Recommendations of the Editorial team
When Jack White produced the single “Looking for Freedom” in the late 1980s, Germany was at a significant point in its history. Neither of them would have thought it possible at the beginning of their work that David Hasselhoff, of all people – best known at the time as the cool TV charmer from “Knight Rider” – would become a turning point pop star.
“Tear down this wall”
Jack White was no longer an unknown quantity in the eighties. During the 1970s he already had around 1000 songs in his drawer. Among other things, he wrote the song “Football is our life” for the German national soccer team on the occasion of the 1974 World Cup. With his feeling for catchy melodies, he also had a significant influence on German pop songs.
Who originally sang the song
Interestingly, “Looking for Freedom” was by no means an original Hasselhoff composition. The singer Marc Seaberg (whose real name was Franz Seeberger) had already recorded the piece under White’s direction in 1978 and it even landed at number 16 in the German charts. From a pop culture perspective, however, his interpretation didn’t make any waves.
Ten years later, Jack White once again recognized potential, gave the song a contemporary arrangement and found the ideal interpreter in Hasselhoff. His image, which oscillated between Californian optimism and German pop kitsch, fit the song perfectly.
It’s thanks to Jack White’s mother-in-law that the two of them got together at all. Hasselhoff saw her at a television appearance and recommended that he contact the actor. An opportunity that Hasselhoff didn’t miss, as his previous Schmonzetten albums had flopped in the USA.
“Looking for Freedom”, which was released in 1988, quickly became a global hit – not least because ten years after its first release it suddenly hit the nerve of the times. As Europe headed towards the fall of the Berlin Wall, the song became an anthem of awakening.
The fact that Hasselhoff ultimately performed the song on the Berlin Wall on New Year’s Eve 1989 made him a freedom fighter in the eyes of many. Whether this was right or coincidental is still debated to this day.
“It was an honor for me that I was allowed to sing there in 1989. The request alone was a huge surprise for me. I said: I’ll only do it if I can actually sing ON the Wall. – David Hasselhoff“
The song became a global phenomenon
“Looking for Freedom” stayed at the top of the German charts for weeks, was played all over Europe and made Hasselhoff a pop idol. For Jack White himself, the song is one of his greatest commercial successes. Today, almost four decades later, the song seems like a contemporary document. It reminds us of the unbridled and naively beautiful joy that swept over Germany as a result of reunification.