“All Proper Now” could also be Free’s most recognizable hit, however in response to drummer Simon Kirke, it additionally proved detrimental to the group.
Throughout a current look on The Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan, Kirke recalled how the tune got here collectively.
“We have been at this college within the north of England, and we got here off to the stage,” the drummer remembered, “and we get to the dressing room, and we stated, ‘Fuck, we want a tune that folks can dance to.’”
In that second, bassist Andy Fraser got here up with the tune’s titular phrase and began piecing collectively a primary thought. Working along with frontman Paul Rodgers, the entire tune could be fleshed out in a matter of weeks.
“So we honed it and performed it, and we lastly debuted it at a gig within the north of England the place we could not fail,” Kirke recalled. “We have been very talked-about, and the place went nuts. It went nuts.”
Simon Kirke Insists ‘All Proper Now’ ‘Did not Outline Free’
Launched in early 1970, “All Proper Now” went on to turn out to be a world hit and probably the most commercially profitable single of the band’s profession. It additionally stifled Free’s progress.
“It turned a little bit of an albatross round our necks as a result of we could not comply with it up,” Kirke famous. “’All Proper Now’ crammed a void and it ticked a selected field. We acquired a pop hit… It is satisfying and I nonetheless take pleasure in enjoying it to today. However it did not outline Free.”
READ MORE: Why Paul Rodgers Did not Carry out ‘All Proper Now’ for 18 Years
As Kirke defined, followers who solely found Free from “All Proper Now” have been typically shocked that a lot of their materials sounded completely different.
“Free was, I assume you possibly can name us a progressive blues rock band. As a result of the blues was actually the inspiration of all our music,” he remarked. “So once we could not comply with ‘All Proper Now,’ we had a tune referred to as ‘The Stealer,’ which was nice, however it was that loping beat. It did not chart.”
Free Almost Broke Up After ‘All Proper Now’
Certainly, follow-up single “The Stealer” did not match the hype of “All Proper Now.” Because of this, Free’s members have been left questioning what to do.
“We have been youngsters and we have been like, ‘Properly, fuck that. Then we’ll break up,’” Kirke recalled. “I did not say that. Paul Rogers and Andy Fraser stated, ‘We’re breaking the band up.’”
As an alternative of a full-fledged breakup, Free took a short pause earlier than reconvening in 1971. The group break up and reunited just a few completely different instances earlier than lastly disbanding in 1973. Although they scored two extra High 10 singles within the U.Okay. after “All Proper Now,” none of Free’s songs have been in a position to match the one’s success.
High 40 Rock Albums of 1970
The yr might have marked a brand new decade, at the least on the calendar, however so far as music was involved, it was nonetheless just about the ’60s.
Gallery Credit score: Michael Gallucci
