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13 ноя 2025
BAD COMPANY Drummer SIMON KIRKE's Advice To Young Musicians: 'Stay Away From Drugs' And 'Be On Time'
Asked what advice he would give to young musicians about how to deal with peer pressure, especially in the age of social media, and avoid going down the wrong path, Simon said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Peer pressure is so rampant now. It has been for every generation of musicians. But with social media, it's off the charts. And the cyber bullying that takes place…. Kids are killing themselves 'cause they're getting cyberbullying. I don't wanna get off the subject, but stay off drugs. Stay away from drugs, because the path of my past is littered with hundreds of people — boys and girls, men and women — who went way before their time. And I know you can [say], 'Man, [I'm] gonna have bit of weed and have a little sniff of something.' You don't know what's in that sniff anymore — you don't. The shit that I used to snort was maybe 10 percent pure, but at least it didn't have fentanyl in it.
"I don't wanna sound like an old fart, 'cause I am, but don't go down that drug path, man," Simon repeated. "Really don't. Because the other thing is, since the advent of YouTube and TikTok, I am seeing musicians who knock on me sideways, and they're 12, 13, 14 years old. There's guitarists out there, there's drummers out there — there's a little girl in Japan who's probably 15 now, she plays like John Bonham. My point being the competition is just off the chart. And I know just up the road you've got one of the best musical universities in the world in Berklee, and I did a little talk there, because for some reason they wanted me to talk and I gave them the same message. Be on time, 'cause when you're late, you disrespect everyone else. Don't come in 15 minutes later, 'Oh, I didn't do my homework. Sorry,' and there's a rock falling out your nose. 'Cause you are wasting your life, just wasting your life.
"If you're a member of Berklee [College Of Music] or Oberlin or Juilliard, you are in a privileged place and your parents are paying up the wazoo for you to be there," Kirke added. "So don't waste your time with drugs. Listen, have a drink now again, if you wanna socialize and you don't wanna be a nerd. Everyone goes through that. But if you see warning signs, you start drinking more than you should, just put your hand up and say, 'I got a problem.' 'Cause you couldn't do that in the '60s and '70s. If you said, 'I got a problem,' [they'd call you] a wimp. 'You can't hold your drink.' No, I can't hold my drink, 'cause when I have one beer, I want 20 more. And that's how it is with alcoholics. And then you get behind the wheel of a car. Boom. End of your life."
Kirke and singer Paul Rodgers are the last surviving original members of the British supergroup BAD COMPANY which will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame tonight (Saturday, November 8) at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The ceremony will stream live on Disney+. ABC will air a prime-time special on January 1, available on Hulu the next day.
BAD COMPANY guitarist Mick Ralphs died in June, just weeks after learning the band was going to be inducted into the Rock Hall.
Earlier this month, Rodgers announced that he would skip the Rock Hall ceremony "to prioritize [his] health," but he said Kirke will be there and "some outstanding musicians."
Born and raised in London, THE BEATLES perked a teenage Simon's interest in rock music, and he picked up the drums — leading to a gig with a local band called THE MANIACS, on which Simon supplied drums and lead vocals (something quite uncommon at the time).
Simon worked out a deal with his parents after graduating high school, that if he couldn't "make it" as a drummer in a band within a two-year period, that he would begin a college career. Just a few months before the deadline, Simon landed a gig with a group called the BLACK CAT BONES. The drummer befriended the group's talented guitarist, Paul Kossoff, who in turn convinced Simon to leave the group with him and begin a new outfit with singer Paul Rodgers. Soon ex-JOHN MAYALL'S BLUESBREAKERS bassist Andy Fraser signed on and FREE was officially formed in 1968. Mixing blues with hard rock, the group would prove to be quite influential, especially on the strength of their classic 1970 release, "Fire And Water", and its strutting, anthemic hit single "All Right Now".
When the band broke up, it didn't take Simon long to find another gig, joining Paul Rodgers in a new band, BAD COMPANY, which was quite similar stylistically to FREE. Joined by ex-KING CRIMSON bassist Boz Burrell and ex-MOTT THE HOOPLE guitarist Mick Ralphs, BAD COMPANY was the first group signed to LED ZEPPELIN's record label, Swan Song. Their debut album, 1974's "Bad Company", would go on to become one of hard rock's all-time classics, as it birthed such long-standing rock radio standards as "Can't Get Enough", "Ready For Love" and the title track, written by Paul and Simon himself. The group hails as one of the all-time top rock outfits. Kirke is the only member of BAD COMPANY who's been in every lineup of the band.
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