"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 (1986). The track was produced by
Jim Steinman, who co-wrote the song with
Dean Pitchford and was a top 40 hit in several European countries, as well as Canada and the United States. Its 1985 re-release in the United Kingdom reached number two (remaining there for three weeks) and topped the singles chart in Ireland.
Background
Paramount Pictures asked Tyler to record a song for the
soundtrack to the 1984 film Footloose. She agreed on the condition that
Jim Steinman, who was her producer at the time through
CBS/
Columbia, could work with her on the project. Steinman wrote the song with Dean Pitchford, who co-wrote every song on the soundtrack album. Tyler was invited to the Paramount film studios in Los Angeles to watch the
film rushes to see how "Holding Out for a Hero" would fit into the plot.[4]
"Holding Out for a Hero" shares numerous musical elements with "Stark Raving Love", a track from Steinman's solo album Bad for Good (1981), including the piano riff and vocal harmonies.[5]
Critical reception
In a retrospective review, The A.V. Club's William Hughes stated that the song "displays some of the worst of its decade's (and composer'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."[6]
Writing in Metal Hammer,
Paul Stenning described the song as "the ultimate pop anthem", stating "Only Jim Steinman can get away with such bombastic overtones, in this case the perfect coupling with Tyler's inimitable voice."[2]
Music video
The accompanying
music video for "Holding Out for a Hero" was produced by Jeffrey Abelson for Parallax Productions, directed by Doug Dowdle, with the concept by Keith Williams. It was filmed at the
Grand Canyon,
Arizona, and at Veluzat Ranch,
California.[7] It was the second video 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 was later featured in a parody of the video by
David Copperfield.
Live performances
Two recorded performances of "Holding Out for a Hero" have been released on Tyler's concert DVDs Bonnie on Tour (2006) and Live in Germany 1993 (2011), and their respective CD editions.
Re-recordings and media usage
Re-Recordings
Tyler released re-recordings of the song in 2004 and 2011. In 2013, she recorded a parody of the song for use in a Children in Need fundraising campaign.[8]
Movie usage
In 1988, the song featured in Short Circuit 2, a science fiction comedy film. It was used during a chase scene as Johnny 5 was running low on battery and modified himself into a 1980s punk.[9]
In 2021, the song was noted for its appearances in a trailer for Masters of the Universe: Revelation, another trailer for the Guardians of the Galaxy video game, and in the second episode of the
Disney+ series Loki, all of which premiered in the same week.[11] This led to a significant increase in downloads and streams, and a placement atop Billboard’s Top TV Songs Chart.[12] In 2023's Shazam! Fury of the Gods, as a lady's car is playing this song, it begins to plunge off a bridge.
Captain Marvel catches the car, and tells the woman, "No way, shut up! Did I just save you while you were listening to this song?"[13]
At the 2001 Miss Gay Black America pageant,
Tandi Iman Dupree and her dance partner Dee St. James performed a routine to the song. During the performance, Dupree was dressed as
Wonder Woman, with St. James dressed as
Superman. Dupree notably entered the performance by dropping from the ceiling, landing on the stage in a
split.[14] In 2009, this video was uploaded to
YouTube, where it went viral.[15]
Track listings and formats
1984 7" single
"Holding Out for a Hero" – 4:22
"Faster Than the Speed of Night" – 4:40
1984 12" single
"Holding Out for a Hero" (Extended Remix) – 6:19
"Holding Out for a Hero" (Instrumental) – 5:15
"Faster Than the Speed of Night" – 4:40
1991 12"/CD single
"Holding Out for a Hero" – 4:41
"Faster Than the Speed of Night" – 4:40
"Total Eclipse of the Heart" – 6:49
Credits and personnel
Bonnie Tyler – lead vocals
Jim Steinman – producer
John Jansen – associate producer
Greg Edward, Arthur Payson,
Neil Dorfsman – recording, mixing