Free (band)

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Free
Free, clockwise, from bottom left: Paul Kossoff, Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Andy Fraser
Free, clockwise, from bottom left: Paul Kossoff, Paul Rodgers, Simon Kirke, Andy Fraser
Background information
Origin London, England
Genre(s) Rock, Blues-rock, Hard rock
Years active 1968-1973
Label(s) A&M
Associated acts John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Bad Company, Queen
Former members
Andy Fraser
Simon Kirke
Paul Kossoff
Paul Rodgers

Free were an English rock band, formed in London in 1968 and best known for their popular song "All Right Now".

Lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become lead singer of the rock band Bad Company along with Simon Kirke on drums. Lead guitarist Paul Kossoff, a much revered blues-rock guitarist, died from a drug-induced heart failure at the age of 25 in 1976.

The band was famed for its sensational live shows and nonstop touring. However, early studio albums sold slowly - until the release of Fire and Water which featured the massive hit "All Right Now". This song helped secure them a place at the huge Isle of Wight Festival 1970 where they played to 600,000 people.


Contents

[edit] History

Most remarkable about the birth of Free was the young age of the band members who first came together to rehearse at the Nag's Head pub in Battersea, London, on April 19, 1968. Bass player Andy Fraser, was only 15 years old while lead singer Paul Rodgers, lead guitarist Paul Kossoff, and drummer Simon Kirke, were also still teenagers. By November of that year they had recorded their first album Tons Of Sobs for Island Records and, although it was not released until the following year, the album documents their first six months together and contains studio renditions of much of their early live set.

Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke first became friends in the R&B band Black Cat Bones but they wanted to move on. Paul Kossoff saw vocalist Paul Rodgers singing with Brown Sugar while visiting the "Fickle Pickle", an R&B club in London's Finsbury Park. He was immediately impressed, and asked if he could jam with Rodgers onstage. Along with Kirke, they would go on to form Free with the addition of Andy Fraser, who at the tender age of 15 had already been playing with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers.

Free are still cited as one of the definitive bands of the British blues boom of the late 1960s with the release of Tons of Sobs in 1969, but this is the only album that can strictly be called blues-rock. The next album, Free, released in 1969, has a marked difference in the musicianship of the band as well as Paul Rodgers's voice.

Unlike their previous albums Tons of Sobs and Free, Fire and Water - released in 1970 - was a huge success, largely due to the album containing the hit single "All Right Now", which reached #1 on the UK rock music charts, #2 on the UK singles chart and #4 on the U.S. charts. The album reached #2 in the UK charts and #17 on the U.S charts making it the most successful Free album. Highway was their fourth studio album, recorded extremely quickly in September of 1970. Though widely considered to be an excellent follow-up to Fire and Water, Highway performed poorly in the charts, reaching #41 in the UK and #190 in the US.

In April 1971, due to differences between singer Paul Rodgers and bassist Andy Fraser, the drug problems of guitarist Paul Kossoff, and inconsistent record sales, the band broke up. This led to the studio release of the live album in 1971 called Free Live!. Early in 1972 the band set aside their differences and reformed in an effort to save Kossoff from his growing drug addiction, and in June of the same year released Free at Last.

But all was not well with the band. Bassist Andy Fraser left the band in mid-1972 due to Paul Kossoff's unreliability in being able to perform at shows or even showing up. The remaining members recruited Japanese bass player Tetsu Yamauchi and keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick, who had worked with Kossoff and Kirke during Free's initial split, recording Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit, to record what would be Free's final album, Heartbreaker. Free disbanded in early 1973 with Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke going on to form Bad Company that same year. Andy Fraser went onto to form the band Sharks and then The Andy Fraser Band and Paul Kossoff would form the band Back Street Crawler.

With Paul Kossoff in better health again in late 1975, he was delighted that now ex-Free colleagues, Paul Rodgers and Simon Kirke asked him to join them on stage for two nights. A British tour was set to begin on 25 April 1976 with the Back Street Crawler headlining with Bad Company in support of Back Street Crawler's second album, but again his drug addictions contributed to a drastic decline in the guitarist's health. On a flight from Los Angeles to New York on March 19th, 1976, Paul Kossoff died from drug-related heart problems at the age of 25.

British blues legend Alexis Korner played a part in the Free story, recommending Andy Fraser to the band, providing the name "Free" and encouraging their early efforts. The sound that would be a trademark of Free is heard in songs like "All Right Now", "Trouble On Double Time", "Fire And Water" and "Wishing Well", with Paul Rodgers being known in the rock media as "The Voice". Paul Rodgers would go on to explore the heavy blues stylings of Free again in his solo career during the '80s and '90s, and in the bands The Firm and The Law.

"All Right Now". A # 1 hit in over 20 territories and recognized by ASCAP(American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) in 1990 for garnering 1,000,000 plus radio plays in the US by late 1989, and in 2000 an Award was given to Paul Rodgers by the British Music Industry when "All Right Now" passed 2,000,000 plus radio plays in the UK.

Most recently Paul Rodgers has joined the remaining members of Queen (Brian May and Roger Taylor), as vocalist. He covered the role of Freddie Mercury, vocalist, who died in 1991. It was stated, including on Brian May's own website, that Rodgers would be "featured with" Queen as Queen + Paul Rodgers, not replacing the late Freddie Mercury. Rodgers also sang Free and Bad Company songs whilst on tour with Queen, in addition to the traditional Queen songs. Brian May has recently confirmed that Paul Rodgers is working with Queen on a new album.

[edit] Personnel

  • Paul Rodgers - lead vocals, piano (1968-1971, 1972-1973)
  • Paul Kossoff - guitar (1968-1971, 1972-1973)
  • Andy Fraser - bass, piano (1968-1971, 1972)
  • Simon Kirke - drums (1968-1971, 1972-1973)
  • John "Rabbit" Bundrick - keyboards (1972-1973)
  • Tetsu Yamauchi - bass (1972-1973)
  • Wendell Richardson - guitar (1973)

[edit] Discography

[edit] Post-career compilations

  • The Free Story (1974)
  • The Best of Free (1975)
  • Free And Easy, Rough And Ready (1976)
  • Completely Free (1982)
  • The Best of Free: All Right Now (1991)
  • Molten Gold: The Anthology (1994) (2 disc set)
  • Walk in My Shadow: An Introduction to Free (1998)
  • Free: All Right Now (1999)
  • Songs of Yesterday (2000) (5 disc box set)
  • Chronicles (2005) (2 disc set)

[edit] Bootleg Albums

[edit] Artists covering Free songs

[edit] External links


v • d • e
Free
Paul Rodgers · Paul Kossoff · Andy Fraser · Simon Kirke
Studio albums
Live albums
Compilation albums
The Free Story · The Best of Free · Free And Easy, Rough And Ready · Completely Free · The Best of Free: All Right Now · Molten Gold: The Anthology · Free: All Right Now · Songs of Yesterday · Chronicles