Andy Fraser alive and free

As a founding member of Free, Andy Fraser – along with Paul Rodgers – crafted some of modern rock’s most explosive, bluessoaked songs, including the quintessential anthem, All Right Now. Since Free’s demise, Fraser has enjoyed success as a songwriter, penning songs recorded by the likes of Robert Palmer, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan, Frankie Miller and Joan Jett. Twenty-one years since his last solo release, Fine Fine Line, the former Free bassist returns with an impressive new solo CD, Naked … And Finally Free. He’s also come to terms with being gay and coping with AIDS. RC pointed out that recent rumours of his passing were indeed greatly exaggerated...

“I first heard that it had appeared on the internet that I’d died from a guitarist friend, Stewart Smith. A reporter sent me an email asking for a statement and showed me all the obituaries that were already out. Lucky none of them said, ‘about time’! (laughs). In a sense, it galvanised me to reveal all this stuff that I’d been casual about. It’s time to let people know I’m alive and kicking. The crux of the title of my new CD is having to come to terms, so late in life, with being gay. One can’t stand on the stage unless one is comfortable in one’s own skin. It’ll just eat …

by Ken Sharp
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