There’s no denying that 2003’s Freaky Friday is a modern Disney classic – for Lindsay Lohan, for Chad Michael Murray’s hair, and for millennials around the world. But did you know that one of the movie’s most beloved songs wasn’t originally made for the movie?
That’s right, “Take Me Away” – the track Pink Slip practices during their garage rehearsal at the start of the movie and later performs at the House of Blues – is actually a cover!
As Christina Vidal’s Maddie takes the lead vocals on the number as Anna de Lohan (really her mother Tess) pretends to play guitar in the climax and perhaps the film’s most iconic scene, the song was originally recorded by Australian alt-rock / punk band Lash.
Comprised of singer Belinda-Lee Reid, drummer Jaclyn Pearson, lead guitarist Jessica Bennet and bassist Micaela Slayford, the quartet met in the 90s while attending Santa Maria College Catholic School. in the suburb of Perth. They entered their first songwriting competition when they were just 14 years old under the name Exteria.
After changing their name to Lash and signing with the late Australian label Festival Mushroom Records, the band released just one studio album, The Beautiful and the Damned in 2002, before going their separate ways in 2003.
“Take Me Away” served as the LP’s lead single and peaked at No. 33 on the Australian music charts. He was even nominated for Best Artist – Single at the 2001 ARIA Music Awards!
Another fun fact: While the band’s first hit was covered for the film, another of their songs, “Beauty Queen”, made its way onto the official Freaky Friday soundtrack.
Feel nostalgic? Sign up for Disney + here and you can watch Freaky Friday right now.
