Freedom (Wham! song)

"Freedom" is a hit song by British pop duo Wham!. It became the group's second number one hit on the UK Singles Chart and reached number three in America.[1] It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo.[2]

For the unrelated later solo song by George Michael, see Freedom! '90.
"Freedom"
Artwork for the U.K. 7-inch single and continental European release
Single by Wham!
from the album Make It Big
B-side
  • "Freedom (Instrumental)" (UK)
  • "Heartbeat" (US)
Released
  • 1 October 1984 (UK)
  • July 1985 (US)
Recorded1984
GenrePop
Length
  • 5:01 (album version)
  • 5:20 (single edit w/alternate ending)
LabelCBS
Songwriter(s)George Michael
Producer(s)George Michael
Wham! singles chronology
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
(1984)		 "Freedom"
(1984)		 "Last Christmas" / "Everything She Wants"
(1984)
Music video
"Freedom" on YouTube

History

Wham! had already enjoyed a successful 1984 by the time "Freedom" was released in October of the year. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" had given them their first UK number one and had then reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. George had then gone to number one with a solo single, "Careless Whisper". Then after, Wham! had their second American number one song with "Everything She Wants".

"Freedom" was number one in the UK for three weeks,[1] and featured on the album Make It Big, which was issued at the same time. Unusually for the time, it was released in mono sound. "Freedom" was the 10th biggest-selling single of 1984.[3] This song also reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US in September 1985.[4] The music video, coinciding with the 1985 US release, features the band touring around Beijing, China.

The melody of the song was used by George Michael as an introduction to his song, "Faith", played on a church organ.

A reworked version of the song with altered lyrics (but still performed by the duo) was used to promote Maxell's line of audio cassettes in 1984.[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by George Michael.

7": Epic / A 4743 (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Freedom"5:08
2."Freedom" (Instrumental)5:10
7": Columbia / 38-05409 (US)
No.TitleLength
1."Freedom"5:00
2."Heartbeat"4:42
12": Epic / TA 4743 (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Freedom" (Long Version)7:14
2."Freedom" (Instrumental)5:10
  • Note "Long Version" is mislabeled as "Long Mix"
12" maxi single: Columbia / 44-05238 (US)
No.TitleLength
1."Freedom" (Long Mix)6:16
2."Heartbeat"4:42
3."Freedom" (Instrumental)5:10

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Netherlands (NVPI)[36] Gold 75,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[37] Gold 700,000[38]

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 441–2. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. Amy Hanson. "Freedom - Wham! | Listen, Appearances, Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-03-29.
  3. 1984 in British music#Best-selling singles
  4. "Wham! Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  5. "Wham! - Maxell Cassette Tape Commercial (1984)". YouTube. Maxell. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  6. David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. "Ultratop.be – Wham! – Freedom" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  8. "Radio 2 Top 30" (in Dutch). Top 30. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  9. "Offiziellecharts.de – Wham! – Freedom". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  10. "Wham! Chart History". RÚV. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  11. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Freedom". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  12. "Dutchcharts.nl – Wham! – Freedom" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  13. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 45, 1984" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  14. "Charts.nz – Wham! – Freedom". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  15. "Norwegiancharts.com – Wham! – Freedom". VG-lista. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  16. "Lista Przebojów Programu 3". LP3. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  17. "Swedishcharts.com – Wham! – Freedom". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  18. "Swisscharts.com – Wham! – Freedom". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  19. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  20. "Austriancharts.at – Wham! – Freedom" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  21. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0579." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  22. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9296." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  23. "CHART NUMBER 1499 – Saturday, September 14, 1985". CHUM. Archived from the original on 7 November 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-07.
  24. "Lescharts.com – Wham! – Freedom" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  25. "Hit Parade Italia". HitParadeItalia (in Italian). Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  26. "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1965 – 1989 Acts W". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  27. "Wham! Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  28. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending SEPTEMBER 28, 1985". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
  29. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 28 August 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  30. "Ultratop Jaaroverzichten 1984". Ultratop 50 (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  31. "Hit Parade Italia - I singoli più venduti del 1984". FIMI (in Italian). Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  32. "Dutch Charts Jaaroverzichten Single 1984". Single Top 100 (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 14 October 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  33. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1984". Dutch Top 40 (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  34. "Volume 97 No. 52, DECEMBER 28. 1985" (PDF). Billboard. New York, NY, USA. 28 December 1985. p. TA-21,TA-28. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  35. "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1985". Cash Box. Archived from the original on October 1, 2012. Retrieved 2017-04-23.
  36. "Dutch single certifications – Wham! – Freedom" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 28 November 2019. Enter Freedom in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  37. "British single certifications – Wham! – Freedom". British Phonographic Industry. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Freedom in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  38. "George Michael on the charts". Music Week. Intent Media. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
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