Looking for Freedom (song)

"Looking for Freedom"
Single by David Hasselhoff
from the album Looking for Freedom
B-side	Remix
Released	1989
Format	7" single, 12" maxi, CD maxi
Genre	Pop
Length	3:55
Label	White
Writer(s)	Jack White Gary Cowtan
Producer(s)	Jack White
David Hasselhoff singles chronology
"Life Is Mostly Beautiful With You" (1987) "Looking for Freedom" (1989) "Our First Night Together" (1989)

"Looking for Freedom" is a song by American singer David Hasselhoff. It was released in 1989 (originally released in 1978 with German singer Marc Seaberg^[1]). The song held the No. 1 positions in the former West Germany for 8 weeks^[2] and in Switzerland for 4 weeks.

Lyrics

The song is about a rich man's son who wants to make his own way in the world, rather than to have everything given to him. It was originally a hit under the name 'Auf der Straße nach Süden' performed in 1978 by Tony Marshall.^[2]

The composer was Jack White (German) and "Looking for Freedom" was the original title and lyric of the song, written by Gary Cowtan (British). It was already finished before Jon Athan began writing the German lyric. The later recorded German version sung by Tony Marshall was released some weeks after the original version sung by Marc Seaberg. The misleading factor was that Marc Seaberg was a new artist in 1978, whereas Tony Marshall was already an established star. Both of these versions, recorded at Hansa Studio 2 in Berlin, used the same instrumental tracks and some of these were again used on David Hasselhoff's 1989 version, which was completed in Los Angeles. All three versions were produced by Jack White.

Performance at Berlin Wall

As seen in an early viral video rediscovered in the late 1990s,^[3] Hasselhoff famously performed this song before throngs of pro-German reunification activists at the Berlin Wall on New Year's Eve 1989, mere weeks after the wall started being taken down. Wearing a piano-keyboard tie and a leather jacket covered in motion lights, Hasselhoff stood in a bucket crane and performed the song along with the crowd. On a later tour of Germany in 2004, Hasselhoff would lament that a photo of him was lacking from the Checkpoint Charlie Museum in Berlin.^[4]

Cover versions and uses in the media

Swedish dansband, pop and country singer Kikki Danielsson covered the song on her 2006 album I dag & i morgon.

In 2006, German basketball player Dirk Nowitzki joked that he sings the song before free throws.

In a commercial for Norwegian telephone company Telenor's "Djuice Freedom" subscription plan, David Hasselhoff is shown singing the song, with a voiceover that says, "David Hasselhoff is looking for freedom, Are you?"

The song plays on the car stereo in 2012's Cloud Atlas as Jim Broadbent's Timothy Cavendish flees a tyrannical nursing home in one of the segments directed by German Tom Tykwer.

Moone Boy's Martin Moone and his imaginary friend (played by Chris O'Dowd) dance to it on their own wall as the live transmission of the fall of the Berlin Wall plays on television, ending the episode "Another Prick In The Wall" also from 2012.

ESPN used this song in an ad advertising a Knicks vs Mavericks Wednesday night game, using Dirk Nowitzki as backdrop.

Track listings

7" single

1. "Looking for Freedom" — 3:55
2. "Looking for Freedom" (instrumental) — 3:55

CD and 12" maxi

1. "Looking for Freedom" (maxi version — vocal) — 5:32
2. "Looking for Freedom" (single version — vocal) — 3:55
3. "Looking for Freedom" (single version — instrumental) — 3:55

Charts and sales

Peak positions Chart (1989) Peak position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] 1 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 18 France (SNEP)[7] 12 Germany (Official German Charts)[8] 1 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 31 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 1

End of year charts End of year chart (1989) Position Austrian Singles Chart[11] 2 Swiss Singles Chart[12] 1 Certifications and sales Country Certification Date Sales certified Germany[13] Platinum 1989 500,000

Chart successions

References

1. http://www.discogs.com/Marc-Seaberg-Looking-For-Freedom-Shorty/release/1281693
2. Bill Brioux, Truth and rumors, pp. 94–96
3. ZDF TV, David Hasselhoff at Berlin Wall 1989 on YouTube
4. BBC News, Did David Hasselhoff really help end the Cold War?, 2004-12-06
5. "Austriancharts.at – David Hasselhoff – Looking for Freedom" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
6. "Ultratop.be – David Hasselhoff – Looking for Freedom" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
7. "Lescharts.com – David Hasselhoff – Looking for Freedom" (in French). Les classement single.
8. "Musicline.de – David Hasselhoff Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
9. "Dutchcharts.nl – David Hasselhoff – Looking for Freedom" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
10. "Swisscharts.com – David Hasselhoff – Looking for Freedom". Swiss Singles Chart.
11. 1989 Austrian Singles Chart Austriancharts.at (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
12. 1989 Swiss Singles Chart Hitparade.ch (Retrieved April 20, 2008)
13. "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Looking+for+Freedom')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved April 20, 2008.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics