‘It’s a song that speaks of energy and resilience’: Singer Gala is ‘happy’ that her 1996 hit ‘Freed From Desire’ was recorded by the French team (and many others) at the World Cup in Qatar.
On social media, we saw Kylian Mbappé and his band singing the chorus in the dressing room after beating Poland in the round of 16 and then beating England in the quarters.
The track was also chosen by teams from Switzerland, Poland and England for their entry into the stadium during the competition.
It was embraced by fans of the Northern Ireland football team at Euro 2016, by those of English club Wigan, AC Milan. It also served as the soundtrack for English boxer Tyson Fury.
“It’s not just the song of the winners, it’s also that of the underdogs, I’ve even seen it taken up by supporters of Paquito Navarro, who had just lost in padel (racquet sport),” recalls the singer. “And sung at the same time by supporters of two Australian rugby teams who are supposed to hate each other.”
“I’m happy that the French players are singing it because France has always welcomed me well, I was a diamond here and I’m there now, but this song has had many other lives, has united so many different people, it makes me happy” , she continues.
“Freed from Desire” reads like a feminist anthem.
“Everyone says that, but first of all it’s not feminist,” told AFP Gala, an Italian-born singer who has lived in the US and now spends time in Paris.
It’s a little known story. At the age of 13, a doctor in Italy diagnosed her with back problems and assured her that she would never be able to become a dancer, the dream of her life. But later in the United States, as she looks at the photo, another doctor tells her that nothing can stop her from dancing.
The lyrics, a hymn to liberation, have also been endorsed, she says, by “the LGBTQIA+ community or even environmentalists because the race to consume is leading the planet to its loss.”