Original Bad Company Frontman Paul Rodgers Posts Message to Fans Confused After Brian Howe’s Death

British singer Paul Rodgers, the first singer for Bad Company, confirmed in a new Twitter video he is alive and well. Fans might have been confused about his health status after Bad Company’s second singer, Brian Howe, died on Wednesday. Howe, who sang for Bad Company from 1986 to 1994, died from a cardiac arrest at age 66, following a history of heart problems.

“Hi. It’s Paul Rodgers here,” Rodgers said in the brief clip he shared from his home in Canada. “It’s May the 7th, 2020. The reports of my demise are greatly exaggerated. I’m happy to say that I’m very much alive. Yeah. Take care of yourselves and each other. I hope to play for you again soon. Thanks for caring. I feel the love.”

Rodgers’ message did not include condolences to Howe’s family, which angered some of his followers. They also noted that Bad Company did not release a joint statement about Howe either, instead just retweeting Rodgers’ message. “Disgusting from Paul and the band, really tainted my view of both,” one fan wrote, while another added, “Lost some respect for you. Hope the Team PR works for free.”

Rodgers was the first lead singer for Bad Company, performing with the band until 1982, when the group disbanded for the first time. The group reunited in 1986, with Howe as their lead singer. He performed with the group until 1994, when Robert Hart briefly joined. Rodgers returned in 1998 and has performed with them on tours ever since.

Howe found his first success in the early 1980s when he sang lead vocals on Ted Nugent’s album Penetrator. When Bad Company looked to resume recording in 1986, he was hired as the new singer. The group’s hits with Howe included “This Love,” “No Smoke Without A Dire,” “One Night,” “If You Needed Somebody” and “How About That.” Howe recorded a handful of solo album,s including 2010’s Circus Bar.

“Leaving Bad Company was not a difficult decision, it had got to the point where nobody was contributing anything to songwriting and quite frankly the band was getting very very sloppy live,” Howe once told Melodic Rock. “I quite simply, along with Terry Thomas, got tired of doing all the work and then get nothing but resentment for it from Mick [Ralphs] and Simon [Kirke].”