Despite the worldwide success of her hit ‘Freed From Desire’ in the 90s and the anthem’s renewed ubiquity in the 2020s, Italian singer Gala has been living “penniless in Brooklyn with friends in rented rooms” for four years now. Here’s why.
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It’s the 1996 Eurodance classic which has become a football match and protest march mainstay, a resurging pop banger whose catchy “Na-na-na-na-na” chorus is inescapable.
We’re talking, of course, about Gala’s ‘Freed From Desire’ – a worldwide hit which has sold well over 6 million copies.
As joyful and vibrant as the 90s anthem is, the behind-the-scenes story is far less cheerful.
Gala – whose full name is Gala Rizzatto – has been unable to reap the financial rewards of her song and its renewed success.
The 49-year-old Italian singer spoke to French magazine Paris-Match about how she has been robbed of royalties and “taken advantage of” for 30 years, having signed “a very unfair deal” with an unscrupulous producer named Max Moroldo.
When she met Moroldo in 1995, Rizzatto knew nothing about copyright, royalties and other musical property rights. She was in it for the music.
“I signed an outrageously unfair contract (...) I wasn't stupid, I was ignorant,” Rizzatto shared. “But also, there were things down behind my back that I didn’t know about.”
She also shared how she has been living “penniless in Brooklyn with friends in rented rooms” for four years now, and that the situation is “quite difficult.”
“People think I’m drinking a Martini on a Carribean island and that I’m a billionaire because of my song but it’s not the case. I don't have the money to buy a flat. I live like a nomad. In the last six weeks, I've changed addresses four times!”
She confessed that it has taken her a long time to talk about her current situation and that when she sees “thousands of remixes being cut and put out, where I don’t have a say, it’s terrible. And it’s your name. And Gala is not my artist name – Gala is my name.”
Although she says she is tired, Gala has not given up and is still fighting to recover the rights to her hit.
“For almost 30 years, I’ve been living like an independent artist,” she says. “I never relaxed, I never sat down, I realised that I had to roll up my sleeves and get to work...”
A meeting in November 2023 with Ben Mawson, co-founder of TaP Music, started another tug-of-war with Morolso. This resulted in Gala winning the right to re-record her iconic song, taking it back and hopefully managing to reap some of the rewards.
So, the next time you’re singing along to ‘Freed From Desire’ - and hopefully getting the correct amount of ‘na-na’s right - spare a thought for the singer who’s still trying to make it her own again.
