Free Spirit Records

Free Spirit Records is a small independent record label established in 2002 in Yateley, Hampshire, by British acoustic guitarist and songwriter Bill Boazman, who performs under the name Sonny Black. The label is closely associated with Boazman's later return to intimate acoustic performance after earlier work in the British folk and blues circuit, collaborations with musicians including Heron and Mike Cooper, and a period leading Sonny Black's Blues Band and Sonny Black and the Dukes. The label's catalogue is centered on Boazman's own work rather than a broad roster of commercially prominent artists. Its releases document a repertoire drawing on country blues, fingerstyle guitar, slide guitar, ragtime, jazz standards, and original songs. The catalogue includes Blues of a Kind, The Blue Way, The Corner Seat, and The Best of Days. These recordings followed earlier releases on other labels and helped preserve the work of an artist whose career developed through folk clubs, blues venues, festival appearances, and specialist acoustic-music audiences rather than mainstream popular music. Free Spirit Records operates as an artist-led imprint. Its role appears to be primarily the production, issuing, and distribution of recordings connected with Sonny Black's independent career. The label's identity is therefore tied to authenticity, musicianship, and continuity with traditional acoustic and blues forms rather than mass-market genre positioning. The releases are especially relevant to listeners interested in British blues, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, and songwriter-led independent music. The label was founded after Boazman's earlier recordings with groups and collaborators, including Heron, Mike Cooper, and Sonny Black's Blues Band. By the 2000s, Boazman had returned to solo fingerpicking and National steel guitar, sometimes performing with bassist Chris Belshaw. He also appeared on BBC Radio 2 programmes and played festivals in the United Kingdom, France, and Italy. Free Spirit Records provided an outlet for this later phase of his work. Publicly available reference material does not indicate a large corporate parent, public listing, extensive external artist roster, or major commercial expansion. The imprint is best understood as a specialist independent label built around the recordings and artistic activities of its founder.

Free Spirit Records emerged from the later solo career of Bill Boazman, a British singer, songwriter, and acoustic guitarist who performs under the name Sonny Black. Boazman became involved with folk and blues music during the 1960s, influenced by artists such as Bob Dylan, Bert Jansch, and Jesse Fuller. He performed in British folk clubs and developed connections with musicians from the country's expanding acoustic and blues scenes. During the early 1970s, Boazman worked with the group Heron and contributed to recordings associated with the band, while also collaborating with guitarist and composer Mike Cooper. He later appeared on recordings and projects connected with other British folk and acoustic musicians. In the 1970s and 1980s, he combined daytime work as a truck driver with evening performances, writing and performing original songs with guitar accompaniment. Some of his compositions were subsequently recorded by other performers. Boazman adopted the Sonny Black name when he formed the first Sonny Black's Blues Band. The group played a hard Chicago-blues style and became associated with Dino's Blues Bar at the West End Centre in Aldershot. Its changing line-ups included a range of British blues musicians, and the band performed alongside visiting artists such as Eddie C. Campbell, Lowell Fulson, Guitar Shorty, and Carey Bell. The project later developed into Sonny Black and the Dukes, with the band's sound gradually incorporating more jazz influence. After this band period, Boazman returned increasingly to solo acoustic performance. His later repertoire emphasized fingerpicking, slide and National steel guitar, blues forms, ragtime, jazz standards, and self-written songs. He sometimes performed with bassist Chris Belshaw and made live appearances on BBC Radio 2 programmes. He also played festivals in Britain and continental Europe. Free Spirit Records was founded in 2002 in Yateley, Hampshire, as an independent outlet for this phase of Boazman's work. The label's catalogue includes Blues of a Kind, The Blue Way, The Corner Seat, and The Best of Days. These releases sit alongside Boazman's earlier recordings on other labels, including albums made under his own name and as Sonny Black. The imprint has remained closely identified with its founder and with specialist acoustic-blues music. Available reference material does not document a large-scale corporate structure, a broad commercial roster, or a major change of ownership.

• 2007

  The Best of Days is issued

  [1]Sonny Blacken.wikipedia.org

  The Best of Days is released on Free Spirit Records under catalogue number FSCD0005.

• 2006

  The Corner Seat is issued

  [1]Sonny Blacken.wikipedia.org

  The Corner Seat is released on Free Spirit Records as catalogue number FSCD004.

• 2002

  Free Spirit Records is founded

  [1]Sonny Blacken.wikipedia.org

  Bill Boazman, performing as Sonny Black, establishes the independent label in Yateley, Hampshire, to issue recordings connected with his later acoustic-blues career.

• 2002

  Blues of a Kind is issued

  [1]Sonny Blacken.wikipedia.org

  Blues of a Kind is released on Free Spirit Records as catalogue number FSCD002.

Artist-led independent imprint focused on British acoustic blues, fingerstyle and slide guitar, ragtime, jazz-influenced material, and original songwriting.

• Album · 2002

  Blues of a Kind

  An album by Sonny Black released on Free Spirit Records in 2002 as catalogue number FSCD002. It belongs to the label's core body of acoustic and blues-oriented recordings.

• Album

  The Blue Way

  A Sonny Black recording associated with Free Spirit Records under catalogue number FSCD003. Reference material identifies the title and label catalogue number but does not establish a confirmed release date.

• Album · 2006

  The Corner Seat

  A Sonny Black album issued by Free Spirit Records in 2006 as catalogue number FSCD004. It forms part of the label's documentation of Boazman's mature acoustic-guitar and blues work.

• Album · 2007

  The Best of Days

  A Sonny Black album released by Free Spirit Records in 2007 under catalogue number FSCD0005. It represents a later entry in the imprint's compact catalogue of artist-led acoustic and blues recordings.

1. 1Sonny Blacken.wikipedia.org