“Holding Out for a Hero” is a song recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler for the soundtrack to the 1984 film Footloose. It later featured on her sixth studio album, Secret Dreams and Forbidden Fire. The track was produced by Jim Steinman, who co-wrote the song with Dean Pitchford. “Holding Out for a Hero” was a top 40 hit in several European countries, as well as Canada and the USA. It reached no. 2 in the United Kingdom and no. 1 in Ireland.
Background
As the screenplay writer for Footloose, Dean Pitchford co-wrote every song on its soundtrack. “Holding Out for a Hero” was written with Jim Steinman, who recommended Tyler for the vocals. She was invited to the Paramount film studio in Los Angeles to view the film rushes so that she could capture the urgency of the scene. The instrumental break first appeared in "Stark Raving Love", a track from Steinman's solo album Bad for Good.
Critical reception
In a retrospective review, The A.V. Clubs William Hughes stated that the song "displays some of the worst of its decade’s typical excesses: The lyrics are laughable, and the heavy-handed synths and piano riffs come dangerously close to cheese", but adds, "The sum of those parts transcends their limitations, hooking directly into pure emotional need like only the greatest of torch songs can."
Music video
The accompanying music video for “Holding Out for a Hero” was produced by Jeffrey Abelson, and directed by Doug Dowdle, with the concept by Keith Williams. It was filmed at the Grand Canyon, Arizona, and at Veluzat Ranch, California. It was the second video, following Deniece Williams' "Let's Hear It for the Boy", released to promote Footloose while featuring no movie footage in the video. The video sees Tyler escaping from a burning house; the video is set primarily in the vicinity of the burning house and on the edge of the Grand Canyon – interspersed with shots of angelic background singers in white dresses. Evil cowboys dressed in black, carrying neon whips appear before Tyler, threatening her; a cowboy hero dressed in white, brandishing a revolver, appears on horseback and the evil cowboys flee on horseback, with the hero in pursuit. As the song fades out, the hero cowboy appears in front of Tyler. Tyler later featured in a parody of the video by David Copperfield.
Live performances
Two recorded live performances of "Holding Out for a Hero" have been released on her live albums Bonnie Tyler Live and Live in Germany 1993. Video performances have also been released on Tyler's DVDs, Bonnie on Tour and the DVD edition of Live in Germany 1993.
Cover versions and media usage
recorded a cover of the song for the theme for Cover Up in 1984. In 2004, Jennifer Saunders recorded a version of the song for Shrek 2. That version would be featured during Monster segment of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Gamesopening ceremony. Frou Frou also recorded a version for the soundtrack album. Joss Stone recorded a R&B version of the song for Mind Body & Soul Japanese. edition. Ella Mae Bowen recorded a country version of the song for the 2011 Footloose remake. Nothing but Thieves recorded a version that featured in a trailer for the third season of Vikings in 2015. In 2009, Tyler made an appearance as herself in Hollyoaks Later, singing the song as a duet with Gemma Merna during a dream sequence. Tyler’s original version has featured on several soundtracks, including Short Circuit 2, Who's Harry Crumb?, Bandits and The Angry Birds Movie 2. She re-recorded the song for a Children in Need advertisement campaign in 2013. Tyler re-recorded the song on her 2004 albumSimply Believe.
