Simon Kirke

Simon Kirke was born in London but now resides in New York City. He’s a founding member of two of the most influential bands in rock history: Free and Bad Company. Although his primary instrument is drums, he also plays guitar, bass and piano. He’s also a songwriter and producer, and was honored by ASCAP for his song “Bad Company,” which he cowrote with Paul Rodgers. The album with the same name has sold 15 million copies worldwide, and total sales for Free and Bad Company are in excess of 50 million.

Kirke’s session credits include recordings with Wilson Pickett, Chuck Berry, Ronnie Wood and Ray Charles. He has toured three times with Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band. He has appeared on 28 albums with Free and Bad Company, as well as writing and performing three of his own solo albums: “Seven Rays of Hope,” “Filling the Void” and “All Because of You”—which is dedicated to his wife, Maria. In 2017, he was honored by Rockers on Broadway.

Kirke is on the board of the Recording Academy and two charities helping with addiction: Road Recovery and Right Turn. He made his scoring debut with Jeff Tipton’s “Sunset Blvd.” in 2021 and completed another Tipton movie, “Lovers Leap,” in 2022.