I’m so sorry.

Fred, Miller Anderson, Pete Phillips and I had some great times back in the day. Fred was a character. He told me he started with Sutch on ten bob a week AND he had to drive the van. We starved together in Germany – van broken down – club owner not paying us – but we got to play for hours every night and that was the buzz. Somehow disasters were averted and we’d make it back.

I always felt bad for Fred. He was – quite naturally – Jerry Lee Lewis’s twin. Same range, same power on the keyboards, same arrogance and he could be really funny – same love of American Country music – he would often sail into a song the band had never heard of. Fred loved the raw original beginnings of Rock ‘n’ Roll and remained staunchly loyal to it during a long, successful career. He had a lot of fans in Europe and never seemed to stop working – music was his life.

We all went off and did different things, but I’ll always be grateful to Fred for giving me a little hope at a time when I thought the factory was my only future.

I’ll always remember him saying to me “You’re a good songwriter – but don’t ever try to sing.” He was probably right!!!

Rest In Peace, Freddie.

Condolences to all.

Ian Hunter
January 13, 2014
Connecticut, USA