Meaning of Freedom! ’90 by George Michael & The Story

On August 1, 1981, the MTV channel began broadcasting. He quickly broke into show business, forced him to follow the new rules and had a tremendous impact on the development of modern pop music. MTV made the whole world go crazy with video clips and turned them into a powerful way to promote new songs.

But not all popular artists liked to flash on the TV screen every day. For example, George Michael did not want to play a major role in the video for the song Freedom! ’90 (“Freedom! ’90”), but even without him, the video has become a cult. However, is it any wonder, because a super-talented director worked on it, and mega-popular top models participated in the filming.

The story of the creation of the song Freedom George Michael

Open almost any review of Freedom ’90 by George Michael and you will see that most of it is dedicated to the famous video. This article will not be an exception, but we will return to the music video later, but first a few words about the history of creation and the main idea of ​​the song.

To begin with, George added the recording year to the title to avoid confusion with the track Freedom, which Wham! released in 1984.

Michael himself wrote the words and music of the work, performed the song and acted as a producer of the recording. In addition, the shooting of the video took place with his direct participation.

Single Freedom! ’90, with Fantasy on the back, was released on October 30, 1990 via Columbia. The track topped the Canadian charts and hit the charts in many countries. The song peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number twenty-eight on the UK Singles Chart.

The meaning of the song Freedom 90 George Michael

So what is George Michael’s Freedom about? Fans of the musician believe that the composition is autobiographical. Allegedly, it is about the formation of an artist, his path to fame and the search for himself. In some lines, the author is probably referring to Andrew Ridgeley, his Wham! bandmate.

Many critics see in the song’s lyrics hints at George’s non-traditional sexual orientation. In 1998, Michael openly declared that he was gay, and so commented on his work.

As for my work, I have never really hidden my orientation. I write about my life.

CNN

Subsequently, the song Freedom! ’90 became the anthem of the LGBT community.

Video of Freedom by George Michael

By the early nineties, Michael was so tired of fame that he flatly refused to appear in videos, stating:

I’d rather never be in front of a camera again.

Lost Angeles Times, 1990

He agreed to release a music video for Freedom, but did not want to participate in the filming himself. Inspired by Peter Lindgergh’s famous photograph of Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington and Tatjana Patitz, he invited these models play roles in the clip.

Photo by Peter Lindbergh

Directed by director David Fincher. Then he was not yet so famous, but had already worked with Madonna (Madonna), Aerosmith, Billy Idol (Billy Idol) and other artists.

The costumes were designed by Camilla Nickerson, who would later become a contributing editor for Vogue magazine. She took the low-key street style as a basis, wanting to contrast it with the glamor of the fashion industry. Camilla chose a black sweater for Evangelista from her own wardrobe, and she took Campbell’s boots from her boyfriend.

The images of the models were created by the stylist Guido Palau. He tried to emphasize the natural beauty of the girls. On the eve of filming, Linda Evangelista bleached her hair until three in the morning, becoming a platinum blonde in the morning.

Makeup was done by makeup artist Carol Brown. She described the characters in the video as follows:

Cindy was sexy. Christy was cool, classic. Linda was a chameleon. She was capable of anything.

There are legends about the difficult character of Naomi Campbell, but on the set of the video, the top model behaved approximately. Brown remembers:

She was wearing a translucent top, and there were twenty or thirty men around: illuminators, electricians and others. But, as always, if she showed up on set, she was great.

John Pearson, who played the protagonist in the Freedom video, appears in the video wearing his jacket. He kept it and later gave it to his son.

Filming took place in London. Cindy Crawford recalled them:

I heard from director David Fincher that George needed a group of the very women who were on the cover of British Vogue in 1990. No substitutions. It seemed that it was George who came up with the idea to make a video that would not be about him, although the song was clearly about him. Everyone filmed separately, so there was no big party atmosphere. Each of us in the video has its own personality. But I remember being puzzled, “Really? Should I sit in the bath with a towel over my head? Everyone else looks so cool!” But when I saw it later, I said, “OK, that’s pretty cool.”

However, Cindy took a bath for fun:

There was no water there. They used some kind of equipment, like a smoke machine that filled the tub with steam. I sat on an apple crate so that I was high enough.

To make Crawford’s skin appear wet, she was covered in oil. Fincher intended the makeup to look floaty, as if she were in a room full of steam. To achieve the desired effect, Brown applied glycerin to Cindy’s face.

The music video premiered on MTV a few days after filming. The video was aired several times every day.

Critics saw notes of black humor in the clip. With the advent of the MTV channel, it has become extremely problematic to succeed in show business without an attractive appearance. In the Freedom music video, George Michael does not appear in the frame, but the audience can admire five gorgeous top models.

Cindy Crawford told how she feels about the track Freedom:

For many of us, [George’s song] was the soundtrack of our coming-of-age youth. However, it was not just music, but also an equally important message. MTV has really changed the face of music. From now on, it was not enough to have a beautiful voice. You should have had the complete package. That great message was George Michael’s decision at that turning point that he didn’t want to play the game anymore, that he wanted to have his own way. I think that made people love him even more.

Entertainment Weekly, 2017

Cover versions

In 1996 Freedom was recorded by Robbie Williams. He released the track as his debut single after leaving Take That. The song climbed to number two on the UK Singles Chart.

A music video was shot for Freedoms by Robbie Williams. The musician recalled that during the filming he danced in the frame to the song performed by George Michael, since his cover was not yet ready.

Interesting Facts

  • Starting his solo career, George Michael signed a contract with the Sony label. The producers created an image for him that the musician did not like. In the Freedom video, elements of that style burn out: a jacket, a guitar, a jukebox.
  • George Michael sang Freedom at the closing of the London Olympics.
  • The blood on set was fake.
  • All top models received the same fees. They were paid fifteen thousand dollars a day to shoot.

Freedom ’90 Lyrics by George Michael

I won’t let you down
I will not give you up
Gotta have some faith in the sound
It’s the one good thing that I’ve got
I won’t let you down
So please don’t give me up
‘Cause I would really, really love to stick around, oh yeah

Heaven knows I was just a young boy
Didn’t know what I wanted to be
I was every little hungry schoolgirl’s pride and joy
And I guess it was enough for me
To win the race, a pretty face,
Brand new clothes and a big fat place
On your rock and roll T.V.
But today the way I play the game is not the same, no way
Think I’m gonna get myself happy

I think there’s something you should know
I think it’s time I told you so
There’s something deep inside of me
There’s someone else I’ve got to be
Take back your picture in a frame
Take back your singing in the rain
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man

All we have to do now
Is take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don’t belong to you
And you don’t belong to me yeah yeah

Freedom! (I won’t let you down)
Freedom! (I will not give you up)
Freedom! (Have some faith in the sound)
You’ve gotta give for what you take (It’s the one good thing that I’ve got)
Freedom! (I won’t let you down)
Freedom! (So please don’t give me up)
Freedom! (‘Cause I would really, really love to stick around)
You’ve gotta give for what you take

Heaven knows we sure had some fun, boy
What a kick just a buddy and me
We had every big-shot good time band on the run, boy
We were living in a fantasy
We won the race, got out of the place
I went back home, got a brand new face
For the boys on MTV
But today the way I play the game has got to change, oh yeah
Now I’m gonna get myself happy

I think there’s something you should know
I think it’s time I stopped the show
There’s something deep inside of me
There’s someone I forgot to be
Take back your picture in a frame
Don’t think that I’ll be back again
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make the man

All we have to do now
Is take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don’t belong to you
And you don’t belong to me, yeah yeah

Freedom! (I won’t let you down)
Freedom! (I will not give you up)
Freedom! (Have some faith in the sound)
You’ve gotta give for what you take (It’s the one good thing that I’ve got)
Freedom! (I won’t let you down)
Freedom! (So please don’t give me up)
Freedom! (‘Cause I would really, really love to stick around)
You’ve gotta give for what you take

Well it looks like the road to heaven
But it feels like the road to hell
When I knew which side my bread was buttered
I took the knife as well
Posing for another picture
Everybody’s got to sell
But when you shake your ass
They notice fast
And some mistakes were built to last

That’s what you get (That’s what you get)
That’s what you get (I say that’s what you get)
That’s what you get (for changing your mind)
That’s what you get for changing your mind

That’s what you get
That’s what you get (And after all this time)
I just hope you understand
Sometimes the clothes do not make me, oh yeah

All we have to do now
Is take these lies and make them true somehow
All we have to see
Is that I don’t belong to you
And you don’t belong to me, yeah yeah

Freedom!
Freedom! (oh freedom)
Freedom! (my freedom)
You’ve gotta give for what you take
Freedom! (hold on to my freedom)
Freedom!
Freedom! (my freedom)
You’ve gotta give for what you take
Give for what you, give for what you take yeah
Yeah, you’ve got to give for what you, give for what you, give

May not be what you want from me
Just the way it’s got to be
Lose the face now
I’ve got to live, I’ve got to live, I’ve got to live

 

Interesting Facts

  • A reference to the period in Michael’s life when he was in the band Wham!
  • Probably a reference to Singin’ in the Rain (1952).
  • Most likely a reference to a former bandmate of Wham!
  • Probably a memory of working on the Faith album.
  • Could imply a break with the Sony label.
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