Fraser joined the rock band in 1968 aged just 15 Bassist Andy Fraser, who co-wrote Free's 1970 hit All Right Now, has died in California aged 62. The musician died on Monday and he had been fighting cancer and Aids, according to an official statement regarding his death. The Riverside County coroner said the cause of death was not yet known and remains under investigation. The London-born musician became a founding member of the British group when he was just 15. He wrote most of the his material with Free lead singer Paul Rodgers, who went on to front bands Bad Company and The Firm. "A survivor of both cancer and Aids, Andy was a strong social activist and defender of individual human rights," the statement read. "He leaves behind his daughters Hannah and Jasmine Fraser, and their mother Ri, his sister Gail, brothers Gavin and Alex, and many friends and associates in the industry." Among those paying tributes to the bassist was Kiss's Paul Stanley, who said: "RIP Andy Fraser - Free's iconic bass player and writer of Alright Now and others. He battled cancer and AIDS. A loss." British rock singer Michael Des Barres called him "one of RnR's most creative, soulful bass players. An activist and humanitarian. Rock in Peace". BBC Radio 2 DJ Bob Harris tweeted: "More sad news. Too many are passing." All Right Now was Free's biggest hit, peaking at number two in the UK singles chart and number four in the US. The song was recognised by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers in 1990 for achieving over a million radio plays. Rip
I remember seeing them at the Locarno. I think at least a couple were on a live LP. (yes, LP for our younger viewers.) Brilliant. RIP.
All time favourite band. Also saw at Locarno /City Hall many times. Superb bassist. Sad to hear this.
Saw them do a few live tracks and went straight out and bought the CD. Brilliant. Not a bad track on it.
Accompanied by copious amounts of home brew as I recall. Not exactly conducive to a thinking game but, at that stage, who cares.
Could have been 200 more to me but I had to keep giving you your queen back to keep your mouth the right way up.
Not really mate, I was being kind. Part of the learning process. You learn nowt by being allowed to win all the time. That`s not the way life works.
Listening to this makes me happy to have grown up in an era of such freedom of expression. The whole thing seems so restricted these days. I'm off to Middlesbrough Town Hall tomorrow night to see the Unthanks ........... would get 3 XXX's on X-Factor but are absolutely wonderful. There are so few acts with courage these days.
