Paul Rodgers insists he’s still learning

Former Free and Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers insists he’s still learning, despite being in the music business for decades.

And he says he’s managed to keep his voice strong because he’s looked after himself down the years.

He tells Indie Power: “As the years go by, I start to realise how blessed and lucky I am. I take care of myself – I think you sing with your whole body, it’s not just the voice.

“As a young kid, I went through that whole stage where temptation was there in front of me and one overindulges when you’re younger and you pay the price in later years. But I always realised how important it was for me to take care of myself and my voice if I was going to have a voice when I was older – and I’m glad I did, ultimately because I’d like to think I’m still learning.”

He continues: “It’s all still very fresh for me – it’s still new. When I get up on stage with other musicians, it’s like for the first time. I want to keep it that way, I want to keep it exciting because it’s not going to be exciting for the listener if it’s not exciting for the artist. I want to be inspired by it – and I am.”

The former Queen man plays at London’s Royal Albert Hall on November 3, where he be joined by Rev Charles Hodges Sr, Leroy Hodges, Archie ‘Hubby’ Turner, Michael Toles, Steve Potts and the Royal Singers, who also played on the singer’s The Royal Sessions which launched in January.

Earlier this year, Queen guitarist Brian May said frontman Adam Lambert was a better match for their music than Rodgers.

Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald newspapers, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.