This band inspired me at fifteen. Tons of sobs. Mr Big what a bass solo. I saw them along with two great Aussie bands,Manfred man earth band, Deep Purple. All for five bucks.loved playing the Stealer.Made love lots of times listening to Be my Friend.
Unlike a LOT of singers from this period, Paul still has that voice. Almost every bit of it imho to this day. You dont find many vocalist of this style that decades later can still sing those notes. Unreal.
A friend of a friend ,a few years older then me ran a small venue in Shtopshire England in late sixties . He booked a then relatively unknown Free in early 1970 .A month before the date they released all right now and the agent wondered if they would turn up .they did and apparently it was an amazing gig
The original 4 members of Free had perfect musical chemistry. So many great songs apart from All Right Now, especially Mr Big. And they had an emotiotional sincerity, a pure love of what they did and a groove that could never be matched by Bad Co or anyone else. They had a unique magic.
Still scratching my head about how Rolling Stone magazine didn't include Paul Rogers in their 200 greatest singers list . They also failed to include Steve Marriott and Ian Gillan. But hey what would I know!
After watching the latest documentary on Lynyrd Skynyrd, Paul Rogers was heard in Ronnie Van Zant’s voice by producer Al Cooper who was also a fan of Free and was a primary factor in them getting signed to a record contract.
Anual Free Convention Nov15/16 2024 Tynemouth UK. Can't wait! Brilliant bands involved, including Kossoff The Band Plays On featuring Terry Slesser from the original Back Street Crawler. Travelling from Essex for the third time. Missed earlier conventions when Andy Fraser and Simon Kirke played on separate occasions but won't miss another one. Closest sound to the original Free ever❤
In the late sixties, early seventies Free would be playing in the north-east of England almost every month, mainly Sunderland and Newcastle where they had a massive following despite poor record sales. Saw them live when I was fourteen years old, what a time to be growing up.
I met all of them but Koss, even Tetsu. Spent a lot of time with Rabbit, good man, monster talent Wish I had met Paul. Heartbreaker is still great! What a band.
Free never got the recognition they deserved, they were very young, to young maybe to handle the music scene at the time. They should have been enormous but because of their age and naivety they could not hold it together, plus Island records did not really know what to do with them. I Love Free probably my favourite band.
Your comment doesn't make sense because they had a top 40 singles so they did get the recognition they deserve. It's only a band that doesn't make top 40 that doesn't get the recognition. So your comment is pointless. And obviously island did know what to do with them because they got a hit single out of them so once again you don't know what the hell you're talking about. Do you even know who free is. 😮
@@chriskroll4166 Free were a lot more than a top 40 singles Band (All Right Now) this is the point I was making, you mention Free to most people and they say oh yes ' All Right Now ' The band was a lot more than that and should have been recognised / accepted for the the full body of work they put out / left. They certainly did not get the recognition other bands like led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath or Deep Purple got. And Island did not promote them like they could have. Apart from maybe the Fire & Water album because of the single from that album ' All Right Now ' most of their other albums did not really do that well sales or success wise. And you don't know me, so your comment that I Don't know Free is based on what ? I am nearly 70 years old I have followed Free since 1970, I was 15. I saw them live, I have everything they ever recorded including dozens of live bootlegs. I have read probably most of the stuff that as been put out in print about the band, So i would say it's you that does not know what the Hell your talking about. Have a nice day 😊
I discovered Free as a California teen after discovering Bad Co , somebody somewhere mentioned that Paul & Simon were from a really cool band called Free , I purchased “Heart Barker” & there Best Of and because a big fan. Thanks for the interview
FREE! They need to be included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, look how long it took the MC5 to be inducted into the RRHOF, and all the original members had died one just before the announcement and the last one shortly after the announcement. This is the problem with the RRHOF, some are in and some are out, and some that are in don't belong. Now that Jann Wenner is out at the RRHOF maybe things will change, stay turned. Kossoff ahead of his time, gone way to soon. Fraser, bassist extraordinar, his bass solo on MR. BIG just phenomenal. Kirke's rock - steady drumming was the backbone not only with FREE but with BADCO to come later. Paul Rogers one of the great voices in ROCK, who not only had the chops to sing but on guitar and piano, composer especially lyrics. They formed and started touring six months before Jimmy Page put the New Yardbirds together, And I'm a BIG Led Zeppelin fan. I saw FREE open for Led Zeppelin at the Boston Tea Party, what a great fuckin' show. FREE to me are the original Hard Rock Band. 🎸🎤🎸🥁👍........................Fraser & Kossoff 🙏 & 🙏
Fantastic Band,,, One of my Favorite 'British Bands'..!! Highly under-rated like, Grand Funk Railroad, but without the "Funk" and ALL 'Rock n Roll' you can take ..!!
Free was one of those band were every member was essential and masters of their craft in their own genre a bit like the Who. Best example of their legacy are in Lynyrd Skynyrd with songs like things going on (Skynyrd's 1st and last version), Don't ask me no Questions, Gimme back my Bullets and foremost On the Hunt whose chorus comes directly from Fire and Water. Perfect music for hiking or manual work.
I'm amazed that the music fans of America dIdn't take Free to their hearts when you look at how much soul and blues were in Free's music, a real derivative of American music spliced with British blues rock.. They should have been massive in the USA as they were for a short time in the UK.
rock music started with the three chord progression and really thrilled us for quite a while. but its started to get monotonous. and someone came up with a fourth chord sequence and Free came about at that right time. and with going on and Free holding things right up there others just needed to start something new. and they did. they came up with new directions and progressive rock was born.
All right now is the only song from Free I can't listen to anymore . Heard too often while they had so much better songs .Their opus magnum should have been Wishing Well . Still a fantastic song . They were fantastic and the spin off Bad Company or Badco even better . Song Bad Company and Can't get enough of your love , Paul Rodgers had a VOICE ,
Free was great blues rock band. But why is Rory Gallagher not even mentioned? If you are talking blues rock.Rory Gallagher was the ultimate blues rocker!!!
Many of the chord structures are quite simple and straightforward. Probably the big difference was how they played them. No one plays A and D the way Koss did!
Bad Company are more well known here in the States but I personally think Free were far more interesting. I don't think any band is superior to Free . They were a perfect rock and roll band
I always felt sorry for Simon. With the other musicians in the group he could have set fire to himself and no one would have noticed. Damn good drummer though.
Tommy Vance was amongst many other things the presenter of the BBC Radio One 'Friday Rock Show' which was massively influential from the late 70s to 90s. He is entirely justified as the narrator.
The thumbnail for this documentary is losing you a lot of views. Its obviously a different band and a different era. Most people will be thinking "must be a different band"
Thanks for your feedback! We appreciate your keen eye. While we do our best to create engaging thumbnails, we’ll definitely take your point into consideration for future updates.
What a great idea to have bloody talking heads talking over every track, especially ther bits they are highlighting. Brilliant music absolutelky ruined by unnecessary input - except Simon Kirke of course
Most underrated band in the history of Rock n Roll.
Small Faces are in that category. Of course both are only underrated in the US. In the UK both were appreciated and mourned when they split up
Every track on every album is absolute perfection.
I didn’t realise it then but the music of my time was the greatest of all time. I’m 66.
Loved both Free and Bad Co.
You are absolutely right. I am 67
Koss and Peter Green were the absolute masters of getting more from less , letting the song breath . Absolute masterful playing 👍
That’s Right
JJ Cale would be in that category also
Add Mick Ralphs to that list.
And yet Fraser rarely gets mentioned in 'greatest rock bassists' lists.
One of my absolute favourite bands
Yea and Bad Company hit me the same way for reasons obvious.
@@monmixer yes
This band inspired me at fifteen. Tons of sobs. Mr Big what a bass solo. I saw them along with two great Aussie bands,Manfred man earth band, Deep Purple. All for five bucks.loved playing the Stealer.Made love lots of times listening to Be my Friend.
Manfred Mann was from South Africa
Unlike a LOT of singers from this period, Paul still has that voice. Almost every bit of it imho to this day. You dont find many vocalist of this style that decades later can still sing those notes. Unreal.
I saw Free and Deep Purple two weeks apart in the same Glasgow venue in 1970. What a time to be young!
Whoa bro you are dating yourself which my old ass do not like to do, just a heads up bro, screw it ha ha, just play.
@@noel3422
If you loved Free as a young person you must be a certain age.
Doh!
Why hide it?
A friend of a friend ,a few years older then me ran a small venue in Shtopshire England in late sixties . He booked a then relatively unknown Free in early 1970 .A month before the date they released all right now and the agent wondered if they would turn up .they did and apparently it was an amazing gig
My fave band ever since 1970. Love every song from them. Top class musicians.
One of the greatest groups at that wonderful time. They manage all with three Instruments. Pauls voice IS Till today amazing.
The original 4 members of Free had perfect musical chemistry. So many great songs apart from All Right Now, especially Mr Big. And they had an emotiotional sincerity, a pure love of what they did and a groove that could never be matched by Bad Co or anyone else. They had a unique magic.
Most of the band Free became Bad Company! For your information.
I am so emotionally tied to their music since I first heard them 😢.
@@lawrencehudon7492but lacked one special ingredient….Paul Kossoff
@@lawrencehudon7492 Half of the band.
@@BrianCope-ff4yq Two special ingredients: Kossoff and Fraser.
I still have and play all their albums.
I recently figured out why I never tire of their TV commercial use of 'All right now' for the last 3 years. it's got irresistible rhythm!
This band sets the standard that every band should aspire to lyric and music wise
The greatest band ever, period. ❤❤❤
agreed.
you’re not wrong there. those 4 lads were incredibly talented & paul rodgers well what a singer.
" Hold my pint " - Led Zeppelin .
😂😂😂Bs
@@Dad-Gad Yeah, Led Zeppelin - "Hold my pint" while I steal other people's songs and claim them as my own !
Yeah, Led Zeppelin !
LOL !!!!
Like Ronnie VanZant said, Paul Rodgers has the Best Rock & Roll Voice, Cousin Figel
Van Zant and Skynyrd were major Free fans.
I consider Free one of the best bands ever !!!
Love 💗 these guys and Paul’s vocals are incredible !! Born to sing the blues !!
💯🔊🤘🏼💀🤘🏼🔊💯
Always was, and still is, my favourite band - among so many other great ones ~ 🏴☠🏴☠🏴☠🏴☠
Still scratching my head about how Rolling Stone magazine didn't include Paul Rogers in their 200 greatest singers list .
They also failed to include Steve Marriott and Ian Gillan.
But hey what would I know!
You sound like you know a lot.
Rolling Stone yesterday's news...they miss the mark...
@@harrygrosomanidis9699 All three were probably considered to be from the 'wrong' side of the Atlantic.
@@portcullis5622 One third of those listed in the RS list shouldn't be there.
@@harrygrosomanidis9699 I bet at least half of those listed were influenced by the three vocalists that you mentioned.
After watching the latest documentary on Lynyrd Skynyrd, Paul Rogers was heard in Ronnie Van Zant’s voice by producer Al Cooper who was also a fan of Free and was a primary factor in them getting signed to a record contract.
Saw them in Croydon in 1970 at the Fox and Greyhound. Great memory
Paul Rogers the greatest rock/blues vocalist.
💯
While Alright Now is a great song, I think Wishing Well is also a killer track. It's my favorite Free track.
A fantastic band and Paul Rodgers an amazing soul singer like Otis Redding.I regret never seeing them live.
Anual Free Convention Nov15/16 2024 Tynemouth UK. Can't wait! Brilliant bands involved, including Kossoff The Band Plays On featuring Terry Slesser from the original Back Street Crawler. Travelling from Essex for the third time. Missed earlier conventions when Andy Fraser and Simon Kirke played on separate occasions but won't miss another one. Closest sound to the original Free ever❤
They are even bigger today than back when they first started. Great Band
I saw them open up for Blind Faith in 1969 in NYC. Great show and Paul Kossoff was exceptional
In the late sixties, early seventies Free would be playing in the north-east of England almost every month, mainly Sunderland and Newcastle where they had a massive following despite poor record sales. Saw them live when I was fourteen years old, what a time to be growing up.
I met all of them but Koss, even Tetsu. Spent a lot of time with Rabbit, good man, monster talent Wish I had met Paul. Heartbreaker is still great! What a band.
Wishing Well!
Free never got the recognition they deserved, they were very young, to young maybe to handle the music scene at the time. They should have been enormous but because of their age and naivety they could not hold it together, plus Island records did not really know what to do with them. I Love Free probably my favourite band.
Mine too.
Ditto
They were massive and massively respected.
Your comment doesn't make sense because they had a top 40 singles so they did get the recognition they deserve. It's only a band that doesn't make top 40 that doesn't get the recognition. So your comment is pointless. And obviously island did know what to do with them because they got a hit single out of them so once again you don't know what the hell you're talking about. Do you even know who free is. 😮
@@chriskroll4166 Free were a lot more than a top 40 singles Band (All Right Now) this is the point I was making, you mention Free to most people and they say oh yes ' All Right Now ' The band was a lot more than that and should have been recognised / accepted for the the full body of work they put out / left. They certainly did not get the recognition other bands like led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath or Deep Purple got. And Island did not promote them like they could have. Apart from maybe the Fire & Water album because of the single from that album ' All Right Now ' most of their other albums did not really do that well sales or success wise. And you don't know me, so your comment that I Don't know Free is based on what ? I am nearly 70 years old I have followed Free since 1970, I was 15. I saw them live, I have everything they ever recorded including dozens of live bootlegs. I have read probably most of the stuff that as been put out in print about the band, So i would say it's you that does not know what the Hell your talking about. Have a nice day 😊
An example to aspiring musicians that there are no limits to what is possible if you have the talent and passion.
“All right now” is still 🥇
Have to say Heartbreaker is one of my favourite Free albums.
Great band indeed
I discovered Free as a California teen after discovering Bad Co , somebody somewhere mentioned that Paul & Simon were from a really cool band called Free , I purchased “Heart Barker” & there Best Of and because a big fan.
Thanks for the interview
Breaker lol
Thanks mom for the spell check
FREE! They need to be included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, look how long it took the MC5 to be inducted into the RRHOF, and all the original members had died one just before the announcement and the last one shortly after the announcement. This is the problem with the RRHOF, some are in and some are out, and some that are in don't belong. Now that Jann Wenner is out at the RRHOF maybe things will change, stay turned. Kossoff ahead of his time, gone way to soon. Fraser, bassist extraordinar, his bass solo on MR. BIG just phenomenal. Kirke's rock - steady drumming was the backbone not only with FREE but with BADCO to come later. Paul Rogers one of the great voices in ROCK, who not only had the chops to sing but on guitar and piano, composer especially lyrics. They formed and started touring six months before Jimmy Page put the New Yardbirds together, And I'm a BIG Led Zeppelin fan. I saw FREE open for Led Zeppelin at the Boston Tea Party, what a great fuckin' show. FREE to me are the original Hard Rock Band. 🎸🎤🎸🥁👍........................Fraser & Kossoff 🙏 & 🙏
No group comes close to Free.
I shivers me Timbers every time KOSS MOVES 🤗☮️🍋🦨💨😮💨
No new footage here folks, sorry, just the stuff from the DVD. Good doc but disappointing clickbait title. I should know better.
Saw Free open for Rod Stewart and the Faces Tampa Stadium 1970
Superb band and better than Bad Co. Who were also excellent
Thank you
❤❤❤❤❤❤👍
Mr big bass on the first free live album.
Phenomenal.
With a pH!
With a pH!
Memories of Redcar Jazz Club!❤
Thanks for the fifth member of the group Free.
He's from America.
POWERFUL but soulful.
The sound of Paul Rodgers ' voice is good.
Amazing band amazing music amazing story….This documentary lets it down
Fantastic Band,,, One of my Favorite 'British Bands'..!! Highly under-rated like, Grand Funk Railroad, but without the "Funk" and ALL 'Rock n Roll' you can take ..!!
Fraser wrote My Brother Jake..........Rodgers always thought it was about him.
Rodgers often thinks that 😂. And My Brother Jake was about Andy’s friend Horace (not a good name for a song 😂)
Paul Kossoff is so underated
Free was one of those band were every member was essential and masters of their craft in their own genre a bit like the Who. Best example of their legacy are in Lynyrd Skynyrd with songs like things going on (Skynyrd's 1st and last version), Don't ask me no Questions, Gimme back my Bullets and foremost On the Hunt whose chorus comes directly from Fire and Water. Perfect music for hiking or manual work.
I'm amazed that the music fans of America dIdn't take Free to their hearts when you look at how much soul and blues were in Free's music, a real derivative of American music spliced with British blues rock.. They should have been massive in the USA as they were for a short time in the UK.
rock music started with the three chord progression and really thrilled us for quite a while. but its started to get monotonous. and someone came up with a fourth chord sequence and Free came about at that right time. and with going on and Free holding things right up there others just needed to start something new. and they did. they came up with new directions and progressive rock was born.
All right now is the only song from Free I can't listen to anymore . Heard too often while they had so much better songs .Their opus magnum should have been Wishing Well . Still a fantastic song . They were fantastic and the spin off Bad Company or Badco even better . Song Bad Company and Can't get enough of your love , Paul Rodgers had a VOICE ,
Free the best band you would want for a arts school dance they were fab
❤❤❤❤❤
Paul Rogers and James Dewar the best singers
I didn’t watch the whole thing, but I hope they included how good a songwriter Andy was.
Great band!!..anyone ever see Free play at the Van Dike Club in Plymouth?
A great band that never fulfilled there potential
Free was great blues rock band. But why is Rory Gallagher not even mentioned? If you are talking blues rock.Rory Gallagher was the ultimate blues rocker!!!
I always put The Stealer ahead of Alright Now.
Wishing Well……..oh yah!
Early albums were good. Latter albums were a tad dreary to me. That said Wishing Well is one of their their best songs for me.
I remember being angry with him when he died. I was very sad about it.
Many of the chord structures are quite simple and straightforward. Probably the big difference was how they played them. No one plays A and D the way Koss did!
Humble pie crushed these guys
My first 3 Albums at age 13, Truth by Jeff Beck , Best of Cream , Fire and Water Free, Led Zeppelin 1 ….not a bad start Eh 😂
No probably about Paul Rodgers being the greatest rock vocalist.
You can hear Bad Company long before it emerged!
Nags Head London.
Nags Head High Wycombe.
❤❤❤❤❤❤
Bad Company are more well known here in the States but I personally think Free were far more interesting. I don't think any band is superior to Free . They were a perfect rock and roll band
Tommy Vance thinking the vid is about HIM................. 🙄
I always felt sorry for Simon. With the other musicians in the group he could have set fire to himself and no one would have noticed. Damn good drummer though.
Great video great band,a bit of a shame about the commentary from the that int the zoso cap
Tommy Vance was amongst many other things the presenter of the BBC Radio One 'Friday Rock Show' which was massively influential from the late 70s to 90s. He is entirely justified as the narrator.
I know the black cat band who introduced Simon the drummer to them become one of the famous drummers by getting in the band😅
Greg allman is the best white blues rock singer and song writer
Believe it or not, they influenced Lynard Skynard heavily…
The thumbnail for this documentary is losing you a lot of views. Its obviously a different band and a different era. Most people will be thinking "must be a different band"
Thanks for your feedback! We appreciate your keen eye. While we do our best to create engaging thumbnails, we’ll definitely take your point into consideration for future updates.
Isle of Wight festival was without a doubt the worst concert footage I have ever seen. Obviously, I'm talking about the filming, not the music.
What a great idea to have bloody talking heads talking over every track, especially ther bits they are highlighting. Brilliant music absolutelky ruined by unnecessary input - except Simon Kirke of course
But later the became Bad Company
No. Two former members of Free were in Bad Company, a band formed by Rodgers and Mick Ralphs. Different bands though.
Here we can hear how bad the expertise of so called music journalists is.
100× better than Zeppelin