The South Holland musician who rocked the world in Bad Company

BBC Radio Lincolnshire is to air a documentary about South Holland born musician Boz Burrell who played with bands including Bad Company and King Crimson.

The programme includes interviews with musicians who played with Burrell, including Paul Rodgers, vocalist with Free, Bad Company and, after Freddie Mercury died, Queen.

While Bad Company enjoyed significant success in the UK they were considered a major force in the USA in the 70s.

Radio Lincolnshire’s Chris Berrow presents the one hour documentary and also chats to Burrell’s friends and family who reveal some little known facts about him.

Geoff Cooper, a schoolfriend of Boz, tells Berrow that Burrell was born in Saracen’s Head not Holbeach as has been reported previously.

Paul Rodgers remembers how Burrell came to join Bad Company: “We tried about eight bass players…. then Boz came along… we had the song Bad Company and we played that. It clicked together and everything went swimmingly from then on.

“Boz was always a lot of fun, he wanted to write songs… he came up with Gone, Gone, Gone which is still in the set to this day. The story of the lyric sums him up.

“He was a superb bass player but he was very serious about his music. When we went on the stage there was only the four of us… we looked to each other to keep the show strong. We depended on each other very much so we were very close.”

There are interviews musicians Simon Kirke (Bad Company, Free) and Zoot Money (Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band); relatives including Martha Burrell, Boz’s niece and Irene Kennedy Boz’s cousin; and school friends Bernie Rudd, Brian Green, Geoff Cooper, John Halsey and Keith Green.

The documentary features music from some of the bands Boz Burrell played with including the Bad Company hits Feel Like Makin’ Love and Gone, Gone, Gone (which Boz Burrell also wrote) and an extract from Islands by King Crimson.

Boz - real name Raymond - died aged 60 in 2006.

Bad Company’s Bassist: Lincolnshire’s Boz Burrell airs on April, 22 at 12pm. The programme will also be available to listen on BBC Sounds.