Heavy Load: The Story of Free Book

Biography on the British blues-rock band FREE

For the first time, a beautifully crafted book has painted a landscape of the tumultuous rise and fall of the premier blues-rock band Free. Written by David Clayton and Todd K. Smith, the narrative guides the reader through the foundation and early influences that inspired four young musicians to combine forces and plunge headlong into the late sixties revolving music scene.

Entitled Heavy Load, this 300-page epic catalogues the long months of a struggling band playing smoke filled pubs eventually winning an overwhelming fan adoration. It marks the heady days of having a hit single and album, which eventually lead to the inevitable first split in 1971.

The short-lived splinter bands, KKTR, Peace and Toby, are explored and the reasons for Frees reformation in 1972 explained. This volume runs right to the very end of their career in 1973 and into the early exploits of Bad Company, Sharks and Back Street Crawler leading inevitably to the tragic death of Paul Kossoff in 1976, the true end of Free.

Their legacy lives on through musicians as diverse as Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Black Crowes, Ocean Colour Scene, Paul Weller and Gov't Mule, all who have sighted them as a major influence. Their mentor, Alexis Korner, called them "The last major band to come out of the sixties", and famed producer, Al Kooper hails them as "The greatest band that ever lived".