Free were one of the best English rock bands of all time. They started out in London, United Kingdom in 1968 being fronted by none other than legendary vocalist Paul Rodgers. The founding line-up of the band also consisted of legendary guitarist Paul Kossoff, bassist and pianist Andy Fraser as well as drummer and percussionist Simon Kirke. The band is widely known for their hits ‘All Right Now’ and ‘Wishing Well’, both released during the early 1970s.
Free in 1970 in Amsterdam, Netherlands (seated at a table with legendary English vocalist, guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist Steve Winwood). From left to right, the band members of Free were: Paul Kossoff (guitar), Andy Fraser (bass guitar), Simon Kirke (drums and percussion), and Paul Rodgers (lead vocals). Next to Paul Rodgers, Steve Winwood is seated. Photograph credits: Rob Mieremet (ANEFO). Image source: Wikimedia Commons
Free was initially musically active from 1968 to 1971 and then once more, briefly, between 1972 and 1973. Their overall sound was a mixture of hard rock, blues rock, and classic rock. They achieved a commercial breakthrough with their third studio album entitled Fire and Water which was released back in 1970 (the LP, i.e. long play, which included their first well known hit ‘All Right Now’ which is a staple of British classic rock to this very day and will, very likely, be the same in the future as well). Their other major hit, ‘Wishing Well, was released on their last studio album called ‘Heartbreaker’ from 1973.
Throughout their relatively short career, the British blues rock group managed to release 6 studio albums and one live album, with subsequent releases completing their discography well into the 2000s and 2010s.
Rolling Stone magazine named them ‘British hard rock pioneers’. After they disbanded in 1973, vocalist Paul Rodgers and drummers and percussionist Simon Kirke went on to form yet another great British rock band, namely Bad Company. To this date, despite their relatively short musical career, Free still remain one of the most significant classic rock bands of the 1970s.
Their 6 studio albums are as follows:
- Tons of Sobs (1969)
- Free (1969)
- Fire and Water (1970)
- Highway (1970)
- Free at Last (1972)
- Heartbreaker (1973)
Below you can listen to my three all time most favourite songs from their discography. I truly hope you’ll like listening to them as much as I have (since my early teenage years onwards)! All the best, take care, and rock on!
- Free on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
- The discography of the band on www.wikipedia.org (in English)
- The official website of the band on www.freebandofficial.com
It was to be my time , I was 16 in 1969 and it was the end of that 60’s thing . Free were at the forefront of the ‘new’ blues/ rock/ soul sound …
First two albums didn’t do that well ‘but we who knew’ were just wating for the world to catch up …1970 and the release of ‘Fire And water’ their 3rd album and all hell broke lose , the single ‘All Right Now ‘ in the charts everywhere and their performance at The Isle Of Wight ‘ festival during that summer, set the bar so high .
Nobody could touch them , they became megastars almost ‘overnight’ …
One of my favourite tracks from ‘Fire And Water’ is ‘Mr Big’ if only for one of the greatest bass solo’s of all time , the whole album is sublime …Just perfect in every way .
Later albums especially ‘Highway’ didn’t do that well sadly, because it was a great record and after that the split then reforming …the end was nigh .
And for those few years they were one of the , if not the best bands on the planet .
I saw them twice once in Nottingham and at The Isle Of Wight festival and am thankful for that …
What a band .
Thank you very much for stopping by as well as for your time, attention, and readership on The Rockpedia! That’s quite amazing to know! Indeed, they were one of the best bands of their time (and they still are very much relevant to this day and, I dare say, well beyond). Their musical legacy will live on because what they did was not timely music, it was timeless great music! All the best, take care, stay safe, and rock on!