The Free Fringe began in 1996, founded by Peter Buckley Hill, with his show Peter Buckley Hill And Some Comedians.

Peter saw the Fringe as it then was: performers losing thousands of pounds, venues with four or five people in them, and complaints about high ticket prices. He saw that this was a vicious cycle. As costs to the performers rose, ticket prices rose. As ticket prices rose, fewer people went to shows and even fewer went to shows by artists they hadn't heard of. And this was bad for comedy; you can't make people laugh if there are only four of them, one in each corner of an otherwise empty room. And the more empty the audiences were, the more prices went up, to cover the rising costs of the venues. There seemed no escape from the cycle, and yet it was providing no opportunity for performers to rise through the ranks. The circle had to be cut.

Making the space free to performers would not be enough. The benefit had to be passed on to the consumer. Only thus could more people be attracted to see more shows.

The show that started the Free Fringe ‘Peter Buckley Hill And Some Comedians’ was the first of its kind. Peter paid a promoter for the space (there was no other option) and absorbed the loss. People called him mad. But audiences came. And came again. The bar broke all previous sales records.

In 1997 a different promoter attempted to force Peter to charge for admission. He resisted, and won. Peter Buckley Hill And Some Comedians II went ahead, and this time he didn't have to pay for the space. Indeed, it turned out that the promoter had not been charged for the space by the venue; she had sold the slots to her fellow artists and kept the money. The middleman was cut out, and the principle was established that increased drink sales were enough to satisfy the venue.

1998: PBHASC III became more established and increased its length to 1 1/2 hours. Name comedians played guest slots. But the pub manager left, and the area management didn't want the show to continue. A new venue had to be found. The experiment could have died at that point, but PBH was determined that it shouldn't.

After some searching, a new venue was found: the Three Quarter Sports Café on Grassmarket. This converted church had a wonderful performing room on two levels upstairs; this arrangement was marred only by the management's occasional cancellations of the shows to broadcast football and other sports on the big screen. It was in this venue that the first attempt to broaden the Free Fringe idea to more shows was made. The idea was to use weekday afternoons for a three-hour long rolling preview of any Fringe shows that wanted it, in 15-minute slots. This was an ambitious plan involving vast co-ordination between slots in the days before everybody had a mobile phone, and consequently suffered from occasional no-shows and dropouts. For these reasons, it didn't always succeed, but often it did, end the public took it in good part, often having lunch while watching the varied previews going past them. PBH bought an electric piano for this show; it was played twice. He still has it, and he still can't play it.

There were three years at the Three-Quarter; the public came in increasing numbers and name comedians played the shows. But the bar was closed and the venue sold, and yet another venue was needed. This was quite difficult to find.

Eventually, the Canon's Gait was approached. The then manager enthusiastically agreed to host PBH's two shows, but no more than that. Any expansion would have to wait for the future. In fact, the 2002 shows nearly did not take place, since that manager then left and the message about the shows was not passed on. Fortunately, the situation was rectified in time and PBHASC VII took place in the Canon's Gait. Smaller than the Three-Quarter, in nevertheless boasted a warm atmosphere and the audience flocked. After so much upheaval in the past, the Free Fringe had found a home and a place to expand in. Or so it seemed.

It was not to be. One of the numerous parasites who spoil the Fringe intervened. Declaring himself a comedy promoter, he persuaded the Canon's Gait's management that he could programme the space with better shows. PBH said he could do the same, but the management went with the 'promoter'. Who proceded to organise no shows whatsoever, having offered the space he was given free at £2000 per one-hour slot to performers. Meanwhile, no free venue was available to PBH and the cause seemed lost.

A chink of light showed through this darkness in June 2003, when the former manager of the Canon's Gait, Linsay Watts, telephoned PBH to say that she was now manager of a trade union club in Brunswick Street, and would PBH be interested in doing his show there? By that time the Fringe programme had long since gone to press, and PBH had made other arrangements for August. Driving to Edinburgh and back in the same day, he and his partner looked at the space offered, and though he could not change his arrangements, he promised to make something happen. A show called Some Comedians Without Peter Buckley Hill was put in place, and did well despite being in an unfamiliar building, in an otherwise Fringe-less part of Edinburgh, and having no entry in the programme. The enthusiasm of the organisers, and the loyalty of the audience PBH had built over the years, carried the day.

2004 saw the return of PBHASC VIII, and this time another opportunity to expand the Free Fringe, using extra space in the UCW Club. And it was then PBH made the biggest mistake in the whole saga of the Free Fringe. Seeking an easy source of variable-bill shows to complement his own two successful shows, he approached the Laughing Horse organisation. They put on a third variable-bill show and offered PBH a small sum to attach their name to the venue.

The shows went well. The formula worked. Now, after all the years, the opportunity to expand had finally arrived. For 2005 the Canon's Gait was brought back into play, so the Free Fringe had two venues. PBHASC IX went back to its third home, and a full raft of shows was booked for both venues. The booking was supposed to be a joint operation; instead, the Laughing Horse did it and presented PBH with a fait accompli. They also appended, without PBH's agreement, their name to the venues. Well, these were minor annoyances, and the important thing was that the shows went on. It was proven that the Free Fringe concept could work on a wider scale.

2006 saw a collaboration between PBH and the Laughing Horse organisation. This also saw the expansion on the Free Fringe. This worked exceptionally well, with full capacities seen at all venues, to the delight of both audiences and performers. However, behind the scenes the relationship between Laughing Horse and PBH was breaking down. There was a clear division between Laughing Horse’s commercial approach, and PBH’s collaborative not-for-profit ethos. The behaviour of the Laughing Horse organisation during this period was reprehensible, attempting to take control away from Free Fringe founder Peter Buckley Hill, even trying to ban him from his own venues and events. Much about these events has been written elsewhere on the internet.

For Peter Buckley Hill’s own account of these events go to: Truth & Lies

In 2007 the true Free Fringe coped with the opposition festival set up by the Laughing Horse, and survived a venue suddenly closing three weeks before the Fringe started. In the first week, it did nothing but rain, and the number of visitors to Edinburgh plummeted. We survived all this; not only survived, but triumphed. 1200 performances of 61 shows in seven venues happened, to acclaim from audience and critics. The ethos had proved itself. Performers worked together, provided all the equipment that the venues could not, and worked collaboratively and on their own initiative to make the Free Fringe happen. And it was extremely successful.

2008 will see a further controlled expansion, to 11 performance spaces in 10 venues. The public are coming to recognise that free is good; not only good for their pockets, but good artistically.

We will always continue to promote a collaborative, not-for-profit Free Fringe Festival. Free for Performers, Free for audiences, and free of the commercial trappings that have led to the spiralling cost of both attending, and performing at the Fringe.

The fringe is coming back to the people. This year the Free Fringe is bigger than ever, with more free venues, more free shows, and the best line-up yet. Check out the shows as they are put into the directory, and keep supporting the one and only, truly free Fringe!