George was in dispute with his record company Sony. He refused to play apart in the video and got 5 top glamour models to be in the video. It’s what the song is about. He wanted freedom to take his career in the direction he wanted and not what the record company wanted which was to carry on in the Wham mode. Listen to some of his albums after he finally broke away. The guy was a genius.
@@keymaker-k7h you are right... biggest sign is the burning BSA revenge jacket as sign to burn his past as he wore this jacket during his "Faith" time...
" I don't belong to you, you don't belong to me! " ...cue burning of the infamous Leather Jacket from " Faith".. George wanted to take his music a different direction.. He did.
Absolutely killer video directed by David Fincher. Cindy, Naomi, Linda, Tatjana, and the exquisite Christy. The supermodels of the 90s were just built different and set the standard.
The video for this song was released as pushback from his status as "The Face of MTV" that George Michael had become after the monster success of his previous album "Faith", wanting to put that image to rest. There's a lot of imagery that also hints at that in this video. If you watch the video for his song "Faith" you will see that better.
I heard a rumor that George actually made a very brief appearance in the vid, so to speak. During the lyric where he sings, "...when you shake your ass, they notice fast...", supposedly the shot of the guy scratching his rear is actually George. That would be very interesting and funny if that turned out to be true.
@@owenbb505 I suppose some want that to be true, but I highly doubt it. It would completely negate 100% what the song is supposed to be about. And why would he waste any time at all to show up in the video. I'm sure he was far, far away and spent no time with it.
My take is that it was more about him trying to gain freedom from his record company Sony, who he eventually took to court over it. He ended up losing the case and it set his career back quite a bit.
If I remember right, at the time Cindy Crawford was also doing superbowl Pepsi commercials and dating Richard Gere. And Naomi Campbell had gotten some press for throwing something (phone, vase, glass or datebook?) at her assistant in a Diva rage. Spying on the beautiful people singing his song was a pretty good idea for a video. It definitely kept us engaged.
George Michael is arguably the greatest male vocalist, lyricist, composer, producer, and overall gifted & talented musician of the modern music era. There’s no other musician who compares to his talents or to his music catalog. He’s simply amazing.
It was against his fake persona and against his album label. This was a contractual obligation so he did an FU to them by making sure he was not in the video
This song and video were absolutely huge. I remember people were afraid to say they liked his music because there were rumors he was gay. And if liked his music than you were also gay. Jr High School was a strange time.
Jr high can be a strange time, but not everyone liked Wham. I didn't like their music at all, but this song wasn't bad. The people that didn't like Wham music was all about the music, not because he was gay. I do get tired of people playing up this angle as factually it is weak. Everyone knew that Elton John was gay and he was incredibly successful. No one said you were gay for liking his music. Same with Freddie Mercury and Queen's music.
c1990 was a strange time all around, as far as that goes. Youngsters don’t appreciate how different attitudes towards homosexuals were until very recently.
This song means so many things. Fighting for your own image. Taking on the giant Record industry. Declaring that he will not be someone he is not. And done with such artistry and a vibe that still is there today. How a man can convince the top fashion models of the day to sing a song with the line..... "Sometimes the clothes do not make the man" is Genius..... ha ha They were mocking the industry that made them all famous.
The ladies in this video were all hugely popular 90’s supermodels…Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell. Plus a couple more whose names escape me…
This is a great song. He was pissed off with his record company, actually sued them to leave, and eventually, he won. This was the premise of the entire album.
This song is called "Freedom 90" because George had earlier written and recorded a song with Wham! called "Freedom." Totally different vibe, subject matter, etc. so it's an amusing contrast.
Inspired the January 1990 cover of British Vogue George asked Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington, and Cindy Crawford to be in the video.
This was when George made a big image and career change, at risk of losing popularity and $. And the response of the people was a greater respect and love for him. He was able to stop hiding being gay, and seemed to really shine.
If you watch the video for "Faith", some things in this song and video will make more sense. When he says "shaking your ass", he was famous for doing that in the Faith video. And the jacket that is on fire is the one he wore in the Faith cideo
This was George's fulfilling his last album obligation, and he was tired of execs, Wham Image, so this is his middle finger to the execs! Also kick A$$ song!
If you noticed, the jukebox from the video for the song Faith and the jacket worn by GM in the same video get burnt/blown up. Which symbolises him being done with the sort of music he used to make.
One of my favorite songs from him. The bass line reminds me of Wham’s first album Fantastic. George used five of the top supermodels of the day - Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Tatjana Patitz, Cindy Crawford and Christy Turlington - to create a glossy and stylish clip to promote the single. The male models were John Pearson, Peter Formby, Rafael Edholm, and fashion photographer Mario Sorrenti. The video was even directed by David Fincher, who would go on to direct films such as Seven and Fight Club, but back then was best known for his work on stylish music videos such as Madonn’s Express Yourself and Sting’s Englishman in New York.
This brings back memories of the supermodel heyday. There are four of the most famous at that time in this, including Cindy Crawford, Christie Turlington, Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell. All the young fellas of my generation used to drool over them and Elle MacPherson.
George Michael an absolute genius and a legend of his generation, his talent was immense, his appeal timeless and his creativity sadly missed by all who could appreciate his music. Such a loss not only for his music but for his humanity and generosity of spirit. It seems unbelievable that it will be 8 years this year on christmas day that the world learned of his death. RIP George.
George´s "Freedom! '90" was a powerful statement of independence, featuring iconic supermodels as a visual representation of his desire to escape the manufactured pop star image. The album was a form of artistic rebellion against Sony and a declaration of his desire for creative control.
Classic song! George wrote "Careless Whisper" when he was 17. Quite crazy. Love that he decided not to be in this video. There's a story behind this one, check it out sometime. These were the top models of the time. I do suggest the show Whose Line Is It Anyway? the one with Robin Williams and another with Richard Simmons are both hilarious.
What an iconic moment. 1990 was the year that ushered in the “Supermodels”. All the ladies here were featured on a legendary Vogue cover by photographer Peter Lindbergh to capture the 90’s woman. Lindbergh couldn’t pick a single face- so he used the greatest models of the new era: Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell , Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and Tatiana Patitz. This was replicated on the runway of Versace in another iconic fashion moment. The guys were legendary too- the biggest being John Pearson and Scott Benoit- but were paid pennies compared to their female counterparts. ( They were asked to do a day of reshoots for free! ) This was where fashion and music were married for the 90’s generation. One of the most influential videos made in that decade- and still a favorite of mine!!!
These were the top female and male supermodels of the time…the reason he didn’t want to be in the video was because he didn’t want to use his image anymore to sell records…you’re absolutely correct.
We lost a brilliant voice when he died 😢❤... his songs after his dispute are crazy good "Outside", "Fastlove", "Too Funky ", "As" duet with Mary J Blige
Hi Sam and Phil!!! Love your reactions. George Michael was so talented and was such a sweet person.RIP George.❤ You should check out the song Cook with Fire by Heart.
The five women were THE biggest models of the era. Having them in a video together was huge, as was George Michael's decision to not appear in the video. You guys should check out Faith. Some of the imagery in the Freedom 90 video comes from Faith.
The title of the album Listen with out Prejudice says it all. After his super exposure with Wham and his solo career,GM felt the fame and image was over taking the music.
Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford and RIP Tatjana Patitz all supermodels in the video. John Pearson was the male model.
George's stance against how he was presented by the music industry. You should check out his previous hit "Faith" to see the link of the burning jacket and the jukebox.
Im utterly SHOCKED when people say they haven't seen an iconic song & video like this before. They didn't even recognise Linda Evangelista !!! Shocking tbh
It's a stance. This song is to Sony Music and him basically saying he no longer is under their control of making him into someone he's not happy with. He refused to be in videos because he wanted people to appreciate his music and voice... and not his image. He took Sony to court and sued them... he lost, but he had the guts enough to take a stance and battle Tommy Mattola for his right to share his music with the world, the way he wanted to!! He was awesome ❤
George said goodbye to his sexy poster boy image and wanted to be recognized ONLY for his qualities as a songwriter, composer and singer - ONE WORD: magnificent artist - and not be reduced to his fantastic looks
I loved the album this song came from- Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. Great album and this is a great song. Probably my favorite George Michael song. George Michael was such a great talent, but my impression is that he lived a tough life and definitely passed way too young.
ROD STEWART - " Passion (Official Video) " [HD Remaster] 80s Jammin' Classics w/ AMAZING BASS GROOVE! and Vocals Highly Recommend it. 1982 the year of the super Radio hits 🔥
I had such a crush on Tatjana Patitz, the one girl who’s smoking in the video. She dies in January of 2023 from breast cancer at age 56. R.I.P. Tananarive & George.
At the time , Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford were probably the biggest celebrity models , everyone was talking about them , they were everywhere in pop culture.
@anthonyv1719 you forgot Cindy Crawford, she was also in the video. George was inspired after seeing these top five Supermodels on the cover of British Vogue in January, 1990.
At the time right before the release of this album Michael was being criticized by some in the black community for "Coopting" a "Black sound" in his vocals/music. In the evolving PC movement of the time, this "criticism" was also adopted by others who were not among the black community as well. Michaels response was that he didn't see "color" in music he just wrote and performed the type of music he liked. The album "Listen Without Prejudice" was in response to the critics of his music.
I wasn't particularly interested in WHAM! back in the day. And when George Michael went solo, the songs just felt like an extention of his WHAM! days. Then this album was released: "Listen without prejudice, vol. 1". And I was like, well... yeah why not do that. This was the first song on the album and one listen was enough to change my notion of George Michael as an artist, as a singer, as a performer. Not just because of the sound, but most certainly the lyrics as well. The rest of the album is well worthwhile. And still an album I return to every now and then.
freedom fue la última canción de su primer sello, y cuando regreso como solista se escucha de fondo el coro de la canción mientras se mostraba un tocadiscos
Well, now you guys gotta react to his iconic late-80s hit - “Faith”. Sam - I think the reason Freedom sounded familiar to you is maybe you saw the movie “Last Christmas” (Emilia Clark/Henry Golding). The soundtrack of the film is basically a George Michael compilation.
1989/90 - two of the greatest pop albums of all time were made: '89: Tears For Fears - The Seeds of Love '90 - George Michael - Listen without prejudice You can almost take any song from both albums - they are all great. Thanks for the reaction - like always.
Thanks for the reaction! This song is great and very powerful lyrically but I personally don't think it's one of his best songs, there are plenty more to listen to 🙂
The Females in his Video where all Supermodels at this Time - Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington, and Cindy Crawford
Also I love that the floor heater in this video is the exact same one that was used the the movie The Evil Dead. Confirmed by Sam Raimi as just a coincidence.
