Andy Fraser

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Free in Amsterdam (1970). V. l. No. : Paul Kossoff , Andy Fraser, Simon Kirke , Paul Rodgers & Steve Winwood

Andy Fraser (born July 3, 1952 in London , † March 16, 2015 in Temecula , California ) was a British musician. As a bass player he was part of the first line-up of Free , then founded other bands and also appeared as a solo artist.

biography

Childhood and Adolescence (1952–1967)

Fraser was born in London in 1952 to a plantation owner from British Guyana and a Scottish woman. His parents divorced when he was seven years old. He started playing the piano at the age of five . At the age of twelve he first played the guitar , which he quickly swapped for a bass . From the age of 13 he played in several local bands of different genres, such as rhythm and blues , ska and soul . At the time, he cited Binky Mackenzie as an influence, who for a time was his older sister's boyfriend and a local jazz great. At the age of 15 he discovered the Beatles for himself and approached his hairstyle to that of his new idols. As a result, he clashed with the authorities of his former school, St Clement Danes, and was eventually expelled from the school. He moved to the College of Further Education in Hammersmith . There he met Sappho Korner, daughter of Alexis Korner , who introduced him to John Mayall .

Free (1968-1972)

He played bass for Mayall's band Bluesbreakers for a year , but was replaced. Together with Paul Kossoff , Simon Kirke and Paul Rodgers he founded the successful band Free . Fraser co-wrote the hit All Right Now , among other things . By 1972 Free played six albums. Fraser left in 1972, a year before Free was dissolved. When Kossoff died of heart failure in 1976, his father made Fraser responsible for the death, and he was not invited to the funeral. These processes burdened Fraser throughout his life.

Sharks and Andy Fraser Band (1973-1975)

Fraser founded the band Sharks after the split from Free , but left immediately after the release of the debut album First Water to form the Andy Fraser Band with Nick Judd ( keyboards ) and Kim Turner ( drums ). The self-titled debut album and In Your Eyes were both released in 1975. Then they broke up.

Further career (from 1975)

In 1975 he moved to California and during this time met his future wife Henrietta ("Ri"). The marriage, which was later divorced, has two daughters.

After unsuccessful attempts at band, Andy Fraser worked as a studio musician and songwriter for artists, e. B. Robert Palmer , Joe Cocker , Chaka Khan , Rod Stewart, and Paul Young . In 1984 he released his third solo album Fine, Fine Line. , on which he took over the vocals.

Shortly after the recording was with him cancer diagnosed and he had to be treated. The disease broke out again and again, and he had to go into therapy 29 times. Later he also got AIDS . That is why he made himself very rare in public and musically, with the exception of an appearance in 1994 at the Woodstock II Festival, where he accompanied Paul Rodgers on bass.

For the release of the album Naked ... and Finally Free in 2005, Fraser came out as homosexual , which he had been doing since the 1980s. A year later, in April 2006, Fraser was last seen live playing two solo concerts in Temecula , California . He died there on March 16, 2015 at the age of 62.

Music genre

With Paul Kossoff Free had only one guitarist. Therefore Andy Fraser had to replace the missing second guitarist with appropriate bass runs due to his extraordinary playing style . Although Free clearly played blues rock , many of the bass lines are more borrowed from jazz.

His main instrument was a semi-acoustic Gibson -EB-2 bass, which had an s. G. Bass boost circuit (baritone switch). But Gibson's solid body EB-3 was also one of his preferred instruments.

While the bass was purely a rhythm instrument until the mid-1960s , bassists such as Andy Fraser, Jack Bruce and John Entwistle opened up completely new ways and made the bass an independent melody-leading instrument.

Discography

With Free

With sharks

  • 1973: First Water

Solo / Andy Fraser Band

  • 1975: s / t
  • 1975: In Your Eyes
  • 1984: Fine, Fine Line
  • 2005: Naked ... and finally free

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Archive link ( Memento from October 18, 2006 in the Internet Archive )
  2. ↑ Andy Fraser is dead. Report on t-online.de from March 18, 2015 (accessed on March 18, 2015).
personal data
SURNAME Fraser, Andy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British musician
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd July 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH London , UK
DATE OF DEATH March 16, 2015
Place of death Temecula , California , United States