Freedom (Wham! song)

For the later solo song by George Michael, see Freedom! '90.
"Freedom"

Standard European artwork (UK vinyl single pictured)
Single by Wham!
from the album Make It Big
Released August 13, 1984 (UK)
August 1985 (US)
Format 12", 7"
Recorded 1984
Genre Pop
Length 5:01 (album version)
5:20 (single version w/ alternate ending)
Label CBS
Writer(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)
Make It Big track listing
"Like a Baby"
(4)		 "Freedom"
(5)		 "If You Were There"
(6)
Twenty Five track listing
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
(2)		 "Freedom"
(3)		 "Faith"
(4)

"Freedom" is a song by British pop duo Wham! in 1984, becoming the group's second No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart.[1] It was written and produced by George Michael, one half of the duo.[2]

History

Wham! had already enjoyed a successful 1984 by the time "Freedom" was released in August of the year. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" had given them their first UK No. 1 and had then reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. George had then gone to No. 1 with a solo single, "Careless Whisper". Then after, Wham! had their second American number one song with Everything She Wants.

"Freedom" was No. 1 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 No. 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.

Track listing

All tracks written by George Michael. 

7": Epic / A 4743 (UK)
No. Title Length
1. "Freedom"   5:08
2. "Freedom" (Instrumental) 5:10
7": Columbia / 38-05409 (US)
No. Title Length
1. "Freedom"   5:00
2. "Heartbeat"   4:42
12": Epic / TA 4743 (UK)
No. Title Length
1. "Freedom" (Long Version) 7:14
2. "Freedom" (Instrumental) 5:10
12" Maxi Single: Columbia / 44-05238 (US)
No. Title Length
1. "Freedom" (Long Mix) 6:16
2. "Hearbeat" (Instrumental) 4:42
3. "Freedom" (Instrumental) 5:10

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 3
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 2
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[7] 2
Germany (Official German Charts)[8] 14
Ireland (IRMA)[9] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 3
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11] 2
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12] 8
Norway (VG-lista)[13] 1
Poland (LP3)[14] 5
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[15] 9
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 5
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[17] 1
Chart (1985) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[18] 23
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[19] 10
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[20] 3
Canada (CHUM)[21] 5
France (SNEP)[22] 16
Italy (FIMI)[23] 6
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[24] 8
US Billboard Hot 100[4] 3
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[25] 4
US Cash Box Top 100[26] 10

Year-end charts

Chart (1984) Position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[27] 52
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[28] 19
Italy (FIMI)[29] 49
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[30] 15
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[31] 11
UK Singles (Official Single Charts)[3] 10
Chart (1985) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[32] 76
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[32] 30
US Cash Box Top 100[33] 84

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[34] Gold 500,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 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. 1 2 1984 in British music#Best-selling singles
  4. 1 2 "Wham! – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Wham!. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  5. ↑ David Kent (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Wham! – Freedom" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  7. ↑ "Radio 2 Top 30" (in Dutch). Top 30. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  8. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Wham! – Freedom". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  9. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Freedom". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  10. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Wham! – Freedom" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  11. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 45, 1984" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  12. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Wham! – Freedom". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  13. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Wham! – Freedom". VG-lista. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  14. ↑ "Lista Przebojów Programu 3". LP3. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  15. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Wham! – Freedom". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  16. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Wham! – Freedom". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  17. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1984-10-20" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  18. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Wham! – Freedom" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  19. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 0579." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  20. ↑ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 9296." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  21. ↑ CHART NUMBER 1499 – Saturday, September 14, 1985 at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 November 2006). CHUM.
  22. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Wham! – Freedom" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  23. ↑ "Hit Parade Italia". HitParadeItalia (in Italian). Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  24. ↑ "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1965 – 1989 Acts W". The South African Rock Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  25. ↑ "Wham! – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Wham!. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  26. ↑ CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending SEPTEMBER 28, 1985 at the Wayback Machine (archived 11 September 2012). Cash Box magazine.
  27. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts - 1980s". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  28. ↑ "Ultratop Jaaroverzichten 1984". Ultratop 50 (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  29. ↑ "Hit Parade Italia - I singoli più venduti del 1984". FIMI (in Italian). Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  30. ↑ "Dutch Charts Jaaroverzichten Single 1984". Single Top 100 (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  31. ↑ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1984". Dutch Top 40 (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  32. 1 2 "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.
  33. ↑ The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1985 at the Wayback Machine (archived September 11, 2012). Cash Box magazine.
  34. ↑ "British single certifications – Wham! – Freedom". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Freedom in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
Order of precedence
Preceded by
"I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder		 Norwegian VG-lista number-one single
17 November 1984 (1 week) 		Succeeded by
"I Just Called to Say I Love You" by Stevie Wonder
UK number-one single
20 October 1984 - 3 November 1984 (3 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"I Feel for You" by Chaka Khan
Preceded by
"The War Song" by Culture Club		 Irish Singles Chart number-one single
27 October 1984 - 10 November 1984 (3 weeks)
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