Rock and Roll Legend Simon Kirke
ARCHIVE: August 18, 2007
Legendary Bad Company drummer and Grammy® Award winner Simon Kirke performed at Merrimack Hall Performing Arts Center in a concert featuring Larry Oakes, former guitarist for Foreigner.
Simon Kirke was born in London and spent his early years living in Wales. He left school at 17 and returned to London in 1967 to pursue his musical career in London’s booming blues music scene. After a six-month stint as the drummer for the “Black Cat Bones”, Simon formed the band “Free” with Paul Kossoff, Paul Rogers and Andy Fraser. “Free” performed and recorded for four years and during that time had an enormous influence on bands on both sides of the Atlantic. Their biggest hit, “Alright Now” has become a rock classic and recently polled over 2 million plays on the radio.
In 1973, Kirke and Rogers teamed up to form “Bad Company”. They were joined by guitarist Mick Ralphs and bassist Boz Burrell. “Bad Company” became one of the biggest and best live acts of all time and have sold approximately 60 million singles and albums to date.
In addition to his work with “Bad Company”, Kirke is an accomplished songwriter and released “Seven Rays of Hope” in 2005. He has performed with Ringo Starr’s Allstar Band on three separate tours, and has worked on projects with luminous musicians such as Wilson Pickett, Bo Didley, Ray Charles, Jerry Lee lewis, Keith Richards, Ronnie Woods and Eric Clapton. Kirke is a Governor on the Board of NARAS, the Grammy Selection Committee. He lives in New York City with his wife and four children, and continues to perform, record and write music for himself and other musicians.
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Many thanks to our corporate sponsors:
Simon Kirke Drum Workshop:
In addition to his concert performance, Kirke conducted a one-of-a-kind master drum workshop for local high school drummers. Scholarships to deserving drummers were awarded by Merrimack Hall Performing Arts Center for the drum workshop.
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