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b'Born and raised in\\xa0London,\\xa0Simon landed a gig with a group called the\\xa0Black Cat Bones. The drummer befriended the group\'s talented guitarist,\\xa0Paul Kossoff, who in turn convinced Simon to leave the group with him and begin a new outfit with singer\\xa0Paul Rodgers. Soon ex-John Mayall\'s Bluesbreakers bassist\\xa0Andy Fraser\\xa0signed on and\\xa0Free\\xa0was officially formed in 1968. Mixing blues with hard rock, the group would prove to be quite influential, especially on the strength of their classic Fire and Water, "All Right Now."\\xa0When the band broke up, it didn\'t take Simon long to find another gig, joining Paul Rodgers in a new band,\\xa0Bad Company. Joined by ex-King Crimson bassist\\xa0Boz Burrell\\xa0and ex-Mott the Hoople guitarist\\xa0Mick Ralphs, Bad Company was the first group signed to\\xa0Led Zeppelin\'s record label,\\xa0Swan Song. Their debut album, 1974\'s\\xa0Bad 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. \\xa0Simon Kirke is the only member of Bad Company who\\u2019s been in every lineup of the band.In addition to his work with Free and Bad Company, Simon has \\u201cguested\\u201d on a long list of recordings by other artists including Wilson Pickett, Faces, Gov\\u2019t Mule, Jim Capaldi\\xa0and\\xa0Ron Wood, among countless others and he is often found drumming live on tour with acts like\\xa0Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards\\xa0and\\xa0Ringo Starr & His All-Star Band. Simon just finished his latest solo record, "All Because of You," to be released on BMG Records in 2016. Presently, he is on-the-road for 2016 with Bad Company on their 2016 world tour with,\\xa0The Eagles\' Joe Walsh.'