Andy Fraser: “It was me trying to impersonate Pete Townshend, who was, to me, the all-time greatest chord king”

Group portrait of British rock band Free backstage in 1972. Left to right are singer Paul Rodgers, bassist Andy Fraser,drummer Simon Kirke and guitarist Paul Kossoff (1950 - 1976).
(Image credit: (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images))

Few bass players personify the spirit of 1970s classic rock more than Andy Fraser, who honed his phenomenal bass chops in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers aged just 15. Something of a rock prodigy, Fraser was still only 17 when Free recorded the classic rock anthem All Right Now at Island’s Basing Street Studios in January of 1970. His distinctive bass guitar solo has since been noted as a marvel of do-it-yourself, call-and-response. 

“I always felt that, pound for pound, Fraser had the most talent of the four of us,” said drummer Simon Kirke in the booklet of Molten Gold, a 1993 Free compilation. Kirke also spoke of how Fraser had come up with All Right Now moments after a disastrous college gig. "We left the stage to the sound of our own feet and we didn’t like that because the fans would normally be screaming for more. We decided we needed an up-tempo song to put that right.”

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month**

Join now for unlimited access

US pricing $3.99 per month or $39.00 per year

UK pricing £2.99 per month or £29.00 per year 

Europe pricing €3.49 per month or €34.00 per year

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Prices from £2.99/$3.99/€3.49

Nick Wells
Writer

Nick Wells was the Editor of Bass Guitar magazine from 2009 to 2011, before making strides into the world of Artist Relations with Sheldon Dingwall and Dingwall Guitars. He's also the producer of bass-centric documentaries, Walking the Changes and Beneath the Bassline, as well as Production Manager and Artist Liaison for ScottsBassLessons. In his free time, you'll find him jumping around his bedroom to Kool & The Gang while hammering the life out of his P-Bass.