Freedom Biography
A spinoff of Procol Harum, Freedom was formed by guitarist Ray Royer and drummer Bobby Harrison. Both of them were in Procol Harum's lineup at the outset for their debut, "A Whiter Shade of Pale," single, but were ousted almost immediately when Procol singer, Gary Brooker, enlisted his former bandmates from the Paramounts, Robin Trower and Barry Wilson, as replacements. Freedom's early sound, perhaps unsurprisingly, echoed Procol Harum's in its prominent use of organ and piano, as well as heavy rock guitar, and like Procol Harum's early records, captured late British psychedelia as it was starting to inch towards progressive rock.
Freedom wasn't a Procol Harum clone, though, with a somewhat poppier take on psychedelia that was closer to Traffic than Procol Harum. Their initial lineup only released two singles in 1968 before breaking up, also recording a soundtrack for an obscure Italian film by Dino De Laurentis, Attraction/Black on White. The soundtrack LP was given a limited release in Italy -- so limited, in fact, that the group members themselves were unaware that it came out. Recorded with noted future producers Eddie Kramer and Glyn Johns engineering, this was reissued on CD in 1999, and is actually a pretty good if derivative slice of late-'60s British psychedelia.
In 1968, Harrison decided to reorganize the band completely -- in fact, so totally that he was the only remaining original member. More albums came out in the late '60s and early '70s, which in keeping with overall British rock trends of the period were in a much heavier, hard, bluesier style. These were middle-of-the-pack, or a little lower than the middle-of-the-pack, efforts with nothing to make them stand out from the crowd in a clogged field. They did get to tour the U.S. as support for Black Sabbath and Jethro Tull, and broke up in 1972 after some personnel changes. Harrison became the lead singer in the little-known Snafu, while guitarist Roger Saunders, from the later incarnation of the band, did some session work, joined Medicine Head and played in Gary Glitter's group during the '80s. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide
Popular Biographies:
House of love Biography: The post-Smiths guitar pop of the House of Love was popular for a short time in the late '80s, as many college and alternative rock fans became converts to their mixture of shiny ringing guitars,...
Tribalistas Biography: Arnaldo Antunes, Carlinhos Brown, and Marisa Monte -- three noted Brazilian pop artists -- formed Tribalistas and released a self-titled album in 2003. Mostly acoustic, with splashes of electronics,...
Holy fuck Biography: The Toronto-based electronic collective Holy Fuck were formed in 2004 by Graham Walsh and Brian Borcherdt. Described as "blip-hoppers" and "a shabbily dressed Kraftwerk," Holy Fuck's lo-fi electronic...
Institute Biography: Distort Yourself, Institute's September 2005 debut, marked Gavin Rossdale's return to rock, as he hadn't been heard from much since Bush's 2001 album Golden State. The project paired his famously...
Manic street preachers Biography: Dressed in glam clothing, wearing heavy eyeliner, and shouting political rhetoric, the Manic Street Preachers emerged from their hometown of Blackwood, Wales, in 1991 as self-styled "Generation...
Nasum Biography: Formed in late 1992, the Swedish grindcore band Nasum began building an international reputation in the years to follow on the strength of a series of split singles recorded with the likes of Psycho...
Senser Biography: In the early '90s, when the cross-pollination of rock, rap, and electronica swept through the popular music industry, Senser emerged as one of the more promising groups, garnering plenty of attention...
Grand funk railroad Biography: One of the 1970s' most successful hard rock bands in spite of critical pans and somewhat reluctant radio airplay (at first), Grand Funk Railroad built a devoted fan base with constant touring, a...