Looking for Freedom (song)

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.

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, 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 scarf 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.

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

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

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