Fred & The Healers - I Gotta Leave (1998) Lossless

Fred and the Healers is a blues & blues-rock band from Belgium. After a break of about 8 years and the last gig at the Ancienne Belgique of Brussels on november 12 2004, the band is back with a brand new line-up in 2013 with Fred Lani on guitar, Cedric Cornez on bass and Nico Sand on drums. Fred Lani creates the band in 1994 at the age of 17 together with bassplayer Papy X and drummer Marc Lhommel. As most teenagers stepping into the blues, Fred is mainly influenced by guitar legends such as Jimi Hendrix, Rory Gallagher, Johnny Winter and Stevie Ray Vaughan. Other major influences of that time include Freddie King, Albert King or Peter Green. The style of Fred and the Healers could then be named as 'Texas Blues'. The band benefits from the baby blues hype of the mid-nineties with musicians such as Monster Mike Welch, Kenny Wayne Shepperd, Jonny Lang, Ainsley Lister, Julian Sas. The band wins the Belgian Blues Prize in 1996 and takes an active part in the Belgium Blues Boom of the nineties with other bands such as El Fish, The Electric Kings, Last Call,... The band self-releases a first EP the same year, of which the 500 copies are sold in about 4 weeks thanks to a strong support of Radio 21. Launched one morning of june 1996 by Marc Ysaye and Yves Damoiseau, the first single 'Stormy Morning' brings an unexpected large audience to the band. At the same time, the band starts collaborating with Boogie Town Agency. Marc Lhommel soon leaves the band for personal reasons and is replaced by Axel Muller, a drummer with more jazz influences. In 1997, the band releases his first album 'First'. The CD is licensed by Kroko Records and published by Universal Music. Both the slow blues 'Love is a Lie' 'à la SRV' and the super-energetic version of 'Messin' with the Kid' get heavy rotation on most national radio channels, including Radio 21, and on the local radio stations that massively support the band. The sales are exceptional for the blues genre, reaching about 6000 copies in total, with about 4000 copies sold in the first three months. The CD is included by the FNAC in the 'Parcours Blues' initiative. This brings national as well as international visibility to the band with even a highlight in the Billboard of May 16 1998. The band plays a first sold out gig at the Orangerie of the Botanique in Brussels. Fred and the Healers also open the Boogie Town festival that year. The tour includes about 40 dates all over Belgium (Wallonia and Flanders), the Netherlands and the North of France, in clubs, large venues and festivals (e.g. Gaume Jazz, Jazz à Liège, Gouvy Jazz & Blues, Boogie Town, .). A 52 minutes documentary produced by the RTBF and presented by Marc Ysaye closes the tour. In 1998, a second guitar player, Jérôme Boquet, joins the band. The band prepares and releases a -more bluesy- second album 'I Gotta Leave', licensed by Crossover and published by Universal Music. With 4000 copies sold in one year and while not being as successful as 'First', the CD gets good reviews in the media and helps the band building its live reputation. The band plays about 60 gigs in one year, with emphasis on Flanders and the Netherlands. In 1998 and 1999, Fred and the Healers can be seen in several blues festivals in Flanders and the Netherlands (Kwadendamme, Middelburg, Sittard, Handzame, Harelbeke, Wuustwezel, Peer PRBF, Kid's R&B Antwerpen, Wespelaar Swing, .). In 1999 the band gets the chance to play as support acts for artists such as Canned Heat, Popa Chubby, Joe cocker, Robert Cray, . In 2000, the band keeps touring with about 40 gigs in Benelux. In 2000, Fred plays in a super Belgian blues band called 'The Amazing All Stars Boogie Band' with Willy 'Wuff' Maze (The Electric Kings, Tee), RC Stock (Last Call, The Electric Kings), Roland Van Campenhout, Steven De Bruyne (El Fish), Philip Casteels (El Fish). In 2001, the band releases its third album 'Electerrified', produced by Mercury Universal. The album approaches the power of some recordings of the great Johnny Winter and Rory Gallagher, making it more a blues-rock album than a pure blues album. The release is celebrated by two sold-out shows at the Botanique in Brussels. The CD hits the charts - a real surprise for the blues genre - with more than 7000 copies sold. The band starts touring again over the Benelux, France and Italy. Hitting the charts (including several weeks in the FNAC top 10 of the Cd sales) helps the band reaching a larger audience with live appearances at the Dour Festival, Nandrin (before Robert Plant), Couleur Café, Peer PRBF (as headliner of the Friday), More blues Zottegem, Jazz Marathon, Eupen Muzik Marathon, . On June 3, Fred and the Healers with Big Dave as special guest open for Bon Jovi in front of 35000 people on the Werchter festival plein, bringing homemade Belgian blues-rock to a level which had never been reached before. At the end of the 'Electerrified' tour, Jérôme Boquet leaves the band to focus on his studies. In 2003, during the preparation of the new CD, Fred takes the hard decision to change the line-up in order to drastically modify the colour of Fred and the Healers' music. Axel Muller leaves the band (Axel Muller is now the member of a very good blues band called Lightning Bug) and is replaced by a legendary musician, Bruno Castellucci. The new CD 'Red' is officially presented in 2004 with two gigs at the Botanique with a promising opening band. Triggerfinger ! The new CD includes more folk and rock songs with a bluesy touch than pure blues song. The CD receives good critics in the media and gets air play on the brand new Classic 21. In 2004, the CD sale market is strongly suffering from the competition of authorized and unauthorized downloading platforms, nevertheless, with about 3000 copies sold, 'Red' remains the best chart performance of the band despite a decrease