Under Pressure

This article is about the song by Queen and David Bowie. For other uses, see Under Pressure (disambiguation).
"Under Pressure"
Single by Queen and David Bowie
from the album Hot Space
B-side "Soul Brother"
Released 26 October 1981
Format
Recorded
Genre Rock
Length 4:08
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
  • Queen
  • David Bowie
Queen singles chronology
"Flash"
(1980)		 "Under Pressure"
(1981)		 "Body Language"
(1982)
David Bowie singles chronology
"Up the Hill Backwards"
(1981)		 "Under Pressure"
(1981)		 "Wild Is the Wind"
(1981)
Music video
"Under Pressure" on YouTube

"Under Pressure" is a 1981 song by the British rock band Queen which was written and recorded in collaboration with the singer David Bowie. It was included on Queen's 1982 album Hot Space. The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the group's second number-one hit in their home country (after 1975's "Bohemian Rhapsody", which topped the chart for nine weeks), and Bowie's third UK number-one. The song only peaked at No. 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and would re-chart for one week at No. 45 in the US following Bowie's death in January 2016. It was also number 31 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s.[1]

The song was played live at every Queen concert from 1981 until the end of Queen's touring career in 1986.[2][3][4] It is recorded on the live albums Queen Rock Montreal and Live at Wembley '86.[5][6] The song was included on some editions of Queen's first Greatest Hits compilations, such as the original 1981 Elektra release in the US. It is included on the band's compilation albums Greatest Hits II, Classic Queen, and Absolute Greatest[7] as well as Bowie compilations such as Best of Bowie (2002),[8] The Platinum Collection (2005), Nothing Has Changed (2014) and Legacy (2016).

Creation

Queen had been working on a song called "Feel Like", but was not yet satisfied with the result.[9][10] David Bowie had originally come to Mountain Studios to sing back up vocals on another Queen song, "Cool Cat", but his vocals were removed from the final song because he was not satisfied with his performance. Once he got there, they worked together for a while and wrote the song.[11] The final version, which became "Under Pressure", evolved from a jam session that Bowie had with the band at Queen's studio in Montreux, Switzerland. It was credited as being co-written by the five musicians. The scat singing that dominates much of the song is evidence of the jam-beginnings as improvisation. However, according to Queen bassist John Deacon (as quoted in a French magazine in 1984), the song's primary musical songwriter was Freddie Mercury – though all contributed to the arrangement. Brian May recalled to Mojo magazine, in October 2008, that, "It was hard, because you had four very precocious boys and David, who was precocious enough for all of us. David took over the song lyrically. Looking back, it's a great song but it should have been mixed differently. Freddie and David had a fierce battle over that. It's a significant song because of David and its lyrical content."[12] The earlier, embryonic version of the song without Bowie, "Feel Like", is widely available in bootleg form, and was written by Queen drummer Roger Taylor.

There has been some confusion about who created the song's bassline. John Deacon said (in Japanese magazine Musiclife in 1982, and in the previously mentioned French magazine) that David Bowie created it. In more recent interviews, Brian May and Roger Taylor credited the bass riff to Deacon. Bowie, on his website, said that the bassline was already written before he became involved.[13] Roger Taylor, in an interview for the BBC documentary Queen: the Days of Our Lives, stated that Deacon did indeed create the bassline, stating that all through the sessions in the studio he had been playing the riff over and over. He also claims that when the band returned from dinner, Deacon, amusingly, forgot the riff, but fortunately Taylor was still able to remember it.[14] Brian May clarified matters in a 2016 Mirror Online article, writing that it was actually Bowie, not Taylor, who had inadvertently changed the riff. The riff began as "Deacy began playing, 6 notes the same, then one note a fourth down". After the dinner break, Bowie corrected (actually changed) Deacon's memory of the riff to "Ding-Ding-Ding Diddle Ing-Ding".[15]

Music video

The video for the song features neither Queen nor David Bowie due to touring commitments.[16] Taking the theme of pressure, director David Mallet edited together stock footage of traffic jams, commuter trains packed with passengers, explosions, riots, cars being crushed and various pieces of footage from silent films of the 1920s, most notably Sergei Eisenstein's influential Soviet film Battleship Potemkin, the silent Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde starring John Barrymore, and F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu, a masterpiece of the German Expressionist movement.[16][17] The video explores the pressure-cooker mentality of a culture willing to wage war against political machines, and at the same time love and have fun (there is also footage of crowds enjoying concerts, and lots of black and white kissing scenes).[17]

Track listing

1981 single

  1. "Under Pressure" (Mercury, May, Taylor, Deacon, Bowie) – 4:08
  2. "Soul Brother" (Mercury, May, Taylor, Deacon) – 3:38

EMI released a 3-inch CD version of the single in 1988 with "Body Language" as an additional B-side.

Personnel

Musicians on original version:

Reception

The September 2005 edition of online music magazine Stylus singled out the bassline as the best in popular music history.[18] In November 2004, Stylus music critic Anthony Miccio commented that "Under Pressure" "is the best song of all time" and described it as Queen's "opus".[19] In 2012, Slant Magazine listed "Under Pressure" as the 21st best single of the 1980s.[20]

Live performances

Although very much a joint project, only Queen incorporated the song into their live shows at the time. Bowie chose not to perform the song before an audience until the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, when he and Annie Lennox sang it as a duet (backed by the surviving Queen members).[21] However, after Mercury's death and the Outside tour in 1995, Bowie performed the song at virtually every one of his live shows, with bassist Gail Ann Dorsey taking Mercury's vocal part. The song also appeared in setlists from A Reality Tour mounted by Bowie in 2004, when he frequently would dedicate it to Freddie Mercury. Queen + Paul Rodgers have recently performed the song; and in summer of 2012, Queen + Adam Lambert toured, including a performance of the song by Lambert and Roger Taylor in each show.[22] While David Bowie was never present for a live performance of the song with Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor instead filled for backing vocals usually in unison with Mercury, as Mercury took over all of Bowie's parts.

Live recordings

Remixes and other releases

"Under Pressure (Rah Mix)"
Single by Queen and David Bowie
from the album Greatest Hits III
B-side
Released 6 December 1999
Format CD single, digital download
Recorded Rock
Length Album Version and Single Version 4:08, video version 4:27
Label EMI, Parlophone
Writer(s) Queen and David Bowie
Producer(s) Queen and David Bowie
Queen singles chronology
"Another One Bites The Dust (Small Soldiers Remix)"
(1998)		 "Under Pressure (Rah Mix)"
(1999)		 "We Will Rock You"
(2000)
David Bowie singles chronology
"The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell"
(1999)		 "Under Pressure (Rah Mix)"
(1999)		 "Survive"
(2000)

Rah Mix

A remixed version (called the "Rah Mix") was issued in December 1999 to promote Queen's Greatest Hits III compilation, reaching No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart. The video for the Rah Mix was directed by DoRo and features footage of Freddie Mercury from the Wembley concert on 12 July 1986 and David Bowie at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert also at Wembley on 20 April 1992 spliced together using digital technology (and with Annie Lennox carefully edited out) and features on the Greatest Flix III compilation, the Rah Mix CD single (as an Enhanced CD video) and the 2011 iTunes LP edition of Hot Space.

Track listing

Two CD singles (one multimedia enhanced) released 6 December 1999 and 7" picture disc released 13 December 1999. As "Bohemian Rhapsody" wins The Song of The Millennium award, this released as B-side under the title "The Song of The Millenium – Bohemian Rhapsody".[25]

CDS No. 1
  1. Under Pressure (Rah Mix)
  2. The Song of the Millennium – Bohemian Rhapsody
  3. Thank God It's Christmas
CDS No. 2
  1. Under Pressure (Rah Mix – Radio Edit)
  2. Under Pressure (Mike Spencer Mix)
  3. Under Pressure (Knebworth Mix)
  4. Enhanced section
7"
  1. Under Pressure (Rah Mix)
  2. The Song of the Millennium – Bohemian Rhapsody

Other remixes

Mr. Mixx Remix. Mr. Mixx of 2 Live Crew produced a hip-hop remix intended for inclusion as the fourth track on the cancelled 1992 Hollywood Records compilation BASIC Queen Bootlegs.

Lazy Kiss Edit. Released in October 2013 by Brazilian Electro-House duo, Lazy Kiss. This edit/mashup gained exposure through blog filter site, HypeMachine and the Italian music blog, Frequenze Indipendenti.[28]

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Original version

Chart (1981–82) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[29] 6
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[30] 10
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[31] 5
Belgium (VRT Top 30 Flanders)[32] 5
Canada (CHUM)[33] 1
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[34] 3
Germany (Official German Charts)[35] 21
Ireland (IRMA)[36] 2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[37] 1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[38] 1
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[39] 6
Norway (VG-lista)[40] 5
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[41] 4
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[42] 10
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[43] 10
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[44] 1
US Billboard Hot 100[45] 29
Chart (2009) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[46] 45
Chart (2016) (after Bowie's death) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[47] 42
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[30] 37
France (SNEP)[48] 20
Germany (Official German Charts)[35] 71
Ireland (IRMA)[49] 51
Italy (FIMI)[50] 29
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[38] 66
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[51] 28
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[42] 59
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[43] 49
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[44] 43
US Billboard Hot 100[52] 45

Under Pressure – Rah Mix (1999):

CountryPeak position
UK14
Netherlands19

Certifications

Region Certification
Italy (FIMI)[53] Gold
United Kingdom (BPI)[54] Silver

Cover versions

My Chemical Romance and The Used version

"Under Pressure"
Single by My Chemical Romance and The Used
from the album In Love and Death
Released 12 April 2005
Format Digital download
Recorded 2005
Genre Alternative rock[55]
Length 3:32
Label Reprise
Writer(s) Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, David Bowie
Producer(s) Howard Benson
My Chemical Romance singles chronology
"Helena"
(2005)		 "Under Pressure"
(2005)		 "The Ghost of You"
(2005)
The Used chronology
"I Caught Fire"
(2005)		 "Under Pressure"
(2005)		 "The Bird and the Worm"
(2007)

The song was covered in 2005 by American alternative rock bands The Used and My Chemical Romance for tsunami relief. The cover was originally released as an Internet download track but has subsequently been featured as a bonus track on the 2005 re-release of The Used's second studio album In Love and Death, and received wide airplay in 2005.

On the Billboard charts, the single reached number 28 on Modern Rock chart and number 41 on the Hot 100.[56]

Chart (2005) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks 28
US Billboard Pop 100 28
US Billboard Hot 100 41

Other cover versions

1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s

Live cover performances

1990s
2000s
2010s

Sampling

Other uses

Controversy

Controversy arose when Vanilla Ice sampled the bassline for his 1990 single "Ice Ice Baby". Initially he denied the accusation, and then said he had modified it,[80] and did not originally pay songwriting credit or royalties to Queen and Bowie.[81][82] A lawsuit resulted in Bowie and all the members of Queen being given songwriting credit for the sample. Vanilla Ice later claimed to have purchased the publishing rights to "Under Pressure".[83][84] Vanilla Ice said buying the song made more financial sense than paying out royalties.[83]

References

  1. ↑ "VH1: 100 Greatest Songs of the 80's". Rock on the Net. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  2. ↑ Queen live on tour: Hot Space (world) Queen Concerts. Retrieved 23 July 2011
  3. ↑ Queen live on tour: The Works 1985 Queen Concerts. Retrieved 23 July 2011
  4. ↑ Queen live on tour: Magic tour Queen Concerts. Retrieved 23 July 2011
  5. ↑ Queen Rock Montreal Allmusic. Retrieved 23 July 2011
  6. ↑ Live At Wembley 1986 Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 23 July 2011
  7. ↑ Queen Album: Classic Queen MTV. Retrieved 2 July 2011
  8. ↑ David Bowie: Best of Bowie AllMusic. Retrieved 18 November 2011
  9. ↑ Unreleased Queen Tracks – Feel Like Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 29 August 2011
  10. ↑ Queen – Feel Like demo (pre-Under Pressure) Retrieved 15 January 2011
  11. ↑ Peter Freestone (2001) Freddie Mercury: an intimate memoir by the man who knew him best p.78. Omnibus Press. Retrieved 15 January 2011
  12. ↑ "Queen, The Second Coming". Mojo, October 2008,
  13. ↑ Bowie Talks About Under Pressure Retrieved 15 January 2011
  14. ↑ O'Casey, Matt, dir. (2002) Queen – Days of Our Lives. Part 2. Queen Productions Ltd. Retrieved 9 June 2011
  15. ↑ Brian May (11 January 2016). "Brian May tells how David Bowie and Queen wrote the legendary track Under Pressure". Mirror Online.
  16. 1 2 Queen Promo Videos – Under Pressure Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 20 September 2011
  17. 1 2 Queen and David Bowie, "Under Pressure" (David Mallet and Andy Morahan) Slant Magazine. Retrieved 20 September 2011
  18. ↑ "Stylus Magazine's Top 50 Basslines of all Time". Stylus. 12 September 2005. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  19. ↑ "Queen – Hot Space – On Second Thought". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  20. ↑ "Best Singles of the 1980s". Slant Magazine. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  21. 1 2 3 Under Pressure – The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 29 August 2011
  22. ↑ Parker, Lyndsey (12 July 2012). "Queen + Adam Lambert Rock London With "Queenbert" Concert". Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  23. ↑ Queen Rock Montreal Allmusic. Retrieved 29 August 2011
  24. ↑ 2006 VH1 Rock Honours Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 29 August 2011
  25. ↑ "Queenpedia.com". Queenpedia.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  26. ↑ "The Queen Collection". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  27. ↑ "Performance by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra". YouTube. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  28. ↑ Pubblicato da Deni. "Frequenze Indipendenti: GIOCARE COL FUOCO pt. 49". Frequenzeindipendenti.blogspot.com. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  29. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970-1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 243. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  30. 1 2 "Austriancharts.at – Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Radio2 top 30: 9 januari 1982". Top 30.
  33. ↑ CHART NUMBER 1298 – Saturday, December 05, 1981 at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 November 2006). CHUM. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  34. ↑ "Top Singles - Volume 35, No. 23 Jan 16, 1982". RPM. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  35. 1 2 "Musicline.de – Queen & David Bowie Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  36. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Under Pressure". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Queen & David Bowie search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  38. 1 2 "Dutchcharts.nl – Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  40. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure". VG-lista. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  41. ↑ "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (Q)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  42. 1 2 "Swedishcharts.com – Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure". Singles Top 100. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  43. 1 2 "Swisscharts.com – Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  44. 1 2 "Queen: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  45. ↑ "Queen – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Queen. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  46. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 47, 2009". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  47. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  48. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  49. ↑ "Chart Track: Week 2, 2016". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  50. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure". Top Digital Download. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  51. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  52. ↑ "The Hot 100 – The Week of January 30, 2016". Billboard Hot 100 for Queen. Retrieved March 17, 2016.
  53. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 31 January 2015. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter Queen & David Bowie in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
  54. ↑ "British single certifications – Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 31 January 2015. Enter Under Pressure in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  55. ↑ "((( Under Pressure > Overview )))". Allmusic. 12 April 2005. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  56. ↑ Artist Chart History – The Used – Singles, Billboard
  57. ↑ "Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Queen Collection CD Album". Cduniverse.com. 18 January 1995. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  58. ↑ "The London Symphony Orchestra Plays the Music of Queen: Information from". Answers.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  59. ↑ "Various – Queen Dance Traxx I (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  60. ↑ "Queen – Under Pressure (By Fobia – Presionando)". YouTube. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  61. ↑ "Small Brown Bike/The Casket Lottery – split CD". Punknews.org. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  62. ↑ Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen Allmusic. Retrieved 30 December 2012
  63. ↑ "The Invisible Soundtrack (complete album tracklisting)". SoundtrackINFO. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  64. ↑ Lahti Symphony Orchestra (29 September 2008). "Rajaton | Rajaton Sings Queen With Lahti Symphony Orchestra Download and Tracklist". eMusic. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  65. ↑ "Xiu Xiu Covers Under Pressure – CrackedActor.com – a David Bowie fan site". Crackedactor.com. 1 March 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  66. ↑ "Watch Jedward & Vanilla Ice's 'Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)' music video!". Unreality TV. 30 January 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  67. ↑ Happy Feet Two: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Allmusic. Retrieved 21 December 2011
  68. ↑ "Flaming Lips, The – Soil X Samples 23 (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 18 October 1994. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  69. ↑ "Interviews: The Blood Brothers". Rockzone.Com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  70. ↑ "Various – Dynamite with a Laserbeam: Queen As Heard Through The Meat Grinder Of Three One G at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  71. ↑ "Keller Williams : : Stage on Jambase". Jambase.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  72. ↑ Coggan, Devan (6 September 2015). "John Paul Jones and Roger Taylor join Foo Fighters for a supergroup cover of 'Under Pressure'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  73. ↑ "Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  74. ↑ "HIP HOP ISN'T DEAD: Charli Baltimore – Cold As Ice (scheduled for release in 1999, actually released in 2009)". Hiphopisntdead.blogspot.com. 19 November 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  75. ↑ "Platinum Doug – Play With Me (Radio Mix) release on Soundcloud". soundcloud.com. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  76. ↑ Cortez, Hector (4 December 2010). "More Queen Tracks Coming To Rock Band 3". Monstersandcritics.com. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  77. ↑ Snider, Mike (10 June 2010). "Rock Band 3: What's New, What's Notable". USA Today. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
  78. ↑ "Google Plus amps advertising with Muppets: New commercials spotlight Hangouts feature". 9TO5 Google. Retrieved 17 October 2012
  79. ↑ Giles, Jeff (11 December 2014). "'Minions' Trailer Features Queen, David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  80. ↑ Stillman, Kevin (27 February 2006). "Word to your mother". Iowa State Daily. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
  81. ↑ Westfahl, Gary (2000). "Legends of the Fall: Behind the Music". Science Fiction, Children's Literature, and Popular Culture. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 100. ISBN 0-313-30847-0.
  82. ↑ Feature: Has Vanilla Ice been stealing other people's songs?" Smash Hits (EMAP Metro) (12–25 December 1990): 59.
  83. 1 2 Robert Van Winkle (interviewee) (2013). Vanilla Ice Owns "Under Pressure" On The Opie & Anthony Show on SiriusXM [Explicit] (Video of Radio Broadcast). YouTube.com. Event occurs at 1:30. Retrieved 10 February 2013. ...the lawsuit worked out in my favor, cause I ended up buying their song. It was four million dollars and it was one of my best investments.
  84. ↑ Anderson, Becky (22 February 2010). "Interview with Vanilla Ice (transcript)". cnn.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2013. The great thing is, is I bought back all my royalties and I bought that song, too. So it kind of comes back around, kind of like Michael Jackson both The Beatles. [...] I can do whatever I want with it, because I own it.
Preceded by
"Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police		 UK number-one single
21 November 1981 – 28 November 1981 		Succeeded by
"Begin The Beguine" by Julio Iglesias
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