Free
A London blues-rock quartet formed in 1968 by teenagers Paul Rodgers, Paul Kossoff, Andy Fraser and Simon Kirke, who made "All Right Now" and Fire and Water, headlined the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival and split in 1973.
Four teenagers and a name
Free formed in London in 1968 with Paul Rodgers on lead vocals and guitar, Paul Kossoff on lead guitar, Andy Fraser on bass and keyboards and Simon Kirke on drums; Fraser was 15, Kossoff 17 and Rodgers and Kirke 18. Kossoff and Kirke had met in Black Cat Bones, and Kossoff saw Rodgers with Brown Sugar at the Fickle Pickle club in Finsbury Park. Alexis Korner recommended Fraser, who had been in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, and suggested the name Free. They played their first gig on April 19, 1968 at the Nag's Head in Battersea, and opened some shows for The Who in late 1968.
Every studio album was on Island. Tons of Sobs, recorded October to December 1968 at Morgan Studios with Guy Stevens producing, came out on March 14, 1969; the All Music Guide to the Blues calls it the only album of their canon that can strictly be called blues rock. Free (October 1969, produced by Chris Blackwell) did not chart. Fire and Water was recorded from January to June 1970 at Island and Trident Studios and released on June 26, 1970; it reached number two in the UK and 17 in the US, and its single "All Right Now" came out on May 15, 1970.
Isle of Wight, break-ups and Heartbreaker
In July 1970 they refused to play the unpaid Phun City festival, and they headlined the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970 to an audience estimated at about 600,000. Highway (December 1970) was followed by "My Brother Jake" (UK number four, April 1971) and the live album Free Live! (June 4, 1971, UK number four). They broke up in 1971 over differences between Fraser and Rodgers, and reformed in early 1972 for Free at Last (June 1972, UK number nine). Fraser left in mid-1972 and formed Sharks, replaced by Tetsu Yamauchi, with John Rabbit Bundrick on keyboards. Heartbreaker, recorded in October and November 1972 and released on January 19, 1973, contains "Wishing Well" and reached number nine in the UK and 47 in the US. After a US tour with Wendell Richardson replacing Kossoff, they split for good in 1973.
Rodgers and Kirke formed Bad Company, and Rodgers later joined The Firm, The Law and Queen + Paul Rodgers; Kossoff made Back Street Crawler (1973). Kossoff died on March 19, 1976, aged 25, and Fraser on March 16, 2015, aged 62. Fraser and Rodgers played together at Woodstock '94, and Rodgers toured the UK in 2017 with a Free Spirit tour of Free songs only. Wikipedia counts over 700 concerts and more than 20 million records sold; Rolling Stone ranked Rodgers 55th among singers and Kossoff 51st among guitarists, and "All Right Now" passed two million UK radio plays. Free Live at the BBC (2006) and the Free Forever DVD collect broadcast and television performances.
Albums
- Fire and Water 1970 · Island
Their third album and biggest success: seven songs including "All Right Now", with Roy Baker helping at the desk.
Songs
- Mr. Big Fire and Water · 1970
The slow, bass-led opening of side two of Fire and Water, and the song a US hard-rock band took its name from.
Sources
- Free (band), Wikipedia
- Free, Toppermost
- Finally Free: Andy Fraser, Vintage Guitar (2005-09)
- Free Live!, Wikipedia