what do you know & think about the man? where are the connections with the Stones (or other bands of the time)? did anyone of you met him or visited an exhibtion?
is he enveloped in the "art direction" of the stones or music in general? (maybe a bit like andy warhol and velvet underground)
what is his role in the "swinging london time"?
did he ever illustrated an album cover?



..i think about to write an article or termpaper in the university (musicology & science of art) about robert fraser, but there is not that much literature about him...but i´m very interested in this topic!

maybe u guys can help me a little bit - it would be great!!

thank u very much!!

..and now let the thoughts flow..

Anita is the one who introduced the Stones to Robert Fraser, who then introduced them to the "in crowd" during London's Swingin' Sixties.
You should buy the Robert Fraser biography "Groovy Bob" for more on him. Very interesting character.

Groovy Bob: The Life and Times of Robert Fraser
by Harriet Vyner

[www.artscope.net]

He was a close friend of the Rolling Stones and was present at the infamous party at Keith Richards' house, 'Redlands', which was raided by police, leading to the subsequent arrests and trials of Jagger, Richards and Fraser on drug possession charges. The famous 1967 Richard Hamilton work Swinging London depicts Jagger and Fraser, in handcuffs, being taken from court to prison in a police van. Although Jagger and Richards were acquitted on appeal, Fraser plead guilty on charges of possession of heroin and was sentenced to six months hard labour.

Fraser left the UK and spent several years in India during the 1970s. He returned to London in the early 1980s and opened a second gallery in 1983, but by this time he was suffering from chronic drug and alcohol problems and the gallery never replicated the success of its predecessor, although Fraser was again influential in promoting the work of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring.

It soon transpired that Fraser was also suffering from AIDS, making him one of the first 'celebrity' victims of the disease in the UK. He was cared for by the Terence Higgins Trust during his final illness and is said to have been the first person with AIDS in Britian who was able to die at home. He died in 1986.



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

FoolToCry, I think there's a fair amount about him out there, scattered around. He was such a pivotal and ubiquitous figure.

He seems to have been the center of a great deal of creative activity in London, and for that I'm grateful.

But personally, I shudder slightly when his name appears. As much good as he did, he also seems (to me) to have been something of a provocateur, and have attracted or instigated trouble.