"Looking for Freedom" is a song written by German music producer Jack White, originally released in 1978 by German singer Marc Seaberg and featured on his 1979 album California Gold. It was covered in German later that year under the name "Auf der Straße nach Süden" by Tony Marshall. Both versions became hits in Germany.
Ten years later, American actor and singer David Hasselhoff covered the song as the lead single from his third studio album of the same name (1989). It became Hasselhoff's biggest international hit, reaching number one in Germany (for eight weeks), in Switzerland (for four weeks) and Austria (for one week). It also reached number four on the European Hot 100 Singles; the top-twenty in France and Belgium; and the top-forty in the Netherlands. "Looking for Freedom" was eventually certified Platinum in Germany, and became the best-performing single of 1989 in Germany and Switzerland. White returned to produce both cover versions.
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. The composer is Jack White, and "Looking for Freedom" is the original title, with lyrics written by Gary Cowtan (British). It was already finished before Jon Athan began writing the German lyrics. The German version sung by Tony Marshall was released some weeks after the original version sung by Marc Seaberg, who 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.
Chart performance
Marc Seaberg's original version peaked at number 16 in Germany (where it spent 13 weeks on the chart), and at number 18 in Austria.
Tony Marshall version
In 1978, the song was covered in German by Tony Marshall under the name "Auf Der Straße nach Süden" ("On the South Road") with lyrics written by Jon Athan. Marshall's version appeared as the closing track to his 1978 album "Meine Wunschmelodien" ("My favorite melodies"). The B-side to Marshall's version "Egal, Wohin Der Wind Uns Weht" ("No matter where the wind blows us") would later appear on his 1978 album Bora Bora.
Chart performance
Marshall's version peaked at number 41 on the German charts.
David Hasselhoff version
In 1988, American actor and singer David Hasselhoff covered the song as the lead single from his third studio album of the same name (1989). It became Hasselhoff's biggest international hit, reaching number one in Germany (for eight weeks), in Switzerland (for four weeks) and Austria (for one week). It also reached number four on the European Hot 100 Singles; the top-twenty in France and Belgium; and the top-forty in the Netherlands. "Looking for Freedom" was eventually certified Platinum in Germany, and became the best-performing single of 1989 in Germany and Switzerland and has been featured various times in popular culture.
Performance at Berlin Wall
Hasselhoff 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 had begun to be 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. Recordings of the ZDF TV broadcast resurfaced in the late 1990s and nowadays can be found on YouTube. 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.