Fire and water, musta made you their daughter...
May 22, 2007 10:44 AM   Subscribe

Andy Fraser, the man who wrote and played on 'All Right Now,' one of the great swaggering rock songs, talks about his music, sexuality and living with AIDS in this exhaustive interview
posted by jonmc (18 comments total) 5 users marked this as a favorite
 
The story is a few years old, probably since it's been a long time since any of Fraser's projects topped the hit parade, even though his work with Free is revered by many rock fans. But I think the interview is important in that it puts a different face on both homosexuality and AIDS.
posted by jonmc at 11:10 AM on May 22, 2007


Have you heard the album, jon? And if so, what do you think?
posted by hermitosis at 11:20 AM on May 22, 2007


Nah. I only discovered this interview very recently, although I've always been a fan of his playing and of Free. If his previous work is any indication, it'll be good. Whether you'll enjoy it or not depends on how you feel about bluesy guitar rock which was always Fraser's stock in trade.
posted by jonmc at 11:22 AM on May 22, 2007


Oh, I'm practically certain I wouldn't enjoy it, but it is a pretty interesting interview, and it makes me sad how often coming out is a byproduct of learning to deal with AIDS instead of vice versa.
posted by hermitosis at 11:26 AM on May 22, 2007


Yeah, it's a shame that it took getting sick for Fraser to go public (and Free had some rough breaks, their gifted guitarist Paul Kossoff overdosed on Heroin at age 25). But this kind of music has always been seen as hetero preserve. One critic even referred to 'All Right Now,' as the 'epitome of macho cock-rock,' so the fact that it was written by a gay man has all kinds of implications for both gay culture and rock and roll culture.
posted by jonmc at 11:31 AM on May 22, 2007


What's gayer than cock rock?

See Queen, Judas Priest, etc.
posted by docgonzo at 12:15 PM on May 22, 2007


Well, Queen was glam rock which had a pretty explicit queer subtext from the beginning, and the same could be said of Judas Priest's S&M leather image. Free, on the other hand, was pretty much basic barroom blooze rock, so Fraser's homosexuality says one: gayfolks are everywhere, let 'em join the party, and two: blooze rock is for the gayfolk, too, welcome to the party.
posted by jonmc at 12:26 PM on May 22, 2007


So why did I think 'All Right Now' was by Bad Company?
posted by doctor_negative at 12:34 PM on May 22, 2007


Same vocalist. Bad Company was a good band, but Free were superior.
posted by jonmc at 12:42 PM on May 22, 2007


Well, Queen was glam rock which had a pretty explicit queer subtext from the beginning, and the same could be said of Judas Priest's S&M leather image. Free, on the other hand, was pretty much basic barroom blooze rock, so Fraser's homosexuality says one: gayfolks are everywhere, let 'em join the party, and two: blooze rock is for the gayfolk, too, welcome to the party.

Ergo, the common denominator must be the mustaches.
posted by scratch at 12:48 PM on May 22, 2007


See Queen, Judas Priest, etc.

And Van Halen.
posted by juiceCake at 2:20 PM on May 22, 2007


Thanks for the clarification jonmc
posted by doctor_negative at 3:55 PM on May 22, 2007


Very interesting article jon. Thanks. Husker Du was 2/3 gay, but I guess it was more acceptable with the indie crowd.

(here is an interesting interview with the mats circa '84. Drunk of course.)
posted by vronsky at 4:47 PM on May 22, 2007


I guess it was more acceptable with the indie crowd.

well, the Husker Du audience was younger and had grown up with a somewhat more open attitude about uncloseted homosexuality.

Frasers' coming out is significant because it makes plain the open secret that homosexuality has always been everywhere all along. To use a sports metaphor, Fraser was the equivalent of Phil Rizzutto, not a star like Mickey Mantle but a great utility player who all the fans respected. So, his coming out has the same kind of impact in making people question assumptions.
posted by jonmc at 6:18 PM on May 22, 2007


Heck, I never knew Faith No More's Roddy Bottum was gay.
posted by Bappy Lorenzo at 6:42 PM on May 22, 2007


Roddy Bottum?! Who's next, Liberace? [/Leno]
posted by joe lisboa at 2:12 AM on May 23, 2007


All Right Then.

Yeah, Free did some great stuff.
posted by nofundy at 7:26 AM on May 23, 2007


I'm a big Free fan and it's good to hear that Andy is writing songs again. What would be ideal to some is that if he'd join Rodgers in Queen - John Deacon isn't playing anymore and that band should really have ONE gay member.
posted by Ber at 9:05 AM on May 23, 2007


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