Under Pressure is a song by Queen and David Bowie. It was written by Queen and Bowie for the band's 1982 album Hot Space. It was also released as a single with Soul Brother on the B-side.
The song has been described as a "monster rock track that stood out" on the Hot Space album, as well as "an incredibly powerful and poignant pop song". It was listed at number 31 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s and voted the second best collaboration of all time in a poll by Rolling Stone magazine. It was played live at every Queen concert from 1981 until the end of the band's touring career in 1986. Live recordings appear on the Queen live albums Queen Rock Montreal and Live at Wembley '86.
The song was included on some editions of Queen's first Greatest Hits compilations, such as the original 1981 Elektra release in North America. It is included on the band's compilation albums Greatest Hits II (hits between 1981 to 1991), Classic Queen, and Absolute Greatest as well as Bowie compilations such as Best of Bowie (2002), The Platinum Collection (2005), Nothing Has Changed (2014), Legacy (2016), and Re:Call 3 (2017).
History[]
Composition[]
Bowie had originally come to the studios in order to sing backing vocals on another Queen song, "Cool Cat," which would end up being edited out since he wasn't satisfied with them. Once he got there, they worked together for a while and wrote the song.
Queen had been working on the song under the title "Feel Like" but were not yet satisfied with the result. The final version that became "Under Pressure" evolved from a jam session the band had with Bowie at his studio in Montreux, Switzerland, therefore it was credited as co-written by the five musicians. According to Queen bassist John Deacon (as quoted in a French magazine in 1984), however, the song's primary musical songwriter was Freddie Mercury — though all contributed to the arrangement. The earlier, embryonic version of the song without Bowie "Feel Like" is widely available in bootleg form.
There has been some confusion about who created the song's famous bassline. John Deacon said (in Japanese magazine Musiclife in 1982, and in the previously mentioned French magazine) that David Bowie had created it. In more recent interviews, Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor have credited the bass riff to Deacon; Bowie also said on his website that the bassline was already written before he became involved. The September 2005 edition of online music magazine Stylus singled out the bassline as the best in popular music history.
Roger Taylor was frequently rumoured to be the song's chief writer. However, it appears that he served more as an intermediary for Mercury and Bowie (two of rock music's biggest stars at the time), being friends with both men. Taylor was involved in the production of the track and did some preliminary mixes with Bowie in New York, but Bowie was unsatisfied with these results and wanted to re-record everything (as claimed by May on a November 1982 interview for IM&RW magazine). In the end, the final mix was done with the involvement of Mercury and recording engineer Mack, under pressure from Bowie and Taylor (according to Brian May in the same 1982 interview).
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). However, since Mercury's death and the Outside tour in 1995, Bowie has 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 as well. While Bowie was never present for a live performance of the song with Mercury, Roger Taylor instead filled for back-up vocals usually in unison with Mercury as Mercury would take over most of Bowie's parts.
Charts and certifications[]
Chart performances[]
| Chart (1981-82) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 6 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) | 10 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50) | 5 |
| Canada (RPM) | 3 |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 2 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) | 1 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) | 1 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) | 6 |
| Norway (VG-lista) | 5 |
| South Africa (Springbok Radio) | 4 |
| Spain (AFYVE) | 9 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) | 10 |
| Switzerland (Swiss Hitparade) | 10 |
| United Kingdom (Official Charts Company) | 1 |
| United States (Billboard Hot 100) | 29 |
| West Germany (Official German Charts) | 21 |
Certifications[]
| Country | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark (IFPI Denmark) | Gold | 45,000 |
| Italy (FIMI) | 2x Platinum | 100,000 |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Platinum | 1,000,000 |
| United States (RIAA) | 2x Platinum | 2,000,000 |