'Meet the Band'
Free Soul Sista reviews
"Check out our YouTube channel for more captivating performances and see the soul we bring to every event!"
Sandra Morris – Lead vocalist
Performing has always been in my blood.
From putting a bowl on my head as a top hat and mimicking those fancy dancers on variety TV, to being the dancing entertainment during the breaks at the local fashion shows to singing my heart out in church. Entering my teenage years, I knew singing was my heartbeat.
I went to clubs, and pubs and joined various bands. Became a mother in-between (greatest thing ever may I add). Then the dreaded nodules operation happened, and my voice was never the same. I lost all the things I thought were the qualities of my voice, and I did not sing again until 2016 when my late fiancé (Rik) heard me singing in a voice that I didn’t think much of.
He encouraged me to keep it up and made me realise that the qualities were coming from my soul and the way singing made me feel. Free Soul Sista was born.
Since then, with his support (and mostly leading), I've been involved in various projects and bands and met some awesome people along the way (Including our percussionist Paul and guitarist Vic). Rik and I always talked about having my band and he, myself, and our percussionist Paul Hughes decided to take steps to do so.
We didn’t have to look far, our awesome guitarist, Vic Lennard blessed us with his amazing talent, along with our amazing keyboard player, Tim Newcombe, our funkiest bass player Alistair McCaig, and our rhythmical drummer Ray Ward.
Together we formed Free Soul Sista & The Free Soul Band. Rik organised our very 1st gig together on 5th December 2019. That was the first and last gig he was able to see. Unfortunately, he passed away suddenly on 20th January 2020. He lives on in all of us but especially in me.
He is and will forever be the guiding force behind Free Soul Sista...
Paul Hughes – Congas/percussion
Paul Hughes was born in Glasgow learning drums and percussion from the age of nine. Played drums in several bands before moving to East Anglia in the mid
During the 1980s focusing more on congas and percussion Paul began playing in and around the Peterborough area.
He joined local 10-piece soul band Zanzara supporting the likes of seventies soul artists Edwin Starr and Jimmy James and the Vagabonds.
After 3 years he began forming his own Acid Jazz band Shorty George who in its time sold out one of Peterborough's biggest venues 5th Avenue nightclub.
After having a Hiatus for a few years Paul then became a founding member of the Local funk outfit Groove Cartel who went on to play at the UK's most prestigious funk and jazz venues such as Birmingham’s Yardbird and Camden's Jazz Cafe after 10 years he decided to move on.
After meeting Sandra, our very own Free Soul Sister, they decided alongside Rik (Sandra’s late fiance) to put the Free Soul band together and the rest they say is history.
Tim Newcombe – Keyboardist
Tim Newcombe Keyboards, Piano, Organ.
Tim began his musical career from the age of 5 when his parents bought him a second-hand piano. Many notes were missing, and it couldn’t be tuned higher than about 3 semitones under concert pitch but was perfect for piquing his interest in the instrument
From that point, Tim gained his grades through the Associate Board of the Royal School of Music. His classical training and interest in the fugues and preludes of Bach contrasted with a passion for improvisation within the blues rock and jazz genres.
Tim attended a blues club in a vaulted brick ceiling cellar in an Inn called “The Scotgate” in Stamford in Lincolnshire in the early 1980s where he played weekly with the resident blues band.
From that time he has been fully occupied playing and recording with many bands and musical styles, gaining a recording contract in the late 1980s with Clash records, where he recorded in their Golders Green studios, which spawned such artists as Trevor Horne and of course “The Clash”. He embarked on a theatre tour as part of the show’s band in the UK with the acclaimed show ‘General Micky’
From this time, he played sessions with a variety of artists, from Billie Davies, through to Alan Warner of the Foundations, where he performed the hits “Build Me up Buttercup” and “Baby, Now that I’ve Found You” to huge theatre audiences and has more recently become the keyboard player for the premier Celtish Rock band - The Clan Of Celts
During his session work, his passion for progressive rock music never faltered, with King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Camel and Genesis occupying an important space in his music collection.
Alistair McCaig - Bassist
Around the age of 15 Alistair first picked up a bass guitar so he could form a band with high school mates. His early music influences were Motown, funk & soul. With a diet of James Jamerson, Bernard Edwards & Lois Johnson filling the house, Alistair became very aware of the role of the bass in music.
Ironically though it was the his newfound love of British heavy rock bands that got under his skin. So Geezer Butler, Lemmy, John Paul Jones etc were his new heroes & influences. At the age of 16, his high school band Sweet Revenge were lucky enough to get a slot on the rock stage at the infamous Luton Carnival.
By the age of 17 he formed The Founded, now considered part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement, The Founded were signed to management & small record label. They released a limited quantity of a 7-inch vinyl double A side featuring the track 'Run to Hell'. Copies of this single fetch up to $300 on rare vinyl auction sites.
With early influences of funk mixed with metal, the band started to adopt an early Red Hot Chilli Peppers vibe before they were heard of in the UK. A near-fatal car accident suffered by the lead vocalist spelt the end for this very promising band.
Alistair had made a bit of a name for himself locally with his unique 'slap n tap' bass style & was recruited by rock pop jazz fusion band Black Taxi.
Black Taxi cut a demo at a top London studio in the Barbican. It was this experience that started my fascination with the recording process.
The band, out of necessity converted the first floor of the factory unit into a rehearsal space & then later into a commercially run 16-track recording studio.
Around this time, doing his stint in the studio, a young songwriter & a drummer came in to run through some of his songs. Knowing he was a bass player, they asked Alistair to join the session. After recruiting a guitarist & keyboard player, the band Azure was born.
One of the signature sounds of the band, alongside brilliant songwriting was Alistair's custom-built fretless bass with a brass percussive plate on the neck for slapping onto.
Around a year later he had a chance meeting with well known synth & Moog player Tigger at the studio. Although Tigger was known for his experimental & prog work, he was also in a busy gigging cover band 'Napoleons'.
Alistair was asked to play bass when they heard he was available & was soon joined by ex 'Then Jericho' lead man.
Napoleons toured the UK & Europe for a couple of years until an opportunity for a Canadian tour starting in Montreal came up. They toured Canada for 4 months, including highlights of a three-night headline at the Quebec City Palladium.
Back in the UK, Alistair spent the next 20 years playing in top London cover bands peppered with extensive touring of Europe, Scandinavia, Israel & of course the whole of the UK.
Out of cover the band, Evil Puppies, and Celtic rock original band Clan of Celts were formed. Following the release of their debut album they were invited to play at various events including the Paddy Wagon festival in Germany & headlined the Triskell festival in Italy near Venice.
Ray Ward - Drummer
Ray Ward drummer and percussionist from Peterborough who has worked with many different bands/artist across different music genres and plays a wide range of different styles such as jazz, big band, funk, blues, reggae, rock, Latin and pop.
Ryan Moody - Guitarist
Ryan Moody is a versatile guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, effortlessly mastering any musical style from blues and jazz to rock and metal. Known for his technical prowess and warm personality, Ryan is a joy to work with both in the studio and on stage.
His talent and positive attitude make him a beloved figure in the music community.