Brian Anthony Howe (22 July 1953 – 6 May 2020) was an English rock singer, born in Portsmouth in 1953. Best known for replacing Paul Rodgers as the lead vocalist of Bad Company. Howe's career was jump-started in 1983 when Ted Nugent recruited him to handle lead vocals for his Penetrator album and front its subsequent world tour. He ultimately left to pursue a solo career and album due to lack of writing credits and an unfavorable contract. After a call from Mick Jones of Foreigner, whom Howe tried to work with earlier in his career, Howe was introduced to Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke, of Bad Company.

In 1986, Atlantic Records unveiled a new iteration of Bad Company, this time with Brian Howe filling the role of lead singer.  As Brian recalled, “Mick told me that I had to get away from Ted and go to New York where Mick and Simon wanted to meet with me.  So I made up some story to leave and went to the Mayflower Hotel, where we talked it over and decided to give things a go.”

Brian brought more of a pop-rock sound to the venerable band, something Atlantic Records embraced whole heartedly.  The album prior to Brian joining, Rough Diamonds, was far from a success, and audiences were declining as interest in the band waned.  

Keith Olsen, known for his work with Foreigner and Pat Benatar, was hired to produce the next album, 1986’s Fame and Fortune.  Unlike previous Bad Company albums, the new record was laden with keyboards, a reflection of a more commercial sound for that time.  Whilst it didn’t produce any major hits, the record did enjoy modest success, and the song “This Love” reached No. 85 on the UK Singles Chart.

A tour supporting Deep Purple followed, and then the band returned to the studio to record 1988’s Dangerous Age.  Olsen was replaced by Terry Thomas, who was the driving force behind a return to a more guitar-driven sound closer to Bad Company’s musical roots while maintaining a contemporary pop-rock feel.  Brian and Terry co-wrote the majority of the songs for the record, and the hits started to flow.  Videos of several of the songs found a place on MTV, and the band enjoyed a number of hits on the AOR charts.  “No Smoke Without Fire” (#4), “One Night” (#9), “Shake It Up” (#9), also charting at #89 on the Billboard Singles Chart.  The album was certified Gold for sales in excess of 500,000.

The next record, “Holy Water”, was a triumph both critically and commercially.  Released in June, 1990 on the ATCO label, the songs were mostly written by Brian and Terry, and the record was certified Platinum by the RIAA for sales in excess of one million units.  Hit singles from the album included the unforgettable ballad “If You Needed Somebody” (#16), the title track “Holy Water” (#89) and “Walk Through Fire” (#28).  “Holy Water” also reached the top spot on the Billboard AOR charts for two weeks, and “If You Need Somebody” reached #2.  Bad Company was on a high, with one of the Top 5 grossing tours of that year, supported by Damn Yankees.

Despite rumors suggesting friction in the group, the band returned to the studio to record 1992’s Here Comes Trouble.  That record spawned more hits, including the Top 40 record “How About That” (#38) and “This Could Be The One” (#87).  The album was once again certified Gold by the RIAA.

A live recording, What You Hear is What You Get: The Best of Bad Company was released following the Here Comes Trouble Tour.  That record, featuring live versions of hits from both the Rodgers and Howe eras of the band, was recently certified Gold by the RIAA.

Howe released his first solo album, Tangled in Blue, in 1997 on Touchwood Records. It was re-released with one additional song under the name Touch in 2003 on MTM Music and Publishing. In late February 2010, Howe's second solo album, The Circus Bar, was released in United Kingdom to mostly positive reviews and after its subsequent North American release, has become, according to one American review, "one of the best solo albums of the past 25 years." The album is now available on iTunes in most countries.

In November 2011, Howe released the EP Emotions featuring "Christmas". "The song just came from trying to imagine how some people during Christmas end up alone," he says. "I actually wrote it during a period where I spent Christmas alone. And I thought, 'Oh, I don't like this very much.'

In October 2016, Howe began recording acoustic renditions of Bad Company classics, some of Brian's solo material and other songs for a future album titled Porch Sessions.

On June 30, 2017 the first new studio recording from Brian was released worldwide, on his own label, Howe's Business. 'Hot Tin Roof' has already been gaining critical acclaim and garnering airplay on classic rock outlets. To coincide with the release, a tour of Europe, the first for Brian since 1993, was announced with the first show in Sweden on September 21st.

A previously unreleased song "Going Home" was released on June 29, 2020. "This is one of the last songs Brian wrote and recorded and, as it turns out, sadly it was very prophetic," said Howe's manager, Paul Easton. "The song really touched everybody in the office when they first heard it. And today, as we work on the release, it is still a tough one to listen to."

Howe died of cardiac arrest on May 6, 2020 while en route to a hospital in Florida, aged 66. He had a history of heart illnesses including a heart attack in 2017. Howe was survived by his sister Sandie and her husband, his three children, and his three grandchildren.