Born on July 28, 1949 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, Simon Kirke is best known as drummer in Free and Bad Company. In 2005 he guested with Bo Diddley, also known as "The Originator".



Still a member of Bad Company, Kirke started hanging out with the Rolling Stones at their sessions in Paris in early 1978. Though he did not contribute to "Some Girls", he did occasionally sit in and jam with them.



Through the years of the Stones recording in Paris (right through "Dirty Work" in 1985), Simon Kirke became friends and would often attend their sessions.



When Charlie Watts cut his hand in the middle of the 1985 sessions, Kirke was a temporary replacement, though his work did not end up on the album. Simon Kirke also replaced Charlie for a good part of the Rolling Stones' private memorial concert for Ian Stewart in February 1986, because Charlie was late in arriving. In 1988, Kirke was recruited by Mick Jagger as a session drummer for his solo tour of Japan.



Simon Kirke has also occasionally played on other artists records, most recently (1999) with Wilson Pickett. In 1992 he played on Ron Wood's 'Slide On This' album.