The group had formed in London, England back in 1968, with musician Paul Kossoff of the blues band Black Cat Bones witnessing a project that featured frontman Paul Rodgers. Free came into being once the duo joined up with musicians Simon Kirke and Andy Fraser, the latter formerly from the ranks of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Free's debut album, titled "Tons of Sobs", came out in 1968 to a muted response. The group's eponymous 1969 follow-up, while expanding on the band's mix of styles, also failed to achieve commercial success. Neither studio album had charted at all.