Gala’s jubilant pop-dance banger Freed from Desire was a massive hit across Europe in the peak stadium-rave summer of 1996. But the story of the track was only just beginning. More than a decade later, it would become one of those rare pop songs to transcend its origins. Beginning a new life at Wigan Athletic football club in 2016 and going international via its adoption by Northern Ireland fans at the European Championships that year, it would become ubiquitous: an anthem for football fans the world over. Tune into any game of Euro 2024 this month and you’re likely to hear the song’s inescapably catchy “Na na na na na … ” chorus, accompanied by crowds gleefully leaping up and down. Freed from Desire has crossed over into other sports and into political demonstrations, too. But how did it happen?
Gala Rizzatto (Freed from Desire singer and co-writer) When I wrote Freed from Desire, I was living in New York. I was studying photography, which is how I got into music because I was photographing dancers, musicians and DJs. It’s a very personal song. Three things aligned. First, observation of society: in Italy and in Europe, you have a feeling growing up that we’re more or less all the same. But when you come to New York there are drastic differences: there is poverty, there are people who have nothing. And around the corner, there’s a billionaire. Second, my story of reconnecting with my passion, because in Italy, doctors told me that I could not dance because of a back problem so I could not follow my dreams. And the third level was falling in love. My first love was an African dancer, from Senegal. This guy arrives from Africa wanting to dance, living with no money in Harlem. And Harlem had music, they had dance, they had community. And all these three came together in a song that, to me, represents resilience and alignment with your passion.
