FREE - UK

Tons Of Sobs - 1969 - Island
Free - 1969 - Island
Fire And Water - 1970 - Island
Highway - 1970 - Island
Free Live - 1971 - Island
Free At Last - 1972 - Island
Heartbreaker - 1973 - Island

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Members
Vocals
Brown Sugar, Peace>>PAUL RODGERS>>Bad Company, Peace, Law, The Firm, Solo, Queen

Guitar
Black Cat Bones, Sharks, Kossoff/Kirke/Tetsu/Rabbit>>Paul Kossoff>>Kossoff/Kirke/Tetsu/Rabbit, Sharks, Solo, Backstreet Crawler

Bass
Bluesbreaker>>Andy Fraser>>Solo – Samurai, Kossoff/Kirke/Tetsu/Rabbit>>TETSU YAMAUCHI>>Kossoff/Kirke/Tetsu/Rabbit, Faces

Drum
Black Cat Bones, Kossoff/Kirke/Tetsu/Rabbit>>SIMON KIRKE>>Kossoff/Kirke/Tetsu/Rabbit, Bad Company

Keyboard
Kossoff/Kirke/Tetsu/Rabbit>>JOHN "RABBIT" BUNDRICK>>Kossoff/Kirke/Tetsu/Rabbit




History & Biography
London, England's Free were one of the blues-influenced, heavy rock acts which made the British scene what it was in the late-'60s and early '70s. The band opened for Blind Faith and also had the opportunity to play at the legendary Isle Of Wight Festival where Jimi Hendrix and The Who played.

Fire And Water yielded a classic hit in the form of All Right Now. The band temporarily split up in 1971, but reformed after the members got a few solo projects off their minds. Fraser was the first to leave the year after. Rabbit and Tetsu were added to the fold. Next to leave was Kossoff who, reportedly, had had enough of the internal strife. Wendell Richardson of Osibisa was brought in but the inspiration just was not there any longer. Kossoff might have made it solo and become as successful as Bad Company but died of his heroin habit in March of 1976.

Bad Company was signed to Led Zeppelin's Swan Song label and was the label’s sole success. Members of Led Zeppelin would contribute to Free’s music and concerts. The Firm later featured Jimmy Page. Paul Rodgers was offered the frontman slot in Deep Purple in 1973, but turned down the chance to replace Ian Gillan. Yamauchi would later abandon rock music and decamp to rural Japan.

Rodgers would marry a former Miss Canada and trainer and become a Canadian. He would suffer strokes in 2016 and 2019, which would leave him unable to speak for a while.


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