Free bassist Andy Fraser dead at 62

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By ( Classic Rock ) published

The writer of All Right Now – who had previously fought both AIDS and cancer – has died at his home in California

Free bassist Andy Fraser has died at the age of 62, it’s been confirmed.

He passed away on Monday morning. His cause of death has not been confirmed, but he’d been dealing with AIDS and cancer in recent years.

An official statement says: “Andrew McLan Fraser passed away on Monday at his home in California. 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.

“A survivor of both cancer and AIDS, Andy was a strong social activist and defender of individual human rights.”

Fraser was born in London in 1952 and was a founding member of Free at the age of just 15. As well as his work with Free, he had success with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and Sharks.

In the 1980s he was diagnosed with HIV and a form of cancer called Kaposi’s Sarcoma and he battled with suicidal thoughts which, he wrote on his website, were only alleviated when he came out as gay.

Fraser had recently been a leading light in the Rock Against Trafficking charity. President Gary Miller said: “My dear friend did so much for the organisation, and for me personally.

“He was my little big brother and one of the greatest bass players and songwriters of all time.”

Classic Rock obituary.

Tributes from other musicians.

Stef Lach

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.