Original subtitles

they they came out the box everyone else

was still having LSD

hangover when they were on form nobody

came close to that band

we threw dopers out of his room but he

always managed to get

it it's something that we would all pay

for dearly later in life baby

[Music]

baby than free were the ultimate blues

rock band they took a style of music and

put their own unique stamp on it free

defined the entire blues rock genre in

the 70s it's reckoned that somewhere in

the world every 20 seconds a radio

station will be playing this

[Music]

song you know you're at a period where

Deep Purple were blasting it out yes

we're getting really complicated there

are all these classic bands from that

period they all sound really different

and freeze th thing was tension and

release and free were so Dynamic free

were so singularly distinctive from what

was happening at the time I mean there

was still a hippie ideal and and free

stripped it all away you know the whole

sort of the summer love thing was

probably still in its full flow but they

were looking somewhere else for their

inspiration their their Roots were were

sort of the Blues so RB and all you have

to do is just listen to any free album

so certainly the first couple and and

you can hear how they managed to capture

the sort of the essence of the what

inspired them in this country if you go

back further than that and you go back

to the days of the the animals and the

Yard Birds and the stones the first R&B

round you know in John males that was

the first time then there were it came

through the 60s and the beat and the

Psychedelic thing and then we came back

to it in a in a much more updated way

and then came

free in the beginning free were

literally a pub rock band they formed

after a meeting and a rehearsal in the

good old Nags Head Pub in battery in

London I've been playing with Paul kof

in a band called black cat bones a

little blues band in um

London and and we were playing the old

standards you know rock me baby

Crossroads killing floor and things like

that and it got a little bit

um uh a little bit boring after a few

months and and we wanted to be in

something a little bit more Progressive

and cost new this singer Paul Rogers

from a band called brown sugar he

actually suggested that I come and join

black cat bones which was his current

band but I I was I I felt that if I was

going to go and join another band and

and not start something new I might as

well stay where I was you know I was all

for for starting something brand new and

uh he said um that Simon he had a

drummer in his band Simon K was he

pretty much felt was a like mind you

know

and so that was three so all we needed

was a base player Alexis Corner who was

a a Great British Blues Man uh very

sadly forgotten a lot about these days

but he was pivotal in in many of the

Bands you know stones and John M's Blues

Breakers this was a man who was you know

up there but yeah Alexis Corner

suggested this uh this guy called Andy

Fraser his his crowning Glory was that

at 15 Andy Fraser had played uh B with

John Ma's Blues Breakers 15 he served

three or four months with with M and um

with we said well he can't be that good

Alexis said you wait till you see him so

we all went down to this club in in

London where um M was

playing and this kid I mean he was he

didn't even look 15 he looked like 12

and he was just fantastic player bit

cocky um but you know he said well

haven't got a gig after tonight so we

arranged to meet a few days down the

road in this pub called the Nag's Head

in battery and we all got together and

we had our first rehearsal and um and

literally within within hours they knew

they had something special um they you

know Rogers had turned up with some

songs that he'd written they they did a

couple of Standards um and then they

started writing together I mean they

started sort of there and then actually

putting music together stuff that would

appear on tons of Subs the first free

album and that he how free got together

free would very soon burst out of the

pubs and the clubs and become a legend

and it was no accident I think what

stood out about free was the whole

combination there wasn't one weak

ingredient every member meant something

every member added a magic and an

electricity I mean you had Paul Rogers

perhaps the greatest rock and roll

singer of all

time you better watch out

I think Paul Rogers is probably the

greatest white singer ever he he he sets

a standard for a lot of other singers he

has such great range tone everything he

sort of sings from there but I've always

thought of Paul as a soul singer not a

rock singer and that voice I don't know

it must be something in the water cuz

David cale's close to it as well you

know and they're both from that end of

the country so it must be something in

the water up

there Paul kof's guitar work is what

makes free really special really it's

it's his rhythm I mean I think with the

exception of um Keith Richards he's

probably one of the finest Rhythm and

and riff players that were that were

around in those days and he you know he

listened to all the songs that he's done

you know the witching worlds and and the

armor right nows and all that it's just

it's his it's the way he puts he bins

rhythm with lead I would give Paul kasof

the nickname of slow hand above Eric

Clapton who in fact was a big fan of

Paul kasof and asked Paul to show him

how he did his vibr Paul kasof in very

few notes could move you to tears he

made his guitar

cry um you know in a different where

people always use that phrase with Jimmy

Hendrick um but but kof really did this

was absolutely everything and you can

hear that in his playing he put

absolutely every ounce of passion in he

had in his body into his guitar playing

we knew we were good we all knew that we

were pretty good at what we did but I

didn't realize how good C was until he'd

gone Simon Kirk um in the many times

that I've met Simon he said early on

when he was coming up he was out there

in a land filled with the likes of John

Bonham and Ginger Baker and Keith Moon

and Ian pace and

these astounding players with with real

technique real chops Simon realized that

if he was going to do anything that he

couldn't go heads up with those guys he

was never going to do that so he went

the other way he plays Soul music

basically uh in his hotel rooms he

always played Soul albums I never heard

him play any English band I only ever

heard him play black music from America

and I knew that uh me and him could

communicate because me being from the

Deep South I also love Soul music proper

solo music and uh I think that's why me

and him keyboard and drum wise connected

so well cuz he knew where to lay the

beat and I knew where to play inside and

out of it Simon Kirk just lays it down

he's not a flash drummer he's not an

extra extravagant drummer he's very

straight but straight in a really cool

way very solid great drum patterns even

right through to a little bit of love

the later material plays the most

intricate drum pattern on

there but it sounds really simple and uh

Fraser is

just unbelievable I mean I I still tell

bands who you know are meet now are sort

of fledgling bands listen to Randy

Fraser very very very important part of

uh of Free's makeup the engine of free

and as say Andy FAS you a 15 years old

plane for John mels Blu Breakers it's

got to be something special there

musically he was way ahead of his time

phenomenal bass player very unique he

left a lot of

gaps uh which which uh complemented my

my playing but he uh his notation his

runs his and he wrote great songs he

played good piano great drums he was one

of those child prodigies but he he was a

little bastard sometimes you know would

little know at all and him and Rogers

clashed you know towards the end of our

very short life they they they

split tons of sobs the first free album

had a less than auspicious introduction

to the world slipping out almost

unnoticed sales were minimal but the

band had a unique style of delivery from

the outset which brought the fledgling

outfit to the attention of the mighty

[Music]

BBC was by the

river now move is a great song fantastic

cof so between every verse can't go

wrong when you listen to tons of sobs

you can hear that it's a band just F its

feet that initial exuberance of you know

you form a band and everybody's sounding

good everything sounds good the songs

are coming together there like a spark

and electricity from an early band and

Guy

Stevens bless him was a maniac but he

knew how to catch a band in the studio

he knew how to get a Vibe guy didn't

know anything about recording he didn't

know what a fader was he had no idea

Andy Johns did all that stuff what guy

did was jump on the desk and go yeah

when you did something he liked and you

know he was literally trying to get a

Vibe I did think they managed to capture

the vibe on the record I mean they

managed to capture the the band really

well I think that was down to very very

good good knowledge of that what they

wanted themselves and I think what they

wanted was just a very live sound I mean

there is a tendency in rock music to

throw everything and the kitchen sink

into the mix um and sometimes that's

right for the bank concerned but if you

look at the music that free were playing

um you know its roots were in the sort

of the the the blues of America and and

the soul the 60s sort of soul that

Stacks mtown um Atlantic kind of Soul

Vibe and the R&B artists as well um and

it was kind of fusing the two and adding

a bit more of a sort of standard British

Rock back into it to me free is like a

hard rock version of Booker and the MGs

they were a band where there wasn't any

waste to their music everything was

carefully

constructed and had such a power that it

would knock you out we did standards you

know going down slow and and uh a couple

of songs that were out and out Blue

songs although they were Pauls uh walk

in my shadow

moonshine uh but you could see this

little thing developing and and growing

and and by the second album which was

just called

free um Andy and Paul really had their

own thing going Not only was Fraser a

great writer he was also an

inspirational bass player songs of

yesterday provided Andy with the

opportunity to showcase his unique bass

[Music]

style sing me a s song and I'll be right

on my way I S song like the song of

yesterday well my father used to sing a

blues sometime it was

good but my mother never saw the use and

she ch

I love the songs of yesterday because it

had two rhythms in it halfway through it

breaks into this Shuffle it comes out of

this fast

44 it

goes which is I've never seen it done

before or

since um it was a bit of a bugger trying

to nail it some nights to reel this

thing in and change the beat I mean it

work works brilliantly it shouldn't they

go from like you know a nice little

groovy rocks on into a shuffle and then

out and they don't even blink it's like

three songs rolled into one uh was

fairly early on in the sort of their

work it just shows how for young

musicians how clever they were to just

switch from one Groove to

another was easy to do you know it's

it's a perfect vehicle um for the way

that they would structure their

you got rog's emotive vocal approach and

then you've got the the mixture of the

the sort of the riffs and then the

really sort of fluid solo from from Paul

kof it's like a lot of free songs they

managed to combine the feeling of the

song with the lyrics and so the the

match of the two is very very good in

contrast to the uptempo Swagger of songs

of yesterday the free album also

embraced the more traditional Blues

Tempo which adds menace to the sound of

I will be

[Music]

creeping opportunity

baby it's got a a lovely little Melody

line and and again a lovely understated

performance from from Paul Rogers um you

know I mean cuz that guy could burst a

lung you know

hollering um but didn't all the time you

know didn't need to and this is a great

example of of you know a powerful

performance but he's keeping it right

down there it felt a little bit more

like they were sort of experimenting a

bit more avard I don't think it was

because I don't think they wanted to do

that I think they were I always felt

that through were very well worked out

songs very well rehearsed and they

really know what they're doing even if

they probably weren't they always either

that or they were good baskers but they

were they always so I think they were

try trying to just be a little bit less

formularized a little bit more sort of

spontaneous and I I think that came

across once again sales weren't

spectacular but the album made the UK

charts rising to number 22 following its

release in October

1969 now so far the growth of the band

was down to hard work playing small

clubs and support slots anywhere and

everywhere a good solid grounding that

can help bands to cope with the demands

of Fame but for free Fame would be so

sudden and on such a massive scale that

no amount of gigging could prepare them

for what was about to happen Del livers

on the promise of what the group was

doing at at the beginning of their

career you could sense you could hear

the confidence in the grooves you could

hear that this band was no longer just

some young kids they were they got a lot

more seasoned in terms of playing live

and really crafting their sound and fire

and water to me carries all the best

free song

I think fire and water and the album

that came from is probably their finest

moments and always will be short as

their finest moments it's it's a

pinnacle in their career but there's one

song on it which was covered by Wilson

picket fire and water and I'm a soul man

and uh I heard his it's a Brash rocker

it's raw it's passionate it's great

guitar work from from cof um you know it

you can just picture Rogers stood there

with a mic stand on that just giving it

um great great rocker and and you know

rightly regarded as one of the best best

songs free ever right Fire and Water

must have made you their daughter you

got what it takes to make a poor man's

hard break it's

fantastic you oh wonderful and the cor

progression in that as well it's

[Applause]

[Music]

just I know G from the album was the

slow brooding Blues of Mr Big which

again showcased the extraordinary

talents of Andy Fraser who began to use

the piece as the basis for an extended

bass workout

[Music]

[Music]

[Music]

I work hard every

day Come Rain shine and I don't need no

to tell me about a man

she got so much love and she Sayes it

all for

me I would not be

lying it's got to

be Mr

Big you better watch

out and don't you hang

around Mr Big what a superb song that is

what a superb song for strutting your

stuff on the disc go dance floor um

that's I mean that's what it is it's

it's a strutting song and it's also a

song about oi Mr Big stay away from my

bird otherwise I'll be digging a big

deep hole for you and that's thing about

free simple simple simple bloody story

said very easily understood you can

understand it very easily you can also

hear the words which is fantastic and

it's got

that you just you just got to just got

to struck your stuff I remember

listening to that when I was a kid and

it sent shivers up my spine and I

listened to it the other day and it said

Shivers in my spine it is just it's got

everything the free were about you know

the great Rhythm the Baseline the Basse

Solo in it which was different to any

other bass solo because the band keep

playing behind

[Music]

it Andy didn't just play anything he was

clever he knew where to leave gaps he

knew where he could make something

intense by not playing on the FL you

know he'd be down here somewhere nobody

played down there it's ridiculous you

know everybody else was here somewhere

but Andy was right up here right no fear

going up the net he knew where

everything was but he could bend the

notes I mean you listen to him bending

notes in Mr Big incredible stuff

[Music]

free always had this thing where they

laid down the Rhythm in the in fours

half the time and it just really kicked

out without making it sound boring it's

it's strange they they had a very

straight drum rhythm and whatever they

put on top made it really interesting

and you'd think well that's really

straight that doesn't do anything but

actually that's the trick because Simons

was lay down such a solid bottom end

Andy Fraser could play round the bass

drum and round the Rhythm and the

guitars could more or less do what they

wanted if you take away one of those

pieces the the whole song falls apart

and it was just that great riff and it's

such a simple song I mean I think it's

it's basically Blues changes you know

like a gcd whatever whatever key it's in

um but it was a great song and just

somehow the image of Mr Big just just

works for that I don't know fire and

water was to prove to be a pinnacle in

the band's career this was the album

that contained The Immortal all right

now one of the greatest rock songs of

all time I remember uh secretary calling

up from Ireland records saying you

better get down here quick for a photo

session because all right now we're in

at number

four and this was the killer line for me

she said we're sending a

car hey when the record company sends a

car you know you're doing all right

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

every wedding reception you go to every

party every Christmas party it's all

it's a guaranteed Dance Floor filler

it's just one of those songs that it has

the the um appearance of always being

out there and these guys just plucked it

out of the air it's kind of Melody that

you know you think well maybe you and I

could have written that you know it's

one of those things massively clever

guitar RI absolutely unbelievable guitar

RI combined with a very very simple

lyric melodically which matched the

guitar it it moved even though it's a

repetitive song it had section that did

this a section that did that section

that did that and then the big bang and

uh so yeah that's that's obviously in

fact it's probably one of those songs

that's been played so much that you

never want to hear it again apparently

the

ASA American collection Society just

awarded it the

alltime you know best players most

players in America you know I mean

people say I'm sitting tired of hearing

it all right now but the thing is you

know every time you hear it you enjoy it

it's simple as that it's a great song

Classic Rock Radio in America plays

songs like Stairway to Heaven and

Freebird and all right now at infin item

but I'll tell you I never get tired of

hearing all right now

[Applause]

Sunday August the 30th 1970 the AR of

white festival I believe Melanie Donovan

The Moody Blues Jethro

toll Miles Davis and Jimmy Hendricks all

were on that same stage that free played

that day um we went on in the morning on

Sunday morning I think about midday and

there people were emerging from their

sleeping bags you know bit BL eyed and

there we were it was a lovely sunny day

that that was wonderful and then we only

heard later there was like 4 to 500,000

people out there we would have dropped

through the floor if we had have known

that Thea white performance was

exceptional I mean I think they were

peing then I think it was like they were

really on song they were they were one

of those few bands that actually when

they did festivals when they did a big

audience you know you got up about

10,000 15,000 would still managed to

make it feel quite personal and and you

still got a very good warm bluesy feel

to it didn't suddenly just become loads

of noise and lots of Echo and lots of

drums and not quite the

[Music]

[Applause]

same I remember getting on the ferry

coming over to the other white and this

guy comes up and we're going [ __ ]

Pete Town him

man and he knocks on our window and we

wind down this Transit window he says

that's a great song of your you bastards

and walked off and went Pete to call

this a bastard man

great all right now was a worldwide

sensation it hit the charts in just

about every country in the world and

catapulted the band to Stellar status

overnight concerts sold out instantly

everywhere and the scenes of chaos and

hysteria were often compared to Beetle

Mania there remained a distinct

possibility that Fame on this scale was

just too much too soon it became an

albatross for us I mean I always enjoyed

playing it but it elevated

us into the pop world you know it was a

great pop song a light-hearted great

dance song dance record whatever you

want to call it but it kind of thrust us

into

this world of of Fame everyone was very

young they weren't as mature in terms of

this this life that was thrust on them

stardom came really quick no one was you

know old and and WIS and and you know

there's you know sex drugs rock and roll

you know can take down even the greatest

and mightiest of rock bands some people

just have that character that they can

take drugs and it doesn't affect them

too much and some people you know it

really gets to them and and it gets them

in a bad way and sadly Paul kossof was

one of those I think it was mandrax that

he was taking which were downers that he

used to take by a

handful um in and then of course sadly

as his drug dependency grew it be became

heroine Paul always had a problem anyway

I mean he was doing speed at school you

know he he always had a a kind of inroad

into that he knew more about that

probably the rest of the band did they'd

smoke a bit of weed and have a drink and

that'd be about it Paul knew more um

everyone did it everyone still does it

you know it comes with the territory

especially when you're in your early 20s

and you're Bulletproof

you know that's that's what you

do it's something that we would all pay

for dearly later in life but back then

it was it was great anything went and it

did we were just kind of growing up

really we'd only been together about 2

years and it it did knock us for a loop

especially

when the followup uh record to the to

all right now which was called the

Steeler when that didn't do anything

that was a real blow for

[Music]

us to the cent of the

town and

myet the

ground she stood on the

corner candy I said he good look you're

coming with me she said yeah

the

steer

Ste the Steeler should have been a

massive hit it is a great single it's a

great track all about a guy going down

town uh sees a lady a foxy lady standing

on the corner merrily as can be ask her

if she'd like to go out with him because

he's the Steeler come to steal her heart

actually

musically the Steeler was probably

musically a better song but it just

didn't even go near the commercial

success at all right now which would

have devastated them being young guys

the steo is probably the best single

free released it sounds great it's very

well recorded the production is

excellent but for some reason the public

didn't agree the band don't understand

it the company don't understand it Andy

Johns definitely don't understand it cuz

Andy Johns thinks that's one of the best

things he ever did very

catchy um it's it it immediately locks

into into a sort of a Groove a rhythm

that sort of builds you know the sort of

prows in a way and that that's the kind

of you know that that it's a good way of

looking at how free

could instill into the the song you know

kind of exactly what they were trying to

convey in the lyrics as well fantastic

vocal fantastic vocal unbelievable solo

I just had such a Groove that's the

thing free always invented me they had

that sort of rock groove thing without

people going oh they're going funky they

always managed to get a Groove into the

Rock so it really sort of made you sort

of go yeah that sounds really cool

without without going down that funky

route you know without being we are

funky rock you know they they managed to

put a Groove into things that actually

made it work without making it a bit too

like that the lackluster commercial

performance of the single was echoed in

Highway the band's fourth album which

was distinctly underpar in terms of what

free could really

do one of the bright spots however was

the optimistically cheerful ride on

Pony baby won't you tell

me what you're trying to

do you don't mean to say

that I love

true because I love you yes I do and I'm

going it's based on a real classic blues

riff instead of trying to change it and

you know muck about with it they just

use the song and it's a great

interpretation it's just a brilliant

interpretation and they use it really

well you know and being such great

players what they do with it enhances it

it starts very simply with a absolutely

killer funky base riff um and it's a

just it's a gentle stroll it seems like

you're having a gentle stroll but I can

show you by the end end of the track it

feels like you've had a damn good

workout and uh and and it's you know the

way it builds and then bang back to the

back to the funky base quite dynamic as

well it was one of those songs where

your verse would resolve a very quiet

little Bridge section and then the

chorus would come belting out at they

had a great habit of doing that they

could go very quiet and quiet say and

then bang chorus so they had that lovely

and great Solo in there as well you know

right on py

[Music]

hey despite the upbeat Sentiments of

ride on a pony these were tough times

for the band Paul kof's drug habit was

worsening daily and it looked as if the

band would never capitalize on the big

sales of all right now the iron is now

in the the 21st century that anyone who

had a problem or a tenth of the problem

that Paul had would be whisked off to

rehab by the record company or his

family before his feet could touch the

ground but back in those days you had AA

and that's it and and to be an addict or

an alcoholic was like wo you know you

just didn't talk about it I remember the

British press

were came down very heavily on kof and

gave a very very rough ride over his

drugs and you got to remember at that

time uh the attitude to drugs was was

was a fairly harsh one in this country

you know if if you were a drugie you

know you were ostracized by quite a lot

of people uh in in in this country and I

I it hurts me to to think that people

would that would actually affect album

sales and uh but I think eventually

that's that did affect album sales and

and a lot of people uh turned away from

free because of Co kof's meaningless and

sad demise into drug addiction and I

don't know how to say this any other way

uh but his illness in stuff like that is

probably the reason they didn't become

meast stars in America because he wasn't

strong enough to carry it on uh that's

my opinion but I'm sure that uh

otherwise why wouldn't they have despite

the declining Commercial Success on

vinyl the rigorous touring schedule

continued unabated until finally ground

down by the sheer relentlessness of it

all free decided to call it a day free

at that point should have had a better

manager or better management from just

somebody in the record company saying

all right guys you need to just take a

break you know do this tour take a month

off cuz they'd never done it and the the

schedule was getting in in those days we

did an album a tour an album a tour you

know nowadays it's much more pedantic

you know it's like a do an album in one

year and I don't think it's anywhere

near as fun as it used to be but in

those high pressure

days um it was one after the other so by

the end of 1970 when all right now had

peaked um we'd really crammed in a whole

lifetime of gigs and albums it was

ironic that within days of the split

news came through that the band's final

single my brother Jake had entered the

charts my brother

Jake altogether lighter in tone and

style my brother Jake demonstrated

another changing facet of the band The

increasing use of keyboards supplied by

the highly versatile Andy Fraser go out

you don't have no doubt you don't have

to know

oh at the world

about the

Dr head down it's a scrape in the ground

Jak Stay

Away Paul Rogers wrote a blinding lyric

I mean absolute blinding lyric which is

which is a great little story as well I

mean it's you my brother Jake what a

great what a great line to think of you

know all right now what great line you

know they come up with these great on

liners it's like a great comedian

oneliner short sharp and effective

exactly the same as those songs

brilliant one line my brother Jake you

know it's you can even hear it if I say

that to you you can hear the melody in

your head that's the trick it was just

the melody of the one line made it work

all right now exactly the

same a bit of an anomaly brother Jake I

suppose in the free Cannon just because

it's it's more piano

Le

um than anything else um and it's it's

sort of lighter in tone and feel than a

lot of a lot of their music but um it's

quite spiritual in a way it's not it's

not really as Jolly as the music

portrays in fact again that to me sounds

like a personal plea from Paul Rogers to

Paul off you know please mate give it up

come back to the old pool that we all

knew and

[Music]

love

away what's going with

you the

time what you to

do free fragmented and went off on

various other solo projects with

indifferent success Paul Rogers formed

his own Band Called Peace Andy Fraser

formed a band called Toby while Koff and

Kirk teamed up with Japanese basist

tetsu and Texan keyboard wizard John

bundrick better known to one and all as

rabbit rebab called and said free have

just split up Chris Blackwell has heard

your demos he wants to know if you will

come and play in a band with the drummer

and the guitarist from free and do a

solo do an album of just you guys and I

said when and he said now and I said

fantastic because I'm coming to England

anyway so luckily my first day in uh

England I a meeting was set up for me to

meet Simon Kirk and Paul kasoff in a

cafe over in nting Hill gate we sat and

had breakfast and talked and we got on

great they the two of them explained to

me what the KKR thing was about what

happened to free which at that time I

didn't care because if free was still

there I wouldn't have been playing with

Simon and Paul oh I love rabbit C adored

him because he was you know we loved

anything American and you know rabbit

was from Texas even though he was

playing with Johnny Nash this black pop

singer in Sweden that's where we first

saw him uh we were in a hotel and there

he was and and it was like I can see

clearly now he was like oh yeah and then

this keyboard player where we going ah

he's great and then he came out with a

Southern draw he like yeah man I'm from

just outside of

Houston you know I love to play with Y

all and he was great and then he played

this organ and piano C loved him because

you know when we had rabbit in the

band it gave C more of a freedom just to

play lead when it was just the four of

us C had to play Rhythm and lead and he

got a little bit it was a lot to ask you

know when there's only one guitar and

one bass so when when rabbit joined it

just freed him up immensely it's like

the initial sparker game with free

you've got kof sparking off rabbit cuz

rabbit's playing things kof's never

heard you know free never really used

Hamond organ of course rabbit weighs in

there with a Hammond Organ powering that

up and kof must have been thinking whoa

you know fantastic I can now solo and

there's somebody filling the bottom

ending you know so it was all new and

and again that kind of transfers itself

onto the kasof C tasu rabbit record it

was all new it was it was now you know

and it was an exciting period

Unfortunately they couldn't find a

singer they asked Paul Rogers but Paul

was doing Paul was doing peace he got

his own band they were about to start

recording he got some songs peace was

sounding pretty good why would he want

to join kov C tetu rabbit so Simon and

and rabbit B sang neither of them like

their vocal performances particularly I

have no problem with them as I say I

think kkt is a stunning record very

adult record you know nothing to do with

free particularly it doesn't sound like

free oh it's it's formal Mid-Atlantic

because of rabbit's influence but a

great record none of the three solo

Ventures were actually to set the world

on fire it was just as well that Island

Records kept the flame flickering for

free with the release of free live

regarded by many as the band's best work

in ages it included a killer version of

be my friend which in happier times had

been such a big hit for the band at the

Isle of white

[Music]

festival and I would

give

all I

got just a

hell someone on

believe just to do that it wouldn't be

back

evenly baby baby

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be be my

friend a wonderful example of of you

know nobody doing too much uh and and

and everybody knowing their place within

the song and and which is something that

you know free was so good at from the

off um you know it was you listen to

them and everything just sort of slots

into place you no one there's not there

isn't a drum fill too many there isn't

you know there isn't a bass note too

many and you know the solo doesn't

overdo it and Rogers doesn't overdo the

vocals either it's it's just a sort of

it captures that free Magic that they

could they knew instinctively you know

what to do and what not to do in in in

any song they played the live version of

that on free live I mean the the studio

version is wonderful but the the free

live version is just special it's just

just sort of cuz they always had a habit

when they play Live of playing slightly

slower than they did on the studio

recordings which is always nice it's

always gives a band more room to to work

with slower slower Tempo chance for more

Blues guitars chance for more feel just

a different approach alarmed by the

rapid decline in Paul kov the band

reformed in 1972 it seemed almost the

only way to try and save the guitarist

from himself inactivity wasn't good for

Paul kov um at that point he bought a

house just off PTO belloo

Road and uh PTO belloo Road not in Hill

gate at that time was where all the

drugs were

basically Paul kof was a famous musician

so there was no shortage of people who

were quite happy to go into his house

and to hang around with Paul kof they

might have a few little goodies to give

him you know and it was becoming

desperate you know it got to the point

where he wouldn't leave the house then

he started knocking all the the sharp

edges off of his life really and mandre

was the numbing quantity you know in his

life and at some point Andy approached

Paul Rogers and said we need to do

something about Paul kof cuz he's going

to die and peace wasn't perhaps doing as

well as Paul wanted it to Toby wasn't

doing as well as Andy wanted to so fre

was certainly better than what they had

going then in a reformed version so why

not reform free and that's pretty much

what happened the result was free at

last released in June 1972 which

provided an instant hit with the magical

little bit of love I

believe If You Give a Little Bit of Love

to those you live with a little bit of

love little bit of Love's perfect I mean

that thing's I think it's under 3

minutes and a song that's often

forgotten great single charted just but

it's it's 3 minutes of bliss I mean

everything's there you know great intro

great verse great chorus Solo's really

short but perfectly formed I mean it's a

perfect solo there's there there's not a

note out of place there's nothing

missing there's nothing needs add in

there's nothing you could take away from

it it's just rounded and Soulful and

perfect Roger singing on top of all that

what combination the album did very well

uh I think it got to number you number

nine in the UK charts the single uh

Little Bit of Love did very well uh

reestablished the band as as free they

they were back you know we obviously

knew they'd had problems but they're

back and they're rocking again

um but even even join the recording of

that album I believe that uh a lot of

the problems that had split the band up

were resurfacing and I think one of

those main problems was was Paul kof's

drug addiction and they had to actually

tour the US in in the summer of 72 on

the back of of free at last and kof was

missing gigs right left and center and I

remember going just before we went on

stage what was build as one of our

finest gigs 5 minutes before going going

on stage placing his left hand on his

guitar neck and placing his fingers and

showing him the first cord of all right

now you know and the guys are saying

five minutes I'm going this this isn't

happening increasingly frustrated Andy

Fraser withdrew from the band for a

second and final time desperate to honor

their obligations to promoters and the

record company free quickly called on

the services of tetsu and rabbit again

when they arrived really thinking back

on it now it was although as much as I

love Rabbit and his playing and it did

add a lovely

musical aspect to free that we hadn't

really had I felt we were kind of

pandering to C to try and keep him Happy

C was gone I mean literally he was he

playing a

deteriorated but for some reason we we

hope that he come through it I mean had

I known about addiction then what I know

now I knew we were on a a

losing uh Wicket from from day one with

him but we kept him on oh he'll be all

right we'll just get in people he can

play with in fact free were not

effective even with kof uh after the

demise of the original free lineup Andy

Fraser Simon Kirk Paul Rogers Paul kof

even when they broke up and and then

they drafted me and tetsu in free were

gone then because we didn't play like

free played as a four piece to Me Andy

Fraser was such a major part of that

band his Bas playing and his songwriting

was

absolutely a key phenomenon for that

band for me it it bringing those two

guys in both unbelievably good players

both brilliant at what they do but they

aren't free they might have played the

songs and they probably played them note

for note but when it came to song

composing and new stuff it wouldn't have

been the same the sound you know it was

a lot

more um a lot more solid um a lot more

heavy

rock it was just different and if

anybody was a fan of of of early free

they probably weren't a a fan of of what

rabbit did Even though what he did was

was very interesting and musically

certainly legitimate this was the lineup

which recorded the band's final album

now you don't know if they called the

last album Heartbreaker because they

were all heartbroken at the way the band

were really falling apart but there's

something painful

in pain I should say in rogers's vocal

delivery on Heartbreaker uh by the

heartbreaker breaker record

um Paul kof was was pretty bad

um I mean he was he was you

know high all the time it was it was sad

when Paul started getting sick though

because the first thing anyone noticed

was the vi going uh it was very smooth

when he was well and sort of

fast uh you know the way VI the strings

but in the later days it was sort of

more wangy and slow and he couldn't keep

it going kind of thing and it was that

was the first time that we knew that he

was

definitely uh affected and losing you

know his uh way and as far as him away

kof didn't really feature a great deal

in a lot of the songs he popping out the

studio between bouts of mandrax whatever

he took I know having interviewed Paul

Rogers that he longed to be back with

Paul kasof that was his musical soulmate

they were great Partners like adulter in

towns and Jagger Richards Lennon

McCartney uh Marriot Lane from small

faces you had two guys that really

locked in together and they were better

together than they were separately

although there were some great songs I

mean Wishing Well was a great

[Music]

song take out your head kick out your

shoes I know you ain't going

anywhere great song I think it's a

really good song I think I think towards

the end I think other things seem to

take over in in free and I think that

they did people didn't concentrate on

the fact that they were still a great

band I think Wishing Well is a brilliant

song I think it's really really well

constructed and and it's it's a blinding

blinding vocal from Paul Rogers it's an

amazing song again it's it's a rocker

and again it's it's one of the best

songs that free ever came up with but

you can kind of hear the Desolation that

Rogers and Kirk probably felt at the

fact that Fraser wasn't with them

anymore and that kof had gone off the

rails way too far wishing well uh works

as a

single almost in a way that all right

now did

uh it was mixed to

be sort of uh single oriented to give it

as much of the free sound that they

could although it was different because

there were different musicians in it but

it was sort of made to cater to free

fans it's the only track off

Heartbreaker that is even

relative sounding to the original

free uh and and and that's very slightly

relative because the original free had

loads of

space uh because of my keyboard work I

covered all those spaces

uh and sometimes that irritated Paul

Rogers I think because he's used to

having those holes to throw his vocal in

like in the original version but I think

Andy

John's who M mixed Heartbreaker did the

best rendition of a free song that he

could without the original free members

uh uh it's I'm not even quite sure if

Paul kof is playing on the American

version of that on the track wishing

well that everybody says is Paul kasoff

because of that

lying that's Snuffy

won um that crushed Paul kostov I think

that I mean if he wasn't

near total meltdown then he saw that and

and uh it just it just destroyed him kov

finally had to give up the ghost as a

live performer and in Japan in 1972 Paul

Rogers stepped into the breach as both

Lee guitarist and

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vocalist I joined

free uh with Paul kasof and he's not

here and it's just it's too much to take

it's too sad I don't feel like we're

playing I don't feel like that even

though we're not I wasn't in the

original free I don't even feel like I'm

in the the version of free that I joined

this is totally something different and

it doesn't work and I said to be honest

with you I'm I'm ready to quit and go

home so Simon sort of talked to me and

he said we're all aware of it uh there's

nothing anyone can do about it you just

have to let it go the band finally

called it a day for good sometime in mid

1973 leaving behind a frustrating Legacy

of what might have been when free broke

up uh Paul started a band called bory

crawler with me and some Texas mates

free became Bad

Company uh cost was gone by then anyway

but they wouldn't have taken taking Paul

with him in the shape he was in and uh

we tried we had a go at it we tried our

best to help him we didn't pump him with

dope uh we threw dopers out of his room

by the Scruff of the neck in the

hotels uh physically uh and but he

always managed to get it so we we

couldn't we couldn't look after him

crawler couldn't look after Paul any

more than free could 1976 March the 19th

so I even remember the dates we were on

tour in uh Bad Company was on tour we

were in New Orleans and Peter Grant our

manager called me in my room and said I

got some bad news

Sor poor cof just died and

um I wasn't surprised he'd been on the

edge for a long time but I was very sad

cuz [ __ ] he was

only 26 you know waste waste

[Music]

she stood in

theet

[Music]

[Music]

smile I think free are rightly lorded as

one of the great rock bands of the 7

because they were they were sort of more

unique than than a lot of the

run-ofthe-mill rock bands around because

they had that sort of sparsity of sound

and they were for genuine virtuosos at

what they did the fact that those guys

somehow found each other I think that's

really the magic of that whole period

we're talking about these people found

each other and I don't know how that

happened I mean I don't know if that's

fate or destiny or or you know so much

exactly what you're looking for that

that you're just drawn to that but

I just one of those time and places was

just but there's something about a

chemistry of of personalities within

music within bands where for a certain

period of time a band can provide

something of real depth and width and

worth and and that's what free did for a

one I mean they still stand the test of

time that you can put them on I think

you can put them on and even if people

didn't like rock music at the end of the

night they would they they wouldn't sit

there and complain about oh did you have

do you have to play this music it it

just goes down perfectly it it'll be

hard for anyone to find a band that's

that that has a Simplicity the the

writing and the Performing was very very

special and unique a free sound like no

one else and no one else could sound

like free but you know what the legacy

of free can be heard today in so many

different bands from from Pearl Jam to

Guns and Roses to Velvet Revolver any

band that delivers an amazing colossal

muscular rock and roll hook owes a big

big thanks to

free all

right all right

[Music]

now hey we together can be it's all

right all right it's all right it's all

right

baby baby baby it's all right

now all right now

baby all right

now all right

now baby baby it's all

[Music]

[Applause]