Admiral Freebee

Admiral Freebee plays Admiral Freebee (2003)

Rags ‘n Run (that harmonica!), Ever Present, Einstein Brain (all together now: “You can’t milk a cow with your hands in your pants”) and Mediterranean Sea: no less than four successful singles spawned from Admiral Freebee’s timeless 2003 debut. Exactly 20 years later, the album has not lost an ounce of relevance or listening pleasure.

Admiral Freebee – a name plucked from Jack Kerouac’s book On The Road – pretty much won Humo’s Rock Rally twice in 2000: as finalist behind Mintzkov in ‘The Holy Top 3’ and as worthy winner of the audience award. Frontman Tom Van Laere immediately stood out as an animated songwriter in the guise of an obsessed and wholesome preacher. One with a rare sense of humour even.

On his debut, he was surrounded by particularly fine folk like Nathalie Delcroix (Laïs), Lars van Bambost (Noordkaap), Gert Bettens (K’S Choice) and Lazy Horse (Flip Kowlier). The album was inundated with rave reviews. And because to measure is (sometimes) to know: this instant classic was parked in the Ultratop album charts for no less than 70(!) weeks, this achievement crowned by a spot right at the top.

Anything else to add? Yep, most definitely: “We want the Admiral for President!”