Paul Rodgers “dodged a bullet” by skipping Bad Company’s induction into the Rock Roll Hall Of Fame.
The two surviving members of the group had been due to perform together for the first time in six years at the Rock Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on November 8, but Rodgers didn’t part due to health issues which prevented him from travelling – and he’s now admitted he has no regrets about missing the big monent.
He told Rolling Stone Brasil: “About a week prior to leaving for rehearsals for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction and TV show, my blood pressure was very high and I started to have chest pains and heart palpitations.
“I saw my doctor, who absolutely forbid me to get on a plane. He recommended that I stay home, rest and remain calm, and I feel that I dodged a bullet by doing that.
“I am in the zen phase of my life and enjoy being immersed in a peaceful and calm life. I can sing again and play daily to a crowd of one.”
Rodgers previously confirmed he would not be attending in a post on Instagram, writing: “My hope was to be at the Rock Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony and to perform for the fans, but at this time I have to prioritize my health.
“I have no problem singing, it’s the stress of everything else. Thanks for understanding. Simon along with some outstanding musicians will be stepping in for me – guaranteed to rock.”
Bad Company – made up of frontman Rodgers, drummer Kirke, late guitarist Mick Ralphs and late bassist Boz Burrell – was among the acts saluted at the annual ceremony.
Ralphs died in June at the age of 81 while Burrell passed away in 2006. The band’s former vocalist Brian Howe died in 2020 at the age of 66.
Rodgers and Kirke last performed together in 2019 but they retired the band in 2023 after the singer suffered a series of strokes.
In 2023, Rodgers admitted he’d been left struggling to speak, telling CBS Mornings: “I couldn’t do anything, to be honest. I couldn’t speak.
“That was the very strange thing. You know, I’d prepare something in my mind and I’d say it, but that isn’t what came out and I’d go: ‘What the heck did I just say?'”
The singer underwent surgery after his second major stroke in 2019 and subsequently made a recovery which allowed him to return to music and release his 2023 album Midnight Rose.
Rodgers previously admitted he didn’t think he would survive the operation, telling CBS: “They told me, they’re very clear: ‘You may not come out of this alive.’ And I said; ‘Oh, well, that’s a plus, isn’t it?’
“And when I woke up, I opened my eyes, I thought: ‘Oh, I’m still here.’ …[As I recovered] each thing that I did was an achievement … ‘Oh, I can do this. I can sing’.”