Wham! “Freedom” released in the UK 35 years ago today, October 1st, 1984. This 12″ single has Long Mix of “Freedom” on Side A; the single version went to #1 in the UK and upon its 1985 release in the US, went to #3 there. From what I can tell, the difference between the Long Mix and the single version is a longer intro and a lot more prominent horns. I remember seeing the video for “Freedom” on MTV a lot during the summer of ‘85 and hearing that it was a really. big. deal. as Wham! had toured China and the video contains a montage of footage shot there. China was still a pretty closed country in the mid-80′s during the height of the Cold War and a Western pop group being allowed to perform to its citizens was, as weird as it seems now, pretty monumental. The B-side to this 12″ single has the track “Heartbeat,” which is a kind of 60′s girl-group inspired pop song, complete with a faux wall of sound musical backdrop. Also on Side B is an instrumental version of “Freedom” which is OK I suppose but really one of the best parts of Wham! was George Michael’s voice (though he does come in toward the end of the song on the chorus for a bit).