Freedom was an English

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band, active in the late 1960s and early 1970s, formed initially by members of

Procol Harum Procol Harum () were an English rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea, Essex in 1967. Their best-known recording is the 1967 hit single "A Whiter Shade of Pale", one of the few singles to have List of best-selling singles, sold over ...

. Ray Royer and Bobby Harrison, who had performed on the hit Procol Harum single "

A Whiter Shade of Pale "A Whiter Shade of Pale" is a song by the English rock band Procol Harum that was issued as their debut record on 12 May 1967. The single reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart on 8 June and stayed there for six weeks. Without much promotion, i ...

", were kicked out of the Harum by vocalist Gary Brooker, and replaced by

Robin Trower Robin Leonard Trower (born 9 March 1945) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum throughout 1967–1971, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio known as the Robin Trower Band. Biography Robin Trowe ...

and Barry Wilson. Royer and Harrison then formed Freedom with Steve Shirley and Tony Marsh, who was immediately replaced by pianist / organist Mike Lease, releasing two German singles and the soundtrack for the

Tinto Brass Giovanni "Tinto" Brass (born 26 March 1933) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. In the 1960s and 1970s, he directed many critically acclaimed avant-garde films of various genres. Today, he is mainly known for his later work in the er ...

Dino de Laurentiis Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis (; 8 August 1919 – 10 November 2010) was an Italian-American film producer. Along with Carlo Ponti, he was one of the producers who brought Italian cinema to the international scene at the end of World War II. He ...

film '' Attraction'' (original title ''Nerosubianco'', also known as ''Black on White''). In 1968, Harrison entirely overhauled the group's membership, and the new line-up began recording with more of a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

sound, scoring tour dates with

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

, Jethro Tull, and

The James Gang James Gang is an American rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1966. The band went through a variety of line-up changes until they recorded their first album as a power trio consisting of Joe Walsh (guitars, lead vocals), Tom Kriss (bass), and ...

.Freedom
at

MusicMight MusicMight (formerly RockDetector) was a rock music website which provides artist and product information through a global website and an ongoing book series. Based in New Zealand, the site was founded by British writer Garry Sharpe-Young, and was ...

They achieved renown for their version of the

Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developme ...

song "

Cry Baby Cry "Cry Baby Cry" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1968 double album ''The Beatles'' (also known as the "White Album"). It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The coda of the son ...

" on their second album ''Freedom at Last''. Further line-up changes occurred before the band finally splintered in 1972, with Harrison going on to

Snafu SNAFU is an acronym that is widely used to stand for the sarcastic expression Situation normal: all fucked up. It is a well-known example of military acronym slang. It is sometimes bowdlerized to "all fouled up" or similar. It means that the ...

Members

Bobby Harrison Robert Leslie Harrison (22 June 1939 – 7 January 2022) was an English drummer and singer who was best known as an early member of the progressive rock band Procol Harum. Life and career Harrison was born in East Ham, London, on 22 June 1939. ...

- vocals and drums * Ray Royer - guitar *Steve Shirley - bass *Tony Marsh - keyboards *Mike Lease - keyboards *Robin Lumsden - keyboards *Roger Saunders - guitar *Walt Monaghan - bass *Peter Dennis - bass *Steve Jolly - guitar

Discography

*''Black On White (Nero Su Bianco)'' (1969) *''Freedom at Last'' ( BYG Actuel/

ABC Records ABC Records was an American record label founded in New York City in 1955. It originated as the main popular music label operated by the Am-Par Record Corporation. Am-Par also created the Impulse! jazz label in 1960. It acquired many labels befo ...

, 1970) *''Freedom'' (reissued by

Angel Air Records Angel Air is an English independent record label established in February 1997, specialising in reissues of classic pop and rock albums originally issued in the 1960s and 1970s (and latterly new albums from known artists up to the 21st century) ...

, originally released 1970) *''Through the Years'' (

Vertigo Records Vertigo Records is a record company with United Kingdom origins. It was a subsidiary of the Philips/Phonogram record label, launched in 1969 to specialise in progressive rock and other non-mainstream musical styles. Today, it is operated by Uni ...

, 1971) *''Is More Than A Word'' (

, 1972)

References

External links

*
Bobby Harrison and Freedom official website
{{Authority control English rock music groups BYG Actuel artists Musical groups established in 1967 Musical groups disestablished in 1972 Vertigo Records artists 1967 establishments in England 1972 disestablishments in England