Tetsu Yamauchi, former Free and Faces bassist, dead at 79
Former Free and Faces bassist Tetsu Yamauchi has died aged 79.
In a statement, his family announced his death on social media, writing, “To all of you who have always supported us. On December 4, Reiwa 7 [The year 2025 in the Japanese calendar], Tetsu Yamauchi passed away peacefully, surrounded by family.”
The message continued, “We sincerely thank everyone who enjoyed Tetsu’s music and offered kind words until now. Those were fun times. It’s a long time, but a short time.”
No cause of death has been provided.
Yamauchi was born in 1946 and first made his name in the late 1960s playing alongside Japanese jazz mastermind Mickey Curtis, which caught the attention of many people in the London music scene.
He then became a session musician in London, which led to him being recruited by the Free duo, Paul Kossoff and Simon Kirke, to perform on the album, Kossoff Kirke Tetsu Rabbit, which also included John ‘Rabbit’ Bundrick.
Following this successful side project, he played on the final Free album, 1973’s Heartbreaker, after the departure of the band’s Andy Fraser.
When Free came to an end shortly after Yamauchi’s arrival, he wasn’t out of work for long and replaced Ronnie Lane in the Faces.
He then spent the bulk of his career as a session musician in Japan after the Faces split, but did also release live albums with Tetsu Yamauchi and the Good Times Roll Band and the Ope Band.
Yamauchi chose to live the final chapter of his life away from the spotlight after his retirement from music, but did return to the stage for three performances alongside Yoshitaka Shimada in 2023 and 2024.
Free drummer Simon Kirke has led the tributes, writing on social media, “Just heard that Tetsu passed away. He was a good friend and a great bass player. My condolences to his family and close friends. May he rest in peace.”
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