Mick Ralphs, Founding Member of Bad Company & Mott the Hoople, Dies at 81

Mick Ralphs, the co-founding guitarist of rock bands Bad Company and Mott the Hoople, has died at age 81.

In a post to Bad Company’s official social media account on Monday (June 23), the guitarist’s bandmates announced his death to the public. Ralphs is survived by his partner, Susie Chavasse, and his three step-children. A cause of death was not shared at press time.

In a statement shared alongside the news, Ralphs’ bandmate and Bad Company lead vocalist Paul Rodgers celebrated the life of his friend. “Our Mick has passed, my heart just hit the ground. He has left us with exceptional songs and memories,” Rodgers wrote. “He was my friend, my songwriting partner, an amazing and versatile guitarist who had the greatest sense of humour. Our last conversation a few days ago we shared a laugh but it won’t be our last. There are many memories of Mick that will create laughter.”

Drummer Simon Kirke shared his own tribute to the band’s post, calling Ralph “a dear friend, a wonderful songwriter, and an exceptional guitarist,” and simply adding, “We will miss him deeply.”

The news of Ralphs’ death comes just two months after Bad Company was announced as one of the inductees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025, which the band called a “fitting tribute to the band’s enduring influence” in their memorial post for the guitarist. The band will be formally inducted to the Hall of Fame on Nov. 8.

Bad Company’s debut, self-titled 1974 album earned the band their first and only No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. The band’s debut single “Can’t Get Enough” reached a No. 5 peak on the Billboard Hot 100, which remains their highest-charting song on the list to date. Mott the Hoople, meanwhile, earned their highest-ranking track on the Hot 100 in November 1972, when the David Bowie-written “All the Young Dudes” reached No. 37 on the all-genre chart.