Today marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany."I had been in Berlin in 1987 and in 1988 but the first time I really got into what was going on with the wall was in ’89, when my song “Looking for Freedom†was #1 for eight weeks in West Germany," David tells TIME magazine."And then the Berlin Wall mysteriously, through the grace of God, came down. The last time I’d seen my German promoter before that day, I’d asked him when he thought the wall was going to come down. He was just about 60 years old then, and he said, “Not in my lifetime.†I remember that statement. On November 9, he called me and said, “You’re not going to believe this! The wall is down! The people are free!â€David recounts his time in Berlin before and after the wall came down. Read the complete article at TIME Magazine's website here.
David tells NPR, "I was a guy who happened to do a show called Knight Rider, who happened to sing a song called 'Looking For Freedom,'" says actor, activist and singer David Hasselhoff.Hasselhoff was a certified heartthrob in the States, but he built his European reputation on that pop song. NPR's Rachel Martin asked him how he came to sing an unforgettable concert in Berlin on New Year's Eve back in 1989 after the Wall fell."I had been behind the Wall eight or nine times since 1987, to kind of further my music career with the Knight Rider car; if they wouldn't come and see me, they would come and see the car," Hasselhoff says. "I hit big with a single and they invited me to sing, and I said, 'Only if I could sing on the Wall.' And they said yes!"Even with the massive crowd singing along, Hasselhoff says he had no idea whether the performance would have any lasting impact. It wasn't until he saw people holding signs while on tour, thanking him for the fall of the Wall, that he realized how much it meant."I didn't know if it was a joke or not, I really didn't," he says. "It wasn't a joke; it was like 'Thank you for the fall of the Wall and thank you for our childhood.'"Read the rest of the article at NPR.Buzzfeed: 25 GIFs That Pay Tribute to Germany's Love of David Hasselhoff
'Looking For Freedom' a World Changer
David Hasselhoff's hit 'Looking For Freedom' has been voted as one of the top 10 most "world changing" songs of all time.The single was judged to rank alongside hits by Public Enemy and Band Aid in a list put together by experts for Time Out magazine.The Hoff - who became a chart star in Germany - performed the track shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. And it went on to become a symbol of the spread of democracy in eastern Europe.It was ranked in tenth place for Time Out's list of 100 songs that changed history, which was topped by Public Enemy's Fight The Power.A panel including historians Michael Wood, Bettany Hughes and Dan Cruickshank, alongside promoter Harvey Goldsmith and Suede's Brett Anderson drew up the top 100.Public Enemy 's Fight the Power came first, followed by Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas? which kick-started famine relief in Ethiopia.Ramy Essam's Irhal, the anthem of Egyptian protests against President Mubarak, was third, fourth place went to Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come (1964) - and fifth to John Lennon - Imagine (1971). The Sex Pistols were sixth with God Save The Queen.
Source: The Press Association
"Hoff is Back" in Vienna
David performed in Vienna on the first day of his tour yesterday, and sang some of his top hits like Looking for Freedom. Check out the photos from Hoffspace, and watch this video of David singing Looking for Freedom. A few more videos are after the cut of David singing Limbo Dance and A Real Good Feeling.Hoff is Back Tour Photos from Andreas Loidl (Hoffspace)Hoff is Back Tour 2011 from Maren Vollenberg (Hoffspace)David singing It's A Real Good Feeling (video from Andreas Loidl)Find more videos like this on HoffSpace"Limbo Dance" from Andreas LoidlFind more videos like this on HoffSpace
Happy New Year!
As the last day of 2010 comes and goes, I wish you all a happy New Year! Here's to 2010 being a fabulous year and I hope everyone has a safe and happy time today and tomorrow.Don't forget to check out David's new blog post today while checking out this Looking for Freedom live concert video uploaded yesterday to Hoffspace.
BBC Radio 2: How David Hasselhoff Brought Down The Wall
From BBC
Will only be available for 7 days, so listen while you can!
As Radio 2 continues to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Richard Herring irreverently intertwines the fall of communism with the rise of David Hasselhoff.In 1989, David Hasselhoff was between jobs. Knight Rider had been cancelled a few years earlier; Baywatch had yet to rescue his career, so he decided to become a pop star. And had some success. His single, Looking For Freedom, reached number one in Austria, Switzerland, and West Germany, helped by his bright idea of taking the talking car from Knight Rider on stage with him.Meanwhile, the wheels of history turned. Communist Hungary removed its travel restrictions with Austria, allowing thousands of East German tourists to escape to Austria and enter West Germany. While weekly protests grew, Hasselhoff's song pumped away relentlessly in the discos of West Berlin. On 9 November 1989 the Wall fell. To ring in the New Year, there was no question as to who would best symbolize a new beginning and freedom - The Hoff. After spending almost two months at number one, David Hasselhoff performed Looking For Freedom live on top of the Berlin Wall in front of hundreds of thousands of Germans - and walked into the history books.Richard Herring casts an eye back over this extraordinary episode in modern history. He gets into the GDR swing of things by taking a ride in a Trabant and learning the Lipsi Dance, the German Democratic Republic's official answer to rock n' roll. We speak to key figures in the Berlin music scene including the Klaus Renft Combo, who were banned by GDR authorities, and Berliners whose lives were affected by the Wall. And we track down the producer of Looking for Freedom, fans who witnessed Hasselhoff atop the Wall, and of course, The Hoff himself.
Frost Over the World: Video Interview
David was on the show "Frost Over the World" on Al Jzeera Channel a few days ago and talked about how he came to perform "Looking for Freedom" on the Berlin Wall, and the people he's met.
David Hasselhoff on the Fall of the Berlin Wall
From ITN
David Hasselhoff returned to Berlin 20 years after performing at the falling of the Berlin Wall for the MTV Europe Music Awards.Hasselhoff was at number one at the time in Germany and was at that point the biggest pop star in the country.Over the years this has become the source of many jokes including his appearance as Dodgeball coach to the German national team in the movie Dodgeball starring Vince Vaughn.Over recent years he has been in the press for his problems with alcohol and recently appeared in a show about his life on British TV.The night on top of the Berlin wall however will, according to David, always go down as one of his most treasured moments.
Hasselhoff Fan Search
From Hasselhoff-Foundation on Hoffspace
URGENT: "I’m making a documentary for BBC Radio 2 in the UK about ‘Looking for Freedom’ and the fall of the Berlin Wall. I’m looking for Berlin-based fans of David Hasselhoff to interview, who were living in Berlin in 1989 and either saw David on tour or saw him perform on top of the Berlin Wall. English-speakers preferred, but not essential!"Please send an e-mail to: fanclub@hasselhoff-foundation.de
Hoff the Wall
David has started a new contest! Make your own Looking For Freedom video and submit it. Here is what he wrote:
It gave me a great idea too; lets see all you people out there on HoffSpace make your own Looking for Freedom video! If you've got a wall, let's see you perform in front of it! Or if you have a garden wall, maybe on top (only if it's safe; we don't want any injuries)!Submit them and we'll feature the best ones. Then we'll get some voting going on here and the winners will get some really cool autographed Hoff stuff.Let's see what you've got Hoffspace!DH
Here is the video that started it all:Find more videos like this on HoffSpace