By the early 1970s, Free was one of the biggest-selling British blues rock groups; by the time the band dissolved in 1973, they had sold more than 20 million albums around the world and had played more than 700 arena and festival concerts. "All Right Now," remains a rock staple, and had been entered into ASCAP's "One Million" airplay singles club.
Rolling Stone has referred to the band as "British hard rock pioneers". The magazine ranked Rodgers No. 55 in its list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time", while Kossoff was ranked No. 51 in its list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Free were signed to Island Records in the UK and A&M Records in North America. Both labels became part of the PolyGram group in 1989, then Universal Music Group in 1998; UMG now controls the band's catalogue worldwide.
Most remarkable about the birth of Free was the young age of the band members who came together to rehearse and play their first gig on the evening of 19 April 1968 at the Nag's Head pub, which was at the junction of York Road and Lavender Road in Battersea, London. Bass player Andy Fraser was 15 years old, lead guitarist Paul Kossoff was 17, and both lead singer Paul Rodgers and drummer Simon Kirke were 18. By November of that year, having been given the name Free by Alexis Korner, they had recorded their first album Tons Of Sobs for Island Records and, although it was not released until the following year, the album documents their first six months together and contains studio renditions of much of their early live set.
Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke first became friends in the R&B band Black Cat Bones but they wanted to move on. Paul Kossoff saw vocalist Paul Rodgers singing with Brown Sugar while visiting the Fickle Pickle, an R&B club in London's Finsbury Park. He was immediately impressed and asked if he could jam with Rodgers onstage. Along with Kirke, they began the search for a fourth member. Alexis Korner recommended Andy Fraser to the band, who at the age of 15 had already been playing with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. Korner also provided the name "Free" the newly formed band
Unlike their previous albums Tons of Sobs and Free, Fire and Water, released in 1970, was a huge success, largely due to the album containing the hit single "All Right Now", which reached No. 1 on the UK rock music charts, No. 2 on the UK singles chart and No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album reached No. 2 in the UK charts and No. 17 on the U.S charts making it the most successful Free album. "All Right Now" became a No. 1 hit in over 20 territories and recognized by ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) in 1990 for garnering 1,000,000 plus radio plays in the US by late 1989, and in 2000 an award was given to Paul Rodgers by the British Music Industry when "All Right Now" passed 2,000,000 radio plays in the UK.
Highway was their fourth studio album, recorded extremely quickly in September 1970. Highway performed poorly in the charts, reaching No. 41 in the UK and No. 190 in the US.
In 1971, due to differences between singer Paul Rodgers and bassist Andy Fraser, the drug problems of guitarist Paul Kossoff, and inconsistent record sales, the band broke up. This led to the release of the live album called Free Live!. Early in 1972 the band set aside their differences and reformed in an effort to save Kossoff from his growing drug addiction, and in June of the same year released Free at Last.
But all was not well with the band. Bassist Andy Fraser left the band in mid-1972 due to Paul Kossoff's unreliability in being able to perform at shows or even showing up. The remaining members recruited Japanese bass player Tetsu Yamauchi and keyboardist John "Rabbit" Bundrick, who had worked with Kossoff and Kirke during Free's initial split, recording Kossoff, Kirke, Tetsu and Rabbit and what would be Free's final album, Heartbreaker. Kossoff was replaced by Wendell Richardson in 1973, but shortly thereafter Free disbanded with Rodgers and Kirke going on to form Bad Company that same year. Fraser went on to form the band Sharks and later The Andy Fraser Band, and Kossoff formed the band Back Street Crawler.
With Kossoff in better health again in late 1975, he was delighted that ex-colleagues Rodgers and Kirke asked him to join them on stage for two nights. A British tour was set to begin on 25 April 1976 with Back Street Crawler headlining with Bad Company in support of Back Street Crawler's second album, but again Kossoff's drug addictions contributed to a drastic decline in the guitarist's health. On a flight from Los Angeles to New York City on 19 March 1976, Paul Kossoff died from drug-related heart problems at the age of 25. After parting with Bad Company in 1982 Rodgers went on to explore the heavy blues stylings of Free again in his solo career during the 1980s and 1990s, and in the bands The Firm and The Law.
More recently Rodgers has joined the remaining members of Queen (Brian May and Roger Taylor), as vocalist. In September 2008, Queen + Paul Rodgers released their first studio album The Cosmos Rocks. Rodgers also performs Free and Bad Company songs whilst on tour with Queen, in addition to the traditional Queen songs and new cuts from their most recently released album. Currently, Rodgers and Kirke are once again on tour with Bad Company.
Andy Fraser died on 16 March 2015.
Personnel Members
Classic lineup
Andy Fraser - bass, piano (1968â1971, 1972; died 2015)
Simon Kirke - drums (1968â1971, 1972â1973)
Paul Kossoff - guitar (1968â1971, 1972â1973; died 1976)
Paul Rodgers - lead vocals, piano (1968â1971, 1972â1973)
Later members
John "Rabbit" Bundrick - keyboards (1972â1973)
Tetsu Yamauchi - bass (1972â1973)
Wendell Richardson - guitar (1973)
Discography :
1969 Tons of Sobs
1969 Free
1970 Fire and Water
1970 Highway
1972 Free at Last
1973 Heartbreaker
2) Free is a hardcore band
3) Free consists of four of the final five Have Heart members - Patrick Flynn, Kei Yasui, Shawn Costa, and Ryan Hudon - in addition to the band's 2009 bassist, Austin Stemper. On November 29, 2015, the group released a four-track, self-titled demo recorded by Trevor Vaughan (Sex Positions, Soul Control) in their home of New Bedford, MA.
The Stealer
Free Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And my feet was a burning ground
She stood on the corner merrily as can be
I said hey good lookin' won't you come with me
She said yeah
I am the stealer
Come to steal your love
The world was right
I said tell me baby
Wha'cha doin' tonight
I'm goin' round the corner
Where the music's loud
I'm tired of the city
Won't you come on round
I said yeah, oh yeah
I'm the stealer
Come to steal your love
Goin' round the corner
Where the music's loud
I'm tired of the city
Won't you come on round
I said yeah
I am the stealer
Come to steal your love
Steal your love
Steal your love
Steal your love away
I am going to steal you love away
I am going to steal you love away
Steal your love
The lyrics of Free's "The Stealer" recount a story of a man who stumbles upon an alluring woman on the streets of town. Entranced by her beauty, he invites her to come with him. She agrees and reveals that she is "the stealer" who has come to "steal [his] love." The man seems undeterred by this confession and continues to pursue her, insisting that he wants to take her to a place where the music is loud and away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The song ends with a repetition of the phrase "Steal your love," conveying a sense of urgency and desire.
The lyrics of "The Stealer" are relatively simple and straightforward, but they do reveal a sense of longing and passion that speaks to the human experience. The line "And my feet was a burning ground" may be interpreted as a metaphor for the burning desire the man feels for the woman he encounters. The repetition of the phrase "Steal your love" suggests an almost desperate desire to possess the object of one's affection, conveying a sense of urgency and intensity.
Line by Line Meaning
I went down to the centre of the town
I went to the town center.
And my feet was a burning ground
I walked to the town center with great passion and excitement.
She stood on the corner merrily as can be
I saw a woman standing on the corner, looking happy and carefree.
I said hey good lookin' won't you come with me
I asked the woman if she would like to come with me, as she looked attractive to me.
She said yeah
She agreed to come with me.
I am the stealer
I am the person who steals things.
Come to steal your love
I have come to steal her love.
The sun was shining
The weather was good, with the sun shining brightly.
The world was right
Everything felt good and positive.
I said tell me baby, Wha'cha doin' tonight
I asked the woman what she planned to do that night.
I'm goin' round the corner, Where the music's loud
She said she was going around the corner, to a place where there was loud music.
I'm tired of the city, Won't you come on round
She expressed her discontentment with the city life and asked me to join her.
I said yeah, oh yeah
I agreed to go with her enthusiastically.
Goin' round the corner, Where the music's loud
We went around the corner where the music was loud.
I said yeah, I am the stealer, Come to steal your love
I reminded her that I am the one who steals love and was there to do it with her.
Steal your love, Steal your love, Steal your love away
I repeated my intention to steal her love away from her.
I am going to steal your love away
I am determined to steal her love from her.
I am going to steal your love away
I am determined to steal her love from her.
Steal your love
I will take your love away.
Lyrics Š Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDY FRASER, PAUL BERNARD RODGERS, PAUL FRANCIS KOSSOFF
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@anewsongpsalm333
"I went down to the centre of town
And my feet was a burning ground
She stood on the corner merrily as can be
I said hey good lookin won't you come with me
She said yeah
I am the stealer
Came to steal your love
The sun was shining
The world was right
I said "tell me baby wha'cha doin' tonight"
I'm goin' round the corner
Where the music's loud
I'm tired of the city
Won't you come on round
I said yeah!
I'm the stealer
Come to steal your love
Steal your love oh yeah!
Goin' round the corner
Where the music's loud
I'm tired of the city
Won't you come on round
I said yeah
I am the stealer
Come to steal your love
Steal your love
Steal your love
Steal your love
I am going to steal you love away
I am going to steal you love away
Steal your love"
Proverbs 6:30
âMen do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;â
Blessings family...
@PaulBrown-il3wl
I could watch and listen to this over and over. What a âreal band'!! Paul Rodgers could make a nursery rhyme sound like the greatest rock song.
@nonfictionone
paul kossof...
@rosaccaros8725
Perfecto pointed
@camillawybrants5757
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@burkhardraum1956
Yeah, it is great, 70 years young guy from germany đđđđđŠđŞ
@silvestrovirdis2315
Bravo il cantante con tutti gli altri , ma Paul Kossovo dove lo mettiamo !
@davidhannaway6053
Brilliant band, I'm 68 and still play their music
@tommontgomery653
Ditto !đ
@LeeJahn-ih9xu
Yep
@DavidBroadley-tw7ks
Am 67 got the lot and bad co s lot