Robbie Williams - Freedom

What this video is

Released in July 1996, 'Freedom' was Robbie Williams' debut solo single on Chrysalis Records, arriving approximately one year after his acrimonious departure from Take That. A cover of George Michael's 'Freedom! '90,' the choice of song was itself a pointed cultural statement — aligning Williams with a canonical act of pop self-liberation. The music video's visual grammar — outdoor locations, joyful physical…

Why it matters

Represents a pivotal transitional artifact in UK pop history: the first solo statement from a former boy-band member who would become one of the best-selling artists of the late 1990s and 2000s. Bridges the Britpop era's aesthetic sensibilities with mainstream chart pop, and marks an early Hammer…

The director

Born March 4, 1972, Epping, Essex, England. Co-founded production company Hammer & Tongs in 1993 with Nick Goldsmith and Dominic Leung. Spent a decade directing award-winning music videos for artists including Fatboy Slim, Blur, and R.E.M. before…