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| "Holding Out for a Hero" | ||||
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| Single by Bonnie Tyler | ||||
| from the album Footloose: Original Soundtrack of the Paramount Motion Picture and Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire | ||||
| Released | April 13, 1984 | |||
| Format | CD single, 7", 12" | |||
| Recorded | 1984 | |||
| Genre | Synthpop, dance-rock | |||
| Length | 5:50 (album version) 4:22 (single edit) 4:40 (video edit) |
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| Label | CBS | |||
| Writer(s) | Jim Steinman, Dean Pitchford | |||
| Producer | Jim Steinman | |||
| Bonnie Tyler singles chronology | ||||
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"Holding Out for a Hero" is a song written by Jim Steinman and Dean Pitchford, originally recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. It was released in 1984 on the soundtrack to the film Footloose. It later appeared on Tyler's album Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire. It hit #96 for the first time in the United Kingdom in 1984, #2 in 1985, #69 in 1991. The opening couplet – "Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods?/ Where's the streetwise Hercules to fight the rising odds?" – could be seen as an example of the ubi sunt motif in literature.
The song's instrumental break was reused from "Stark Raving Love" on Steinman's 1981 album Bad for Good. The song also appeared on a radio station in the game Saints Row: The Third, and plays in the background during the last mission. 1
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Music video
Produced by Jeffrey Abelson, directed by Doug Dowdle, concept by Keith Williams, it was the first music-video that successfully promoted a movie while having no movie footage in the video.
At the beginning of the music video, Bonnie Tyler escapes from a burning house; the video is set primarily in the vicinity of the burning house and on the edge of the Grand Canyon – interspersed with shots of angelic background singers dressed all in white. Evil cowboys dressed in black, carrying neon whips appear before Tyler, threatening her; a cowboy hero dressed in white, brandishing a pistol, appears on horseback and the evil cowboys flee on horseback, with the hero in pursuit. As the song fades out, the hero cowboy appears in front of Bonnie Tyler.2
It was used as the opening theme for the Channel 4 American Football show in the 1980s.
Awards
BPI [1]
- Silver Certification (Single), September 1, 1985
- Top Selling Single #31 from 1985 (367.000).
Soundtrack appearances
- Cover Up Series theme song (September 22, 1984 to April 6, 1985) (covered by Elizabeth Daily)
- Footloose 1984 (US #1)
- Footloose 2011
- Alvin and the Chipmunks [TV Series] Three Alarm Alvin (September 28, 1985)
- Short Circuit 2 1988
- Who's Harry Crumb? 1989
- Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman [TV Series] Pilot (September 12, 1993)
- Bandits 2001 (US #165, top soundtracks #15)
- Shrek 2 2004 (covered by Frou Frou and covered by Jennifer Saunders)
- Nacho Libre 2006
- Smallville [TV Series] Episode 8, Season 9 Idol (November 13, 2009)
- Saints Row: The Third (November 15, 2011)
- Regular Show [TV Series] Eggscellent (February 27, 2012)
- The Amazing World of Gumball "The Debt" (not direct song, but same basic structure)
- Glee (TV series) "Dynamic Duets" (covered by Becca Tobin and Melissa Benoist)
Video
- The Magic of David Copperfield VI Floating Over the Grand Canyon 1984, David Copperfield & Bonnie Tyler
- Bonnie Tyler The Video 1986
- 50 Jahre Rock 2004
- Discomelodies and Rhythms in Russian 2005
Track listings and formats
- 1984 7" single
- "Holding Out for a Hero" – 4:22
- "Faster Than the Speed of Night" – 4:40
- 1984 12" single
- "Holding Out for a Hero" (Extended Remix) – 6:19
- "Holding Out for a Hero" (Instrumental) – 5:15
- "Faster Than the Speed of Night" – 4:40
- 1991 12"/CD single
- "Holding Out for a Hero" – 4:41
- "Faster Than the Speed of Night" – 4:40
- "Total Eclipse of the Heart" – 6:49
Charts
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 34 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 19 |
| German Singles Chart | 19 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 19 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 44 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 33 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 30 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 19 |
| UK Singles Chart | 96 |
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
| Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart | 2 |
| EURO CHARTS | 12 |
| Chart (1991) | Peak position |
| UK Singles Chart | 69 |
| Preceded by "Dancing in the Street" by David Bowie and Mick Jagger |
Irish IRMA number-one single 28 September 1985 |
Succeeded by "Part-Time Lover" by Stevie Wonder |
Cover versions
It has been covered by a number of artists, including
- Glee covered it in the episode "Dynamic Duets" with Becca Tobin and Melissa Benoist.
- Demon Kogure for his 2008 album GIRLS' ROCK √Hakurai
- Emery for the 2005 compilation Punk Goes 80's
- Darren Maycock a.k.a. Alk-E-D for the eurodance compilation series Dancemania, specifically Dancemania SPEED 7 released in 2001, with the different name Hero 2001.
- Joss Stone
- Alvin and the Chipmunks for their TV series episode "Three Alarm Alvin."
- Graveworm
- Frou Frou and Jennifer Saunders on the Shrek 2 soundtrack and in the film of the same name.
- Serbian punk rock band Six Pack recorded a version on their 2008 covers album Discover.
- Opera Magna, a Spanish power metal band.
- Yuko Nakazawa, in Japanese.
- Pop punk band Amazing Transparent Man covered it for their 2003 EP, Taking Back the Covers.
- Asakura Miki on the Japanese television drama series School Wars 1984
- Melba Moore covered the song in a public appearance during Macy's 1989 Thanksgiving Day Parade, on a float with actors dressed as Marvel Comics superheroes.3
- Lucie Vondráčková - Czech female pop singer covered the song with Czech lyrics titling the song "Vítr" (translates as "The Wind").
- The Nolans
- Ajda Pekkan, with Turkish lyrics
- Icelandic musician Rúnar Eff covered the song in 2010 4
- Greek power metal band Emerald Sun covered the song on their second longplayer, Regeneration, released in February 2011.
- Rockstar Steady (Japanese Singer Nanase Aikawa's project) first album Gossip bonus track, released February 16, 2011.
- Sopor Aeternus & the Ensemble of Shadows for their album Have You Seen This Ghost? (2011)
- This song was sung during a performance in the inaugural Youth Olympic Games 2011.
- One of the songs used in the musical "Love at First Fright" at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. The show has been performed every October since 1991 when the park's Fright Fest Halloween event began. It has since been reproduced at other Six Flags theme parks.
- The soundtrack to the 2011 remake of Footloose features a cover version by Ella Mae Bowen.
Bonnie Tyler re-recorded the song on her 2004 album Simply Believe. She always includes this song on her setlist on stage and has performed it on the British spin-off series Hollyoaks Later from Hollyoaks. She acted during the scene and performed the song as a duet.
- Elizabeth Daily for the opening theme in Cover Up.
References
External links
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