"Free Love Freeway" is a song written by Ricky Gervais and

Stephen Merchant Stephen James Merchant (born 24 November 1974) is an English comedian, actor, director, presenter and writer. Alongside Ricky Gervais, Merchant was the co-writer and co-director of the British TV comedy series ''The Office'' (2001–2003), and ...

, who starred in the British comedy series ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series o ...

''. Gervais first performed the song as

David Brent David Brent is a fictional character in the BBC television mockumentary ''The Office'', portrayed by the show's co-creator, co-writer and co-director Ricky Gervais. Brent is a white-collar office middle-manager and the principal character of ...

in Series 1, Episode 4 (titled ''Training'') of the show. From 2018, "Free Love Freeway" also appears in

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adverts in the

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Versions

The first version of "Free Love Freeway" was played by Brent during an employee training seminar. He went home to get his guitar and entertained his employees with his original songs he used to sing with his

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

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. In 2004,

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

, the former lead songwriter and guitarist for the rock group Oasis, recorded the song with Gervais in a professional studio. The new full band recording, which has an added verse, is available as a special feature on the

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of ''The Office'' Christmas Specials. A longer, one-take version of the song is also available as an

easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian feast of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are common during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The oldest tr ...

on the series one DVD. Gervais and

Mackenzie Crook Paul James "Mackenzie" Crook (born 29 September 1971) is an English actor, comedian, director and writer. He played Gareth Keenan in ''The Office'', Ragetti in the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' films, Orell in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones ...

(as

Gareth Keenan Gareth Keenan (born 17 April 1971) is a fictional paper salesman on BBC's comedy ''The Office'', portrayed by Mackenzie Crook. Gareth is a self-important team leader proud of his alleged Lieutenant status in the Territorial Army. He spends his d ...

) performed the song at the

Concert for Diana Concert for Diana was a benefit concert held at the newly built Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom in honour of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 1 July 2007, which would have been her 46th birthday. 31 August that year brought the 10th ann ...

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in 2007. In January 2009, Gervais was a guest on BravoTV ''

Inside the Actors Studio ''Inside the Actors Studio'' is an American talk show that airs on Ovation. The series premiered in 1994 on Bravo where it aired for 22 seasons and was hosted by James Lipton from its premiere until 2018. It is taped at the Michael Schimmel C ...

'' season 15 with

James Lipton Louis James Lipton (September 19, 1926 – March 2, 2020) was an American writer, lyricist, actor, and dean emeritus of the Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University in New York City. He was the executive producer, writer, and host of the B ...

, where at one point of the interview he answered Lipton's question as David Brent. Then Brent obliged the audience by singing his latest song "Free Love Freeway" with a guitar supplied to him by Lipton. In 2013, Gervais brought back his famous character Brent on his YouTube channel in a web series, "Learn Guitar with David Brent". He plays guitar, gives some tips on how to play and answers fan questions. Among the songs he played are "Free Love Freeway", "Spaceman Came Down", "Ooh, La La" and "Life on the Road".

References

External links

Free Love Freeway song lyrics and guitar chords
- from BBC {{authority control 2001 songs The Office (British TV series) Songs from television series Songs written by Ricky Gervais