Bad Company will release the complete recording of the last concert Mick Ralphs ever played with them. “Live In London” comes out on 13 November 2026 and captures their appearance at London’s O2 Arena on 29 October 2016.
Four days after that show, Ralphs suffered a stroke and never played again. The record was held back for ten years and now arrives for the night’s tenth anniversary. Pre-orders open alongside the first track, “Rock ’N’ Roll Fantasy (Live: O2 Arena, London – October 29, 2016)”, which comes with a video.
The recording comes straight off the console and captures Paul Rodgers, Ralphs and Simon Kirke across fifteen songs from the band’s whole catalogue. Rodgers dwelt particularly on “Ready For Love”: “The crowd and the band were in great form that night in London, the connection with the audience was palpable and they sang their hearts out. Thinking back on that night, Mick’s song was especially moving — we didn’t know he would have a stroke four days later.”
Kirke recalled a concert that gave no warning at all: “We were all in good spirits. Paul was playing brilliantly every night and Mick played with his usual taste and flair. It was the last time I ever played with him. If I’d known then, I would have hugged him a little tighter and a little longer.”
The show closed the 2016 UK tour, which had been presented as the Swan Song tour, after the label that signed them first. Ralphs would return to the stage on 4 November with the Mick Ralphs Blues Band; the stroke came first and left him bedbound, with the rest of his years spent in a nursing home. He died on 23 June 2025 at his home in Henley-on-Thames, at the age of 81 — two months after Bad Company were voted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and five before the official ceremony on 8 November 2025. It was their first nomination, even though they had been eligible for more than 25 years.
The set closed with an acoustic encore of “Seagull”. The gatefold double vinyl and the CD include unpublished photos from that night, a reproduction of the original setlist and notes written by Rodgers and Kirke.
See also: All the artists who passed away in 2025 | AC/DC – Brian Johnson talks about playing live at 78
Source: https://metal-stop.com/bad-company-to-release-mick-ralphs-final-concert-as-live-in-london-album/
