Jump to content

Holding Out for a Hero

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Martin IIIa (talk | contribs) at 03:29, 9 January 2012. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

"Holding Out for a Hero"
Song

"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 Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire album. It hit #96 for the first time in UK 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 street-wise 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.

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.[1]

It was used as the opening theme for the Channel 4 American Football show in the 1980's.

Awards

BPI [1]

  • Silver Certification (Single), September 1, 1985
  • Top Selling Single #31 from 1985 (367.000).

Soundtrack appearances

Video

Track listings and formats

1984 7" single
  1. "Holding Out for a Hero" – 4:22
  2. "Faster Than the Speed of Night" – 4:40
1984 12" single
  1. "Holding Out for a Hero" (Extended Remix) – 6:19
  2. "Holding Out for a Hero" (Instrumental) – 5:15
  3. "Faster Than the Speed of Night" – 4:40
1991 12"/CD single
  1. "Holding Out for a Hero" – 4:41
  2. "Faster Than the Speed of Night" – 4:40
  3. "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 Irish IRMA number-one single
28 September 1985 		Succeeded by

Cover versions

It has been covered by a number of artists, including

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 UK TV spin-off series Hollyoaks Later from Hollyoaks. She acted during the scene and performed the song as a duet.

References

UK [2] USA [3]

  1. ^ Music video in Dailymotion.com
  2. ^ Melba Moore performing "Holding Out for a Hero at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Youtube
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Holding_Out_for_a_Hero&oldid=470372024"