This is not only my favorite George Michael video; this is one of my favorite music videos of all time. Released in 1990, the song is from Michael’s second solo album, “Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1.” The sophomore outing was a stark departure from his debut smash “Faith,” with a more low-key acoustic vibe. Let’s just say Freedom 90 is the most up-tempo song on the album.
The video is directed by the great David Fincher, who went on to helm such varied films “Se7en,” “Fight Club,” “Gone Girl,” and “The Social Network.” In the late 80s and early 90s, Fincher was an in-demand video and commercial director, working with Madonna, Paula Abdul, and Aerosmith. Like his feature film work, his videos have a slick, visually stunning gloss that meshes well with pop and rock music. I consider Freedom 90 the magnum opus of his music video heyday.
In a bold move, George Michael does not appear in the video. Instead, Fincher gathered an impressive collection of the era’s supermodels to lip-synch over Michael’s songs. Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Scott Benoit, and more all dance and sing to Michael’s moody tune in what looks like the dilapidated house from “Fight Club.” The video was dedicated to the “boys at MTV,” and it was a statement that he wanted to shed his 80’s pop image. During the course of the video, the famed jukebox and iconic leather jacket from his “Faith” album are blown up and burned, respectively.
Check out the video below and let me know your thoughts in the comments section:
And as an added bonus, here is a short 30th anniversary video interviewing many of the super models who appeared in the video.