Freedom! '90

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Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
Freedom! '90
  DE 41 December 3rd, 1990 (16 weeks)
  UK 28 December 15, 1990 (6 weeks)
  US 8th October 27, 1990 (16 weeks)

Freedom! '90 (mostly called Freedom ) is a 1990 song by George Michael , written and produced by him. To avoid confusion with the hit of the same name by Wham! from 1984, the year was added to the title.

It was released as a single in the US on October 24, 1990, and in Great Britain on December 3, 1990.

Freedom! '90 was the third release from the album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 worldwide , but the second in Australia. It was one of the few up-tempo songs on the album. The title became a worldwide hit and a number one hit in Canada .

In the song, Michael counts on the past with Wham! as well as the resulting successes, brings Michael more independence to the fore in his solo career and reveals his cynical view of the music business in the early 1990s . That's why Michael didn't appear in the video, but let some (of the then) supermodels appear. The melody contains samples from the songs Think of Aretha Franklin 's 1968 and Funky Drummer by James Brown from the year 1970th

George Michael sang the song at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics .

Freedom! '90 starred in the film Bee Movie and in a commercial for Chase Manhattan Bank . It was also used in the episodes Bettgeschichten of King of Queens and The High School Reunion Part 2 (not previously broadcast in Germany) in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia .

Music video

According to a Los Angeles Times newspaper article , George Michael was getting too much pressure from the spotlight back in 1990; “At some point in your career, the situation between you and the camera is reversed. You can withstand this for a while and you need it, but ultimately it's like a love affair. The minute that goes by is what makes you so ... and it feels like you are in the center. ”He decided he didn't want to do any more photo shoots or music videos. He said, "I never want to box in front of a camera again."

Even though he pulled out and decided to shoot a video for his new song, he still declined to appear on it. Instead, inspired by the portrait of Peter Lindbergh 's icons Naomi Campbell , Linda Evangelista , Tatjana Patitz , Christy Turlington and Cindy Crawford on the cover of the January 1990 issue of Vogue , Michael asked if they would appear in the video. It was a trend at the time for models to appear in music videos, mostly models that reflected the singer's preferences (e.g. Christie Brinkley in the video for Uptown Girl by [her future husband] Billy Joel or the appearance of the then 17 -year-old Turlington in Duran Duran's Notorious ). In the clip, the models do not appear together, but separately and sing individual passages lip-synchronously. This idea was used in the 1985 clip for Bryan Ferry's Slave to Love . This music video featured the appearances of five male models: John Pearson, Mario Sorrenti, Scott Benoit, Todo Segalla and Peter Formby.

Evangelista did some research before agreeing to appear on the video and said, “I thought he was going to do something challenging with us, it would be an advantage for us. I felt like this: Please, here we are and we are always ready! ”After speaking with Michael, however, she was convinced and changed her schedule. Responding to a 2015 article in Vanity Fair , Evangelista said, “Little did I know I was still being associated with the video. These are memories. Oh yeah, George was right. ”A wage disagreement was also resolved when Annie Veltri, who represents Campbell, Evangelista, Patitz, Turlington and Crawford at Elite Model Management , revealed that all of her clients are paying the same $ 15,000 each Day received.

The video was directed by David Fincher , whose "dark and graphic style with velvety-colorful, atmospheric interpretation and sharp storytelling" was awarded and earned it for his work on Madonna's " Express Yourself " video last year.

His team for the multi-day “Freedom! '90 'filming included Camilla Nickerson, who would later become a Vogue editor, as well as clothing stylist and hairdresser Guido and makeup artist Carol Brown. The video was shot in a huge building in the London Borough of Merton . Nickerson said it exuded "both a grandeur and a blade runner feel."

Like the 92 sketch-like storyboard, each model had to be shot on different days, except for Evangelista and Turlington, who appear together in one scene. Each model was assigned a stanza in lip synchronicity, while the chorus included three elements from the music video for Faith , which symbolized his image in public at the time: his leather jacket, a jukebox from the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company and a guitar that exploded with the refrain " Freedom ”. While the needle of a jukebox touches the record in the video for Faith , Freedom starts! '90 with a laser scan of the compact disc to represent the technological level of the time.

Cover version of Robbie Williams

Chart positions
Explanation of the data
Singles
Freedom
  DE 10 08/12/1996 (11 weeks)
  AT 19th 08/11/1996 (10 weeks)
  CH 8th 08/11/1996 (10 weeks)
  UK 2 08/10/1996 (14 weeks)

In 1996, Robbie Williams covered the song, which became his debut single. After Williams left Take That , he recorded his version as the song matched his mood and view of the exit. This version reached number 2 in the UK charts, 26 places higher than the original at the time. Until 2010, the cover version did not appear on any album, but for the first time in fourteen years on the compilation In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990-2010 . By the end of 1996, the single had sold 280,000 copies and was awarded a Silver Record by the British Phonographic Industry . In the music video, Robbie Williams dances in changing scenes on a beach, in a field and in an urban area.

Other covers

Individual evidence

  1. Sources chart positions: Chart statistics for Freedom! '90 (George Michael) on chartsurfer.de, accessed December 28, 2016.
  2. [Charts and release on chartsurfer.de]
  3. release date UK
  4. Receipt for samples
  5. Interview in Allure.com
  6. Music video on Youtube.com George Michael
  7. Sources for chart placements: Chart statistics for Freedom (Robbie Williams) on chartsurfer.de, accessed on December 28, 2016.
  8. Music video on Youtube.com Robbie Williams