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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZFREEUK blues/rock group formed London '68: Paul Kossoff (b 14 Sep. '50, London; d 19 March '76, USA), guitar; Paul Rodgers (b 17 Dec. '49, Middlesbrough), vocals; Andy Fraser (b 7 Aug. '52, London), bass; and Simon Kirke (b 28 July '48, Shropshire), drums. Ex-Black Cat Bones Kossoff and Kirke recruited Brown Sugar vocalist Rodgers; teenage prodigy Fraser had been with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers; name Free suggested by Alexis Korner. Neither Tons Of Sobs '68 nor Free '69 impressed a music scene waiting for a new Cream, so sudden success of single 'All Right Now' from Fire And Water '70 was unexpected: the Rodgers/Fraser tune went top five USA and UK with Kossoff's wailing guitar, Rodgers's earthy vocal and Fraser's sinuous yet rock-solid bass upfront in mix. But Highway '70 did not yield a follow-up: 'Stealer' flopped in UK, did not make top 40 USA; frictions in band left Free Live '71 as a souvenir. Rodgers and Kossoff formed Peace and Toby respectively but failed; Kossoff and Kirke made easygoing instrumental rock LP Kossoff Kirke Tetsu And Rabbit '71 with Tetsu Yamauchi and Texan John 'Rabbit' Bundrick; after brief, stormy reunion with original lineup for Free At Last '72, Bundrick and Tetsu became members of new Free; had UK hits 'My Brother Jake' no. 4 '71, 'Little Bit Of Love' no. 13 '72, last LP Heartbreaker '73 yielded 'Wishing Well', no 15: final split after Kossoff collapsed onstage (Osibisa guitarist Wendell Richardson substituted). Like the Beatles, Free were better than the sum of their parts; 'The chords themselves were very simple indeed,' Rodgers told Chris Campling of The Times '97, 'it was the space we left between them. It's something I learned from the blues -- you wait, and wait, and then you deliver.' They were not a druggie band, but Kossoff had moved to Portobello Road and got swept up into the drugs scene; the reunion was an attempt to save him. 'We'd get to the gig thinking he was okay, and then we'd realize he'd just taken something and it was kicking in, five minutes before we went on stage.' Rodgers and Kirke formed Bad Company and swept USA; Kossoff formed Back Street Crawler but died of a heart attack; Tetsu joined Faces; Fraser formed Sharks with ace session guitarist Chris Spedding, later his own Andy Fraser Band; in the '90s he was writing songs in LA. Rabbit became an unofficial member of the Who. 'All Right Now' remains an anthem, a UK hit '78 on reissue, being played somewhere in the world every minute or so; the royalties paid for Rodgers's house in Surrey. Best Of Free LP charted USA '75; tenth anniversary of Kossoff's death marked by two-disc Blue Soul, live and previously unreleased Free tracks. See Bad Company for more on Rodgers. |