Freak like Me

Music video

The original music video was directed by Hype Williams.

Official versions

"Freak Like Me" (LP version) – 4:13

"Freak Like Me" (radio version) – 4:04

"Freak Like Me" (a cappella) – 2:35

"Freak Like Me" (instrumental) – 4:10

"Freak Like Me" (dub instrumental) – 4:12

"Freak Like Me" (remix featuring rap by Inspector Rick) – 4:17

"Freak Like Me" (remix without rap) – 4:06

Track listing

1. "Freak Like Me" (radio version) – 4:04
2. "Freak Like Me" (remix featuring rap by Inspector Rick) – 4:17
3. "Freak Like Me" (dub instrumental) – 4:12
4. "Freak Like Me" (remix without rap) – 4:06
5. "Freak Like Me" (instrumental) – 4:10
6. "Freak Like Me" (a cappella) – 2:35

Tru Faith & Dub Conspiracy version

In 2000, a collaboration between two UK garage groups, Tru Faith & Dub Conspiracy, released a cover version of "Freak Like Me". English singer Imaani provided vocals on the song. This version reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.

CD and 12" formats include remixes by Wideboys and Dome.

Track listing

UK CD maxi-single

1. "Freak Like Me" (radio edit) – 3:21
2. "Freak Like Me" (original mix) – 4:49
3. "Freak Like Me" (Wideboys Vocal Mix) – 5:01
4. "Freak Like Me" (Dome's Freaky Deaky Mix) – 5:59

UK 12" vinyl

A1. "Freak Like Me" (original mix) – 4:49 A2. "Freak Like Me" (Wideboys Dub) – 4:35 B1. "Freak Like Me" (Vocal Remix) – 5:10 B2. "Freak Like Me" (Freaky Deaky Mix) – 5:10

Sugababes version

In 2002, English girl group Sugababes recorded a cover of "Freak Like Me". It was released on 22 April 2002 as the lead single from their second studio album, Angels with Dirty Faces (2002). Their version, however, features Gary Numan and the Tubeway Army's "Are "Friends" Electric?" as the backing track. The song also appears on Richard X's album, Richard X Presents His X-Factor Vol. 1 (2003). "Freak like Me" was the first Sugababes single to feature Heidi Range, who joined after the departure of Siobhán Donaghy in June 2001.

The song received rave reviews from music critics. It was released as the first single from the album, in the spring of 2002 and reached number one in the United Kingdom (where it sold over 275,000 copies), number two in Ireland, and number four in Norway.

Background

This version of the song uses the backing track of a 2001 bootleg mash-up by English producer Richard X, titled "We Don't Give a Damn About Our Friends", which he created under the alias "Girls on Top". The Sugababes version of the song, itself a new version of "We Don't Give a Damn About Our Friends", was sampled from Gary Numan and the Tubeway Army's "Are "Friends" Electric?" and used the radio edit lyrics of Howard's song ("brotha" is used instead of "nigga"). Numan was now credited as a co-writer of the song. Richard X produced the mash-up without the permission of the copyright holders of the songs by Adina Howard or Tubeway Army, but it became a successful underground dance track. After failing to gain permission to use Howard's vocals for a commercial release, the Sugababes were chosen by Richard X to re-record them.

The sound effect featured at the beginning of the song is the coin-insert tone from the popular 1981 video game Frogger. (The sound was also used to begin the song "Froggy's Lament", about the video game itself, on Buckner & Garcia's album Pac-Man Fever.)

Critical reception

In 2012, The Guardian named "Freak like Me" as the best number-one single of 2002. NME complimented the track as "genius" and claimed, "if this gets to number one, we'll be grinning all summer. Yes, even the Critics."

Chart performance

On April 22, 2002, "Freak like Me" was released in the United Kingdom. The song became Sugababes' first number-one single when it debuted at number one in the UK Singles Chart, remaining in the top ten for four weeks. It remains one of the best selling singles released by the group, selling over 275,000 copies since its release and being certified Silver.

Outside of the United Kingdom, the song was also successful. While it reached the top ten in Ireland, Norway and Belgium, the song entered the top 30 of most of the charts it appeared on. In Australia, "Freak like Me" became the fourth single by Sugababes to make the singles chart, reaching number 44. It would be their lowest-charting single in Australia until the release of "Shape" in 2003.

Music video

The music video was directed by Dawn Shadforth and Sophie Muller and was filmed in London. It uses the We Don't Give a Damn Mix of the song, which is more faithful to the original mash-up. The video is set in a strange nightclub, and acts as an introduction for the recent addition of Heidi Range. It begins outside the nightclub with a man tumbling down the stairs, with Keisha Buchanan in a long coat, seen only from below the knee, walking out of a door, over the man's body and up the stairs. Mutya Buena is seen standing on the stairs facing the direction where the man is lying. Inside, they spot Range dancing and flirting with many guys. They both quickly clash with her, and a fight between them ensues, which ends with Range falling to the floor unconscious. A man tries to help her up, but Buena grabs him by the neck and throws him away from her. Range wakes up again soon after, and stumbles out of the club with another man, where they begin to kiss, until she suddenly bites hard into his arm. Meanwhile, Buchanan takes a man outside, and she leads him into a dark alley, where they flirt briefly, before she scares him away. Buena then goes outside as well, and overpowers a man who towers over her. The music video ends with Buchanan and Buena accepting Range into the group, and dancing into the night. The demonstrations of supernatural strength shown throughout the video and Range biting the man on the arm are generally understood to imply that the women are, as the song suggests, vampire-like "freaks". Julian Morris stars in the music video as one of the boys running from Buena.

Track listing

UK CD1

1. "Freak Like Me" (radio edit) – 3:14
2. "Freak Like Me" (We Don't Give a Damn Mix) – 3:39
3. "Breathe Easy" – 4:09
4. "Freak Like Me" (video) – 3:39

UK CD2 (Later withdrawn due to manufacturing error)

1. "Freak Like Me" (radio edit) – 3:14
2. "Freak Like Me" (Different Gear Mix) – 8:14
3. "Freak Like Me" (Capoeira Twins Mix) – 5:33
4. "Freak Like Me" (Jameson Mix) – 5:46

UK Cassette

1. "Freak Like Me" (radio edit) – 3:14
2. "Freak Like Me" (We Don't Give a Damn Mix) – 3:39
3. "Freak Like Me" (Jameson Mix) – 5:46

In popular culture

In The Story of Tracy Beaker episode "Music", Adele is singing part of the first verse of Freak Like Me in her bedroom when Tracy approaches her and compliments her voice and asks if she could also be in the band Adele is auditioning for.

The song was used in the PlayStation game Dancing Stage Fusion.

In honor of the song's 20th anniversary, a documentary focusing on its (and singer Adina Howard)'s impact was released titled Adina Howard 20: A Story of Sexual Liberation. It received a nomination for "Outstanding Independent Documentary" at the 2016 Black Reel Awards.

Rapper Pitbull sampled the song on his 2015 single "FREE.K" off his album Climate Change.

Singers Chris Brown and Teyana Taylor sampled the song on their forthcoming release "Own It" which is set to premiere in 2016.

DJs R3hab and Quintino sampled the song on their single "Freak" which premiered in March 2016.

DJ Luke Nasty sampled the song on his track "Adina (Freaks)" (produced by Djay Cas) in December 2016.