Listen to Bad Company Drummer Simon Kirke’s Ukulele Cover of ‘Feel Like Making Love': Exclusive Premiere
Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke is stepping out from behind the kit and into the spotlight with his upcoming solo album, All Because of You — and a ukulele-fueled new cover of the band's rock standard "Feel Like Making Love."
For longtime fans of the band, Kirke's quieter take on the group's signature sound won't come as a big surprise — despite his percussive position in the lineup, he's shown a softer side with his songs on Bad Company albums like Holy Water (which closes with his brief acoustic number "100 Miles"), and he's gone the solo route previously, releasing Filling the Void in 2011. The decision to cover such a well-known track in a new light still might catch a few listeners off guard, but Kirke insists it happened purely organically.
You can hear the song below.
"I was noodling on my ukulele playing 'Feel Like Making Love' just for fun and my fiancée Maria said, 'You should do that onstage,'" recalls Kirke. "I told her it was an iconic song of Bad Company's and she said, 'So? Do your own version. It's fun.' I played it to the Empty Pockets and they loved it. ... So here it is."
The Empty Pockets Kirke mentions are a band out of Chicago who join him on the new album, which is due out on Feb. 10 and available to pre-order now. Working with a new combo isn't the only way he stepped out of his usual comfort zone, either.
"I consider it a musical milestone for me, personally," Kirke told the Daily Public. "I was able to apply a wish list of things to several songs: A string quartet, a gospel choir, and pedal steel guitar. Plus Warren Haynes played guitar on one song. He absolutely smoked it!"
Check out the complete All Because of You track listing below.
Simon Kirke, 'All Because of You' Track Listing
"All Because of You"
"Warm Gulf Waters"
"Feel Like Making Love"
"Melting On Madison"
"Maria"
"Wind and the Rain"
"Into the Light"
"Friends in the Woods"
"Lie with You"
"Trouble Road"
"Stay with Me"
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