Bad Company’s Paul Rodgers shares speech after missing Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction

November 10, 2025 2

Paul Rodgers performs onstage during the 2023 CMT Music Awards at Moody Center on April 02, 2023 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for CMT)

Bad Company‘s Paul Rodgers couldn’t make it to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony Saturday due to health issues, so he’s decided to share his induction speech in a video posted to YouTube.

In the clip, Rodgers recalls that when he was 14 a teacher told his class that most of them, if not all, would wind up working in the steel mills, chemical factories and shipyards of his hometown of Middlesbrough, in northeast England.

“That night, I went to a dance and I heard a record by Little Richard,” he said, “And a whole box of fireworks went off in my head, rockets and all. And I thought to myself, I’m going to follow that music and find out all about it.”

“That’s what I did. I followed that music. Sixty plus years went by in the blink of an eye, and I find myself being inducted into the brotherhood and sisterhood of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with my bandmates Bad Company,” he added.

Rodgers went on to mention his bandmates, and thank the Rock Hall, his wife, family members, managers, artists he’s played with and more.

He also thanked their fans “for enabling us to live our dream,” and Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, who signed them to their Swan Song label “for their total support from the start.”

Bad Company’s Rock Hall induction featured an introduction by Mick Fleetwood, and a performance featuring the band’s drummer Simon Kirke, Aerosmith’s Joe Perry, Heart’s Nancy Wilson, The Black Crowes‘ Chris Robinson and Bryan Adams.

Highlights from the 2025 Rock Hall induction ceremony will air Jan. 1 on ABC.