Released 13 April 1984 Recorded 1984 | Format CD single, 7", 12" Genre Electro rock, Disco | |
Length 5:50 (album version)4:21 (single edit) | ||
"Holding Out for a Hero" is a song recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler for the soundtrack to the 1984 film Footloose, and later included on her 1986 album Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire. It was written by Jim Steinman and Dean Pitchford. Initially, the song only just reached the Top 100 in the UK Singles Chart, but made it to number 2 the following year, and re-entered the charts again at number 69 in 1991. The song reached No. 1 on the Irish Singles Chart on 28 September 1985. It reached the top 40 in the United States and Canada.
Contents
- Background
- Music video
- Credits
- Live performances
- Other versions
- Cover versions
- Soundtrack appearances
- Influence on popular culture
- Video
- Track listings and formats
- References
The song's instrumental break was reused from an earlier song by Jim Steinman called "Stark Raving Love", which featured on Steinman's 1981 album Bad for Good.
Background
Jim Steinman had been recruited to work on the Footloose soundtrack, for which he wrote "Holding Out for a Hero" with Dean Pitchford. Steinman suggested Tyler's name when he was approached about finding a singer to record the song. Tyler recorded the song at the Paramount Studios, and was shown the scene of the film where the song would feature.
Music video
The video was produced by Jeffrey Abelson, and directed by Doug Dowdle, with the concept by Keith Williams. It was the second music-video (following Deniece Williams' "Let's Hear It For The Boy") that successfully promoted Footloose while having no movie footage in the video.
The video starts off with Bonnie Tyler escaping from a burning house; the video is set primarily in the vicinity of the burning house and on the edge of the Grand Canyon – interspersed with shots of angelic background singers dressed all in white. Evil cowboys dressed in black, carrying neon whips appear before Tyler, threatening her; a cowboy hero dressed in white, brandishing a revolver, appears on horseback and the evil cowboys flee on horseback, with the hero in pursuit. As the song fades out, the hero cowboy appears in front of Tyler.
It was used as the opening theme for the Channel 4 American Football show in the 1980s.
Credits
Live performances
Two recorded live performances of "Holding Out for a Hero" have been released on her live albums Bonnie Tyler Live (2007) and Live in Germany 1993 (2011). Video performances have also been released on Tyler's DVDs, Bonnie on Tour (2007) and the DVD edition of Live in Germany 1993.
Other versions
Since the original release in 1984, Tyler has re-recorded the song three times. Two versions were released under Stick Music, on her album Simply Believe (2004) and EP Bonnie Tyler (2005). She recorded the song again in 2011 on an EP entitled Total Eclipse of the Heart, released by Cleopatra Records.
The song is included as a playable track on Just Dance 2015.
Cover versions
Soundtrack appearances
Influence on popular culture
Around the world, Holding Out for a Hero has become considered a torch song. In the LGBT community, The Star Observer of Australia deemed the song a dearly-loved gay anthem.
Tyler's version is heard in a 2017 TV commercial for the Kia Niro. The ad stars Melissa McCarthy, who travels around the world stopping environmental disasters around the world.
Video
Track listings and formats
- "Holding Out for a Hero" – 4:22
- "Faster Than the Speed of Night" – 4:40
- "Holding Out for a Hero" (Extended Remix) – 6:19
- "Holding Out for a Hero" (Instrumental) – 5:15
- "Faster Than the Speed of Night" – 4:40
- "Holding Out for a Hero" – 4:41
- "Faster Than the Speed of Night" – 4:40
- "Total Eclipse of the Heart" – 6:49