Free Spirit

Free Spirit was a six-member Manitoba group formed in Brandon from a circle of musicians whose connections reached back to the early 1960s. The band brought together Al Jones, Terry Fleetwood, Ian Hunter, Ken Blair, Bill Hillman and Sue-On Hillman, combining British club influences with the country, rock and dance-band traditions of the Canadian Prairies.

The group’s beginnings can be traced to Al Jones’s arrival in Brandon from England in 1963. A pianist, organist and saxophonist, Jones joined Bill Hillman, Ken Blair and Doug Brolund in the Blue Angels, an instrumental dance band built around the popular guitar music of the period. His keyboards and saxophone greatly expanded the group’s sound.

Jones had previously known Terry Fleetwood and Ian Hunter in England, where the three studied at a college that trained visually impaired students as physiotherapists. Fleetwood and Hunter later came to Manitoba and renewed their musical association with Jones. Together with Ken Blair, they performed around Brandon as Three and Easy, appearing at dances, parties, military functions and Ukrainian weddings.

Nearly a decade after the Blue Angels, Jones contacted Bill Hillman with a collection of original songs and proposed a recording project. He brought Fleetwood, Hunter and Blair into the sessions, while Bill contributed guitar, vocals and songwriting and Sue-On added vocals and percussion. The resulting group became Free Spirit.

Free Spirit’s music reflected the varied backgrounds of its members. British pubs and clubs, Prairie dance halls, country and western music, rock, swing and Sue-On Hillman’s Chinese heritage all contributed to the mixture heard on their recordings. The album’s liner notes described the result as a “melting-pot” of musical styles and eras.

The band recorded its self-titled album at Century 21 Studios in Winnipeg during five sessions in February and March 1975. Al Jones produced the project with assistance from Bill Hillman, while John Hildebrand and Colin Bennett engineered the sessions. All twelve selections were original compositions written by Jones, Blair and Hillman and arranged by Free Spirit.

Terry Fleetwood handled most of the lead vocals and also played harmonica and piano. Bill Hillman supplied lead and rhythm guitar and sang ‘Boogie Band’ and ‘Listen to Me Cry.’ Sue-On Hillman sang ‘In Love Again’ and contributed backing vocals and percussion. Ian Hunter played drums and tenor saxophone, Ken Blair played bass and rhythm guitar, and Al Jones performed on piano and organ.

The album ranged from the country sound of ‘Back to My Home Again’ and the Prairie imagery of ‘Estevan Coal Train’ to the rock drive of ‘Hey Gizella,’ the romantic ‘In Love Again’ and the nostalgic rock-and-roll style of ‘Go Play Your Ever-Lovin’ Game.’ Terry Fleetwood’s voice provided much of the album’s identity, while the changing lead singers and instrumental combinations gave the record its variety. The Al Jones composition ‘You Must Remember’ was also selected for release as a single.

-Robert Williston

Lineup:

Terry Fleetwood: lead vocals, backing vocals, harmonica, piano
Bill Hillman: lead vocals, backing vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar
Sue-On Hillman: lead vocals, backing vocals, percussion
Ian Hunter: drums, tenor saxophone, backing vocals
Ken Blair: bass guitar, rhythm guitar, backing vocals
Al Jones: piano, organ