Münchener Freiheit (known sometimes simply as Freiheit) is a german pop and rock band that, as of 2005, has released 15 albums. Of those, 6 have gone gold and also sold over 5 million copies in Europe. They are named after a square in the city of Munich, with the name translating as “Munich Liberty”.
In Europe, they are known for a series of melodic pop rock/soft rock anthems such as “Ohne Dich (schlaf’ ich heut’ Nacht nicht ein)”, “Tausendmal Du”, and “Herzschlag ist der Takt”. Many of those singles were emotional love songs released in the 80s. They are best known in the English-speaking world for the single (in English) “Keeping the dream alive”. This song became a Top 15 hit in the United Kingdom when released, making Münchener Freiheit (or Freiheit as they were known in that country) a one hit wonder there. In the United States, the song failed to chart when originally released. Yet it gained favour with the American public after it was featured in the soundtrack for the popular drama film ‘Say Anything’. The single has received additional exposure in the U.S. thanks to the singing talent contest ‘american idol’ on the Fox television network. The song has been used in recent seasons as a backdrop to video montages featuring Idol contestants.
Münchener Freiheit was the entry for Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest of 1993. They performed “Viel zu weit”, which was composed by Stefan Zauner. They sang in position #3 and earned the final position of #18 out of #25, with 18 points earned. The events were held in the small city of Millstreet, Ireland in a small hall normally used for horse auctions. |
