Freak (Silverchair song)

Last updated

"Freak"
FreakSilverchair.jpg
Single by Silverchair
from the album Freak Show
Released1997
Studio Festival (Pyrmont, Australia)
Genre
Length3:49
Label Murmur
Songwriter Daniel Johns
Producer Nick Launay
Silverchair singles chronology
"Shade"
(1995)		"Freak"
(1997)		"Abuse Me"
(1997)
Music video
"Freak" on YouTube

"Freak" is a song by Australian rock band Silverchair. It was released as the first single from their second studio album, Freak Show (1997). The song peaked at No. 1 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, Silverchair's second single to do so after "Tomorrow" in 1994. The band would not have another number-one hit until "Straight Lines" in 2007. In the US, it peaked on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock and Modern Rock Tracks charts at No. 25 and No. 29, respectively. One of the B-sides of the single is a cover of "New Race" by Australian punk rock band Radio Birdman.

Contents

In April 2022, The Guardian ranked "Freak" at No. 21 on their list of "The 25 Best Silverchair Songs – Sorted". [2] In 2025, the song was placed at No. 72 on the Triple J Hottest 100 of Australian Songs. [3]

Music video

The music video for "Freak" was directed by Gerald Casale, a member of Devo.

The video features the band playing in an oven-chamber, monitored by a scientist in a control room. Their sweat is collected by a doctor and taken to an elderly woman in an adjoining room. The doctor touches part of her flesh with the sweat, and it smoothens. The doctor injects a large amount of sweat into the woman, and she regresses to being middle-aged. The doctor calls for more sweat, so the scientist turns up the heat, as high as 175 °F in the oven-chamber, causing the band members to sweat even more. Their sweat drains into a sort of water cooler, where the doctor collects a glass of it. She gives this to the woman, and when she drinks it, her youth returns. However, she is still not satisfied, so she orders and drinks another dose and turns into an alien mutant. She loves the new look and pays the doctor. When this is all done, the heat lamps are turned off, and the room now seems to appear very cold. The band punch out their time cards and walk out.

The heat lamps in the video are actually orange lights; the band members were sprayed with water to make it look like they were heavily sweating. The scenes featuring the old woman were filmed separately at another studio. [4]

Track listings

UK limited 10-inch vinyl(664076 0)
  1. "Freak"
  2. "New Race"
  3. "Punk Song #2"
  • The Australian vinyl version of the single comes in various extremely rare coloured editions: gold/yellow, clear, semi-clear/various colours, pink-marbled clear, smoked yellow, smoked red, and "no one knows which other colors". The UK 10-inch vinyl includes 10-inch collectible cards.
  1. "Freak"
  2. "New Race"
  3. "Undecided"
  4. "Slave" (Live)
  • This formats contains collectible cards. "Undecided" is not the Silverchair track included on Frogstomp: this is a cover of the 1966 single by the Masters Apprentices.
  1. "Freak"
  2. "New Race"
  3. "Punk Song #2"
  4. "Interview"

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [17] 2× Platinum140,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Barry, Rebecca (21 October 2007). "Silverchair and Powderfinger at Vector Arena". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  2. ↑ Jolly, Nathan (18 April 2022). "The 25 best Silverchair songs – sorted". The Guardian . Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  3. ↑ "Countdown #1 to #100 - Hottest 100 Australian Songs". triple j. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  4. ↑ Silverchair – News Archive – BACKSTAGE AT THE "FREAK" VIDEO SHOOT
  5. ↑ "Silverchair – Freak". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  6. ↑ "Alternative Charts Top 20". ARIA Report . No. 361. 26 January 1997. p. 12. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  7. ↑ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3217." RPM . Library and Archives Canada.
  8. ↑ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 3223." RPM . Library and Archives Canada.
  9. ↑ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media . Vol. 14, no. 15. 12 April 1997. p. 13. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  10. ↑ "Silverchair – Freak". Top 40 Singles.
  11. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  12. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  13. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  14. ↑ "Silverchair Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard.
  15. ↑ "Silverchair Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard.
  16. ↑ "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 1997". ARIA . Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  17. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2020 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association . Retrieved 19 March 2020.
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