KOSSOFF: The Band Plays On - Gigs This Week

John Buckton, Terry Slesser and friends continue their excellent tribute to Paul Kossoff and Back Street Crawler with a couple of gigs later this week. Go see them if you can. Its well worth checking them out and its always great to hear Terry singing the BSC material.

The set will include a few Free songs along with tracks from both 'The Band Plays On' and '2nd Street'.  Always a pleasure.

Below you'll find 'The Hunter' taken from the show at The Musician in Leciester last year.

'The Hunter'
The Musician, Leicester
November 3rd, 2017
Filmed by Les Golding
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOX-HAOYnTo 

REMEMBER : Andy Fraser - Paul Kossoff : 2018

These anniversaries come around so quickly and with Andy Fraser (3 years gone - March 16th) and Koss (42 years tomorrow) March may well mark the beginning of the spring, but there's a sadness there with the reminder of our losses.

Play some music today. 'Time Away' is always an option but how about you celebrate both Fraser and Koss with 'Free Live!' and 'Mr Big'. A prime example of what can be done with a bit of volume and a LOT of talent.

"He (Kossoff) influenced so much of Rock guitar, even in the case of some people who didn't know it because they were getting the influence indirectly through other people who loved Kossoff. One example being Angus Young. I think he probably took the intensity of the vibrato, and of course made it his own thing - but I think he had to have gotten that from Kossoff.

He had such an uncanny unitisation of space and simplicity, and playing the right thing and leaving space for everybody else. The way they manoeuvred around each other and the call and response. I just always loved it."

Warren Haynes talking about Paul Kossoff 
(Monday, March 12, 2018) 
More coming in FAS #142 & #143

FREE Convention 2018

FREE 'Hits A Go Go' Interview.

Thanks must go to SMS on youtube who have now put up the missing piece of the Swiss 'Hits A Go Go' TV show -  the brief interview. Awesome stuff. I wonder what Paul Rodgers thought when the announces calls Andy 'The Leader'... One can only imagine!!

 Original link to the SMS channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmfQMeNlA3U&feature=youtu.be

MORE NEW FREE FOOTAGE - 'THE STEALER' LIVE!!!!

Well, I'm not sure where this originates from but it could be the version that also features a short interview that used to appear on bootleg cassettes with the 'Beat Club' material. That also featured a short interview which, may or may not, be missing here if it is indeed that version (I need to find the tape!) However, this is pretty awesome despite the rather rough start and ending!! Paul Rodgers is in fine form and Simon Kirke pushes the track along like his life depends on it. Sadly it has the strange 'chord' sequence in the middle rather than a full out blast from Koss (no wonder he felt he was getting squashed). I once asked Andy Fraser about this and he said he had absolutely no idea what possessed then to put that in the song there, replacing the solo. Lovely to see Kossoff smiling however. Absolutely outstanding.

The clip can be found where it was originally posted on Youtube here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5luq-7PTKAU

Thanks to  S-M-S for putting this gem up.

FOOTNOTE. Seems this footage is from the Swiss TV show  'Hits A Go Go'.
It was broadcast on December 16th, 1970.

'NEW' FREE Footage From October 1969

Well, FAS reader Alessando Borri has done it again! In his bloodhound search to find missing concert dates and information about our favourite band he's actually turned up some completely unknown footage! On October 9, 1969 Free played in Essen at the 'Pop & Blues Festival' with lots of other bands. A full audio recording of the Free set has been around for a while but it appears some of the show was filmed too and below you'll find a link that takes you to the WDR (German TV) website that has posted TV coverage from the show.

The Free footage is in the second section which has the header;

'Hier und Heute' vom 14. Oktober 1969 | Rockpalast | 28.03.2016 | 09:52 Min. | WDR 

below it. Free appears from 00.00.45 through 00.01.06 directly after The Nice. Despite the dialogue overlay it appears the footage also has VERY good sound underneath. Is there any more.... who knows, but its fantastic to see Kossoff nailing that Hunter ending and check out Fraser breaking a string!!

There's also snipets of Colosseum, Spooky Tooth, Deep Purple (Ian Paice), Fleetwood Mac (w/Green) and others. Fabulous stuff. Its just a shame its not longer!!

Essen Pop & Blues Festival - October 1969

Kossoff : The Band Plays On - Leicester. November 3rd, 2017

So, you didn't make the 'Band Plays On' show at The Musician in Leicester on Friday (November 3rd). I did mention it here on October 27th. Its a shame you weren't there.

On Thursday evening both Simon Kossoff and JP James arrived at Castle FAS to sign the Ltd. Edition books (70). We settled in and had that all sorted out by Friday afternoon, had a visit from Steve Clarke (who recently did all the guitar tech reviews of Kossoff's Les Paul's) and then made our way over to support John, Terry and the band. Awful traffic but wholly worthwhile.

Had you been there you could have had a chat with J.P. James, author of  'Paul Kossoff: All Right Now. The Guitars, The Gear, The Music'. You could have had a chat with myself or Simon Kossoff, Paul's brother. And you could have seen a really great couple of sets from the band that featured 'Blue Soul', 'Raging River', 'Leaves In The Wind' and 'Molten Gold' among others. Terry Slesser was on great form and John Buckton wailed away. Furthermore you missed the chance to see Paul's original Isle Of Wight stripped '59 Les Paul. Yup the very one he used at the Beat Club and on TOTP's. NOT a copy. The owner kindly lent it to us for John to play during the evening and it sounded MAGNIFICENT!! It was enjoyed for the whole show but for two songs, when John broke a string just before the end of the first set. Fantastic to see and hear it in such capable hands.

Those who were there... great night wasn't it. We drank beer, we listened to great 'live' music, we took lots of photographs and we talked a lot after the show. I had a grand time. Thanks to all who came to the gig said 'hello'.

Photographs from the gig © Russell Airey.