studio albums, Idols, out June 20. Pugh, who current stars in Marvel's Thunderbolts has form for appearing in music videos. In 2023, she played the leading role in rising British indie star Rachel Chinouriri's video for her single 'Never Need Me.' More from Billboard Yungblud on His Disruptive New Festival, Keeping Ticket Prices Down & His New Label Move Cynthia Erivo Opens Up About Her Queerness: 'The More Yourself You Are, The Better Understanding Starts to Happen' The Roots Apologize to Fans After First Day of 2025 Roots Picnic Marred By Long Lines: 'Safety Will Always Be Our Number 1 Priority' The video for 'Zombie' shows the toll health care professionals face in their role, and Yungblud (real name: Dominic Harrison) explained the track's origins in a new statement. 'The song was written initially about my grandmother going through serious injury and trauma, leading her to become a different person to who she was before,' he said. 'It's about the feeling of deterioration and ugliness; shutting out the world and the people we love out of the fear of becoming a burden or an embarrassment.' The artist added, 'We all want someone or something to comfort us no matter how we are right now or who we become in the future. But it's f—ing scary.' The song will feature on the British rocker's upcoming double album Idols, which will be released in two parts. The first half will drop on June 20, a day before his headline set at his own festival Bludfest in Milton Keynes, England. Chase Atlantic, Rachel Chinouriri and Denzel Curry all feature on the lineup. Harrison kicked off the Idols era back in March with the nine-minute LP opener 'Hello Heaven, Hello' showcasing his intent. In an accompanying press release, he said of the song: 'It's a journey of self-reclamation, a goodbye to the past and how you may have known or perceived me before, and a hello to the future and where I'm going. It sets the precedent for what this album is.' His past two albums under the Yungblud moniker — Weird! (2020) and Yungblud (2022) — both reached No. 1 on the U.K.'s Official Albums Chart. Watch the Charlie Sarsfield-directed video for 'Zombie' below. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The 1975 at Glastonbury 2025: 5 Best Moments From The Band's Stunning Headline Set
Ribbons of cigarette smoke, the rear half of a vintage car, a tattered leather jacket and black biker glove, box tattoos in full view: strewn across the Pyramid Stage were markers of The 1975's visual iconography from the past decade. Bathed in blistering white light, frontman Matty Healy came out swinging, clutching a pint of Guinness with a cigarette permanently affixed above his ear – a near-caricature of the gloomy, near-grungy rock star he started out as with the band's 2013 self-titled LP. More from Billboard Olivia Rodrigo & Ed Sheeran Perform 'The A Team' in Surprise London Duet Sabrina Carpenter's 'Manchild' Reclaims U.K. No .1 Single From Alex Warren Yungblud Storms to Third Consecutive U.K. No. 1 Album With 'Idols' The push-pull between vulnerability and an exploration of aesthetics has always been there in The 1975's music, manifesting in a trove of deep online lore, something which the band themselves tapped into as they hit the Pyramid Stage on Friday (June 27). 'We are The 1975 from the internet,' Healy quipped at one point, staring down the camera with a conspiratorial glimmer in his eye. For an hour and a half, without any instances of controversy-stoking showmanship – their last tour saw Healy devour raw meat on stage, lest we forget – the band turned over highlights from all five of their studio albums, highlighting the malleability and depth of their catalogue. This was a display of the questing musical curiosity which has made the band so beloved by Gen Z, an audience that is omnivorous in its taste, having grown up with infinite streaming possibilities. Hits of contrasting styles were rattled out one after the other, pairing the band's vintage teen-angst anthems with newer, more mature material. Healy offered earnest pronouncements about the band's 23-year-long friendship and what this moment meant to him – walking the line between tormented pop star and a conflicted, deeply human figure. There is an argument to be made, perhaps, that a set devoid of an element of surprise is a safe – and intriguing – approach to headlining the world's biggest stage. But from that decision came a genuinely immersive experience; even if, at times, it didn't raise many eyebrows, it was the kind of uplifting finely crafted Glastonbury set that no one present is likely to forget in a hurry. Here are the five best moments from their headline show below. In a callback to their history, during 'The Sound,' they referenced their 2017 BRITs performance (and the song's music video), which were interspersed with baby-pink visuals showing negative messages about the band. Critics' quotes such as 'out of tune', 'shallow' and 'punch-your-TV obnoxious' lit up the screens – all lifted from reviews of their debut album – before Healy began reading them out himself. 'Unconvincing emo lyrics,' he shouted gleefully, throwing his head back and laughing. In 2013, with a public image little more developed than that of being a chaotic 'internet boyfriend', almost every review marvelled at Healy's penchant for singing about drugs. Not least on early single 'Chocolate' – a song about fleeing the police with a stash of marijuana – where the sprightly melody soars at the expense of his enunciation. They visually played into this joke early on, with misspelled lyrics running on loop across the screens. 'We don't want our legacy to be one of politics, we want it to be that of love and friendship,' declared Healy as the show drew to a close. It was a curious statement to make, not least underneath the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament logo that adorns the top of the Pyramid Stage this year – and against a backdrop of geopolitical unrest, at a festival which is platforming artists (such as rap trio Kneecap) with strong positions on a range of global issues. The 1975, meanwhile, have long been associated with speaking out on climate and gun violence issues, but on Saturday, Healy said that going forward, he and the band are making a 'conscious decision' to step back from politics. Only time will tell. Mere seconds after Healy made a speech about his changing the way he approached activism, the band charged forward into protest song 'Love It If We Made It' – a curious choice, certainly, but one that unleashed four minutes of magnetic, righteous pop melodrama. Railing against social ills, the track remains a formidable cut, one that produces a towering wall of sound: chanting and intense, as maximalist a noise as The 1975 has ever produced. Having not released any new material since 2022's Being Funny In A Foreign Language, Glastonbury could have been a prime opportunity to preview the band's next era. Instead, they drew largely from their first three records, mixing some of their biggest hits ('Chocolate,' 'Sex', 'Love Me') with lesser-performed fan favourites ('I Couldn't Be More In Love'). Given the feast on offer, few cared about what they were not hearing. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
