Andy Fraser (born 7 August 1952, London) is an English musician, best known for his songwriting and bass playing with Free.

Career

He started playing the piano at five years old, and was trained classically until the age of twelve, when he switched to guitar. By thirteen, he was playing in the East End, West Indian clubs and, after being expelled from school at 15, he enrolled at the Hammersmith F.E. College. There, he met Sappho Korner, daughter of Alexis Korner, who subsequently became a father-figure to him. In 1968, Korner received a telephone call from John Mayall, who was looking for a bass player. Korner suggested Fraser and, at age 15, he was in a pro band and earning £50 a week, though it was a brief tenure.

Korner was also instrumental in Fraser's next move, to the influential band Free, which consisted of Paul Rodgers (vocals), Paul Kossoff (guitar) and Simon Kirke (drums). Fraser produced and co-wrote the song "All Right Now" with Rodgers, a # 1 hit in over 20 territories and recognised by ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) in 1990 for garnering 1,000,000 plus radio plays in the U.S. by late 1989, and in 2000 an Award was given to Free by the British Music Industry when "All Right Now" passed 2,000,000 plus radio plays in the UK. Free initially split in 1971, and Fraser formed a trio, Toby, with guitarist Adrian Fisher, and drummer Stan Speake. Material was recorded but not released, and Fraser re-joined Free in December 1971. He left for the second time in June 1972.

After leaving Free, Fraser formed Sharks with vocalist Snips (later Baker, Gurvitz Army), guitarist Chris Spedding plus drummer, Marty Simon. They were a good band, and Island's "Great White Hope of the 1970s". Despite being well received by the critics, especially for Spedding's tasteful guitar work, Fraser left after their debut album, First Water (1973).

He then formed the Andy Fraser Band, a trio with Kim Turner on drums, and Nick Judd on keyboards. They released two albums, Andy Fraser Band and In Your Eyes, both in 1975, before that too folded. Attempts to form a band with Frankie Miller came to nothing, and Fraser re-located to California, to concentrate on songwriting. Fraser successfully crafted hits for Robert Palmer, Joe Cocker, Chaka Khan, Rod Stewart, Paul Young and many others.

To this day, Fraser's most famous composition is "Every Kinda People," which Palmer recorded for his Double Fun set in 1978. Palmer's first chart hit in the U.S., the number is cherished for its message of interracial understanding. The Palmer version has inspired artists such as Chaka Demus, Randy Crawford and Amy Grant to cover it.

In 1984, Fraser finally released another album of his own. Fine, Fine Line featured ex-Back Street Crawler drummer, Tony Braunagel, Bob Marlette (keyboards), Michael Thompson (guitar) and David Faragher (bass), with Fraser contributing vocals.

He was later diagnosed with a form of cancer and, during treatment, contracted AIDS. This explanation has been called into question by his recent revelation that he is homosexual. He played bass with former Free colleague, Paul Rodgers, at Woodstock 1994, but otherwise kept a low profile until 2005, when a new release, Naked and Finally Free, appeared. Since then, the album received strong praise from both fans and critics, including outlets such as VH-1 Classics, Sirius Radio, ABC Radio, Launch Radio, The New York Daily News and the Associated Press, among others.

In April 2006, Fraser responded to the revival of interest in his music by announcing two rare live shows at the Temecula Community Arts Theatre, in Temecula, California on 4 May. The shows, highlighted by an eight-piece band, were his first live performances since the Woodstock 1994 reunion.

Reference

External links

• Andy Fraser Official Web Site
• Approved Fan club for Free, Bad Company and Paul Rodgers
• Exhaustive interview with Andy Fraser
• Official site, including show and ticket information, for the Temecula Community Arts Theatre