What is Simon Kirke’s Net Worth?
Simon Kirke is an English musician who has a net worth of $20 million.
Simon Kirke is best known as the co-founder and original drummer of the English rock bands Free and Bad Company. Notably, he has been the only continuous member of Bad Company since its founding in 1973. Beyond his two main bands, Kirke has released some collaborative and solo albums.
The band Free released six studio albums. Their 1970 album Fire and Water hit #17 on the Billboard 200 and #2 on the UK Top 100 charts. The band’s signature song is “All Right Now”. The group disbanded in 1973 and Kirke and Rodgers went on to form the band Bad Company. Bad Company released 12 studio albums. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1974 and hit #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Their first four albums were all certified Gold and their fifth was 2x Platinum. The band’s hits include “Bad Company”, “Can’t Get Enough”, “Rock and Roll Fantasy”, “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad”, and “Feel Like Makin’ Love”. Kirke has released two solo albums and an album with Kossoff Kirke Tesu Rabbit. He toured with Ringo Starr’s All Star band three times. He is on the board and is a counselor at Rock ‘n Roll Fantasy Camp and is a governor on the board of the Grammy Award committee NARAS.
Early Life
Simon Kirke was born on July 28, 1949 in Lambeth, South London, England to Vivian and Olive. He descended from Nottinghamshire landed gentry on his father’s side, and from the Gibson-Craig baronets on his mother’s side. Kirke spent much of his early life in the countryside of Wales. After leaving school at the age of 17, he returned to London and sought a drumming job in the city’s burgeoning blues scene. Unable to find a gig after nearly two years, he finally found an opportunity when he met guitarist Paul Kossoff, who was playing in a band called Black Cat Bones. Kirke ended up playing drums in the band for a while.
Free
In 1968, Kirke and Kossoff formed the rock band Free with vocalist Paul Rodgers and bassist Andy Fraser. The group quickly recorded its first studio album, “Tons of Sobs,” which was released in the UK in early 1969 on Island Records. Free released its second, self-titled album later in the year. Neither of these first two albums sold particularly well. The band had its commercial breakthrough with its third album, “Fire and Water,” which came out in 1970. Making it to number two on the UK Albums Chart, the album spawned Free’s signature hit song, “All Right Now,” which reached number one in over 20 territories worldwide. The song helped the band land a gig at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.
Following the huge success of “Fire and Water” and “All Right Now,” Free had a commercial disappointment with the album “Highway.” The band bounced back in 1971 with the single “My Brother Jake,” which reached number four in the UK. After that, Free disbanded amid tension between Rodgers and Fraser. The group reunited in 1972 and released the album “Free at Last.” Fraser soon left the band, and the remaining members recruited Japanese bassist Tetsu Yamauchi and keyboardist John Bundrick. The new lineup recorded the final Free album, “Heartbreaker,” which was released in late 1972. Free disbanded the following year.
Bad Company
After the disbanding of Free, Kirke and Rodgers formed the rock supergroup Bad Company with guitarist Mick Ralphs and bassist Boz Burrell. The band had immediate success with its self-titled debut studio album, which reached number three in the UK and number one in the US. Bad Company continued its success with its second album, 1975’s “Straight Shooter,” which peaked at number three in both the UK and US and featured the popular singles “Good Lovin’ Gone Bad” and “Feel Like Makin’ Love.” The band’s next album, “Run with the Pack,” reached number four in the UK and number five in the US after its release in 1976. It spawned a few rock radio staple songs, including the title track and “Silver, Blue and Gold.” Bad Company went on to release the albums “Burnin’ Sky” in 1977 and “Desolation Angels” in 1979. In 1982, the band released “Rough Diamonds,” its last album with the original lineup. After that, Bad Company disbanded.
After reforming the band with Brian Howe as the new frontman, Bad Company released the album “Fame and Fortune” in 1986. That was followed two years later by “Dangerous Age,” the first Bad Company album with Steve Price as bass guitarist. In 1990, the band released “Holy Water,” which launched the successful songs “If You Needed Somebody,” “Boys Cry Tough,” and the title track. Bad Company’s tenth studio album, “Here Comes Trouble,” came out in 1992; it was the last one with Howe as the frontman. The band’s next studio album, 1995’s “Company of Strangers,” featured Robert Hart as the lead vocalist. Hart stayed on for the album “Stories Told & Untold” in 1996. Since then, Bad Company has only released compilation albums and live albums. The band has also continued to tour, with Kirke being the only remaining original member.
Other Musical Projects
Among his other musical projects, Kirke released a collaborative album, “Kossoff Kirke Tetsu Rabbit,” with his fellow Free bandmate Paul Kossoff and future Free bandmates Tetsu Yamauchi and John Bundrick. The album came out in 1972. A decade later, Kirke joined the band Wildlife, which released its self-titled debut album in 1983. Kirke later began a solo career, releasing the albums “Seven Rays of Hope” (2005), “Filling the Void” (2011), and “All Because of You” (2017).
Personal Life and Real Estate
With his wife Maria, Kirke has three children named Domino, Jemima, and Lola. All three are in show business, with Domino being a singer, Jemima Kirke being an artist and actress known for her role on the HBO television series “Girls,” and Lola being an actress and singer-songwriter who starred in the Noah Baumbach film “Mistress America.” Kirke also had a son named Simon from his previous relationship to Marissa Creager; he passed away in 2017 from complications of cerebral palsy.
Simon owns several properties in East Hampton and an apartment in Manhattan. His primary estate in East Hampton is a large mansion with sprawling lawns. It’s probably worth around $10 million. In 2009, Simon’s ex-wife Lorraine listed an 11-bedroom mansion in East Hampton for $9 million. In 2016 Simon listed a cottage he owns in the area for $1.4 million.
