"Under Pressure" is a song by the British rock band Queen and singer David Bowie. Originally released as a single in October 1981, it was later included on Queen`s 1982 album Hot Space. The song reached number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Queen`s second number-one hit in their home country and Bowie`s third, and also charted in the top 10 in more than 10 countries around the world.

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".[4][5] "Under Pressure" 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. In 2021, it was ranked number 429 on Rolling Stone`s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It was played live at every Queen concert from 1981 until the end of the band`s touring career in 1986.[6][7][8] Live recordings had appeared on various Queen live albums such as 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, Classic Queen, and Absolute Greatest, as well as Bowie compilations such as Best of Bowie (2002), The Platinum Collection (2005), " The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987" (2007), Nothing Has Changed (2014), Legacy (2016), and Re:Call 3 (2017).

"Under Pressure" was sampled by American rapper Vanilla Ice for his 1990 single "Ice Ice Baby". Vanilla Ice initially did not credit Bowie or Queen for the sample, resulting in a lawsuit that gave Bowie and Queen songwriting credit. "Under Pressure" has been covered by American rock bands My Chemical Romance and the Used, and singer Shawn Mendes, whose version featured singer Teddy Geiger. Xiu Xiu also covered the song with Swans frontman Michael Gira, a version that was included on Xiu Xiu`s 2008 album Women as Lovers.

Background and composition

"Under Pressure" was recorded at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland, in July 1981.[9] Queen, working on their 1982 album Hot Space, had been working on a song called "Feel Like", but were not satisfied with the result.[10][11] While they were there, David Bowie was also at Mountain recording his vocals for "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)", the title song for the 1982 horror film of the same name.[12] The artists ran into each other during the session.[13] Bowie sang backing vocals for Queen`s song "Cool Cat",[14] but his vocals were removed from the final song because he was not satisfied with his performance. Afterwards, they worked together for a while and wrote "Under Pressure".[12][15] 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),[16] the song`s primary musical songwriter was Freddie Mercury – though all contributed to the arrangement. As Brian May recalled to Mojo magazine in October 2008, "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."[17] 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.[18]

Also, some confusion has arisen about who had created the song`s bassline. John Deacon said (in Japanese magazine Music life in 1982) 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 the bassline was already written before he became involved.[19] Roger Taylor, in an interview for the BBC documentary Queen: The Days of Our Lives, stated that Deacon did indeed create the bassline, and 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 misremembered the riff, but Taylor was still able to remember it.[20] Brian May clarified matters in a 2016 article for Mirror Online, 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 changed Deacon`s memory of the riff to "Ding-Ding-Ding Diddle Ing-Ding".[21]

Reception

"Under Pressure" has received critical acclaim since its release, with multiple publications ranking it among Queen and Bowie`s best songs and among the greatest songs of all time. On release, Sandy Robertson of Sounds called "Under Pressure" the "cornerstone" of its parent album.[22] Record World said that "Bowie and Freddie Mercury combine for a spellbinding musical experience."[23] Reviewing Hot Space decades later, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called "Under Pressure" as the album`s "undeniable saving grace" and "the only reason most listeners remember this album".[24] He described the song as "an utterly majestic, otherworldly duet ... that recaptures the effortless grace of Queen`s mid-`70s peak, but is underscored with a truly affecting melancholy heart that gives it a genuine human warmth unheard in much of their music."[24] Similarly, Ned Raggett of AllMusic described the song as "anthemic, showy, and warm-hearted, [and] a clear standout for both acts".[25]

Following Bowie`s death in 2016, Jack Hamilton of Slate called "Under Pressure" a "masterpiece" and is a reminder to the public that Bowie could be "wonderfully, powerfully human."[26] Jack Whatley wrote for Far Out Magazine "with all the animosity, wine, cocaine, and vocal battles, which helped come together to birth the song, what remains is an incredibly powerful and poignant pop song that we will likely not see matched in our lifetimes. The two juggernauts of Freddie Mercury and David Bowie collide here with perfect and enriching precision."[5]

The September 2005 edition of online music magazine Stylus singled out the bassline as the best in popular music history.[27] 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".[28] In 2012, Slant Magazine listed "Under Pressure" as the 21st best single of the 1980s.[29] It was listed at number 31 on VH1`s 100 Greatest Songs of the `80s[30] and voted the second best collaboration of all time in a poll by Rolling Stone magazine.[31] It is ranked number 429 on Rolling Stone`s list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[32]

Music video

The music video for the song features neither Queen nor David Bowie due to touring commitments.[33] 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, My Lady of Whims, the silent Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde starring John Barrymore, and F.W. Murnau`s Nosferatu, a masterpiece of the German Expressionist movement.[33][34] 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 many black and white kissing scenes).[34] Top of the Pops refused to show the video in its original form due to it containing footage of explosions in Northern Ireland, so an edited version was instead shown.[35] In 2003, Slant Magazine ranked "Under Pressure" number 27 among the 100 greatest music videos of all time.[36]

"Ice Ice Baby" sampling controversy

Further information: List of songs that have been the subject of plagiarism disputes

Controversy arose when Vanilla Ice sampled the song`s intro bassline and piano chords for his 1990 single "Ice Ice Baby". Initially, he denied the accusation and then said he had modified it[37] but did not originally pay songwriting credit or royalties to Queen and Bowie.[38][39] A lawsuit resulted in Bowie and all members of Queen receiving songwriting credit for the sample.[40] Vanilla Ice later claimed that he purchased the publishing rights to "Under Pressure",[41][42] saying that buying the song made more financial sense than paying out royalties,[41] but a Queen spokesman clarified that Vanilla Ice`s statement was inaccurate.[43]

Track listing

pbSide one/b

/p

olli"Under Pressure" (Mercury, May, Taylor, Deacon, Bowie) – 4:08/li/ol

pbSide two/b

/p

olli"Soul Brother" (Mercury) – 3:38/li/ol

div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"h3 id=`7":_Elektra_/_E-47235_(US)`>7": Elektra / E-47235 (US)

"Rah Mix"

Certifications

My Chemical Romance and the Used version

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.[109]

Shawn Mendes version

In October 2018, Canadian singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes featuring American singer-songwriter Teddy Geiger (credited as teddy<3) released a version of the song.[112]

The song was released to coincide with the release of the film Bohemian Rhapsody. Universal Music Group released three tracks by different artists "channeling their inner Freddie Mercury"; this was the first installment, released in October 2018 followed by 5 Seconds of Summer`s "Killer Queen" cover track.[113][114][115]

A portion of the profits from the "Under Pressure" cover was donated to Mercury Phoenix Trust, which was founded by Queen`s Brian May and Roger Taylor (and the group`s manager, Jim Beach) after Mercury`s death to help fight AIDS worldwide. Mendes said in a statement: "I am so honoured to be able to support the amazing legacy of Freddie and Queen by doing a cover of one of my favourite songs, `Under Pressure`".[114][116]

Reception

Taylor Weatherby from Billboard called the track "breezy" and said "Mendes and Geiger put their voices at the forefront of the stripped-down rendition, with Mendes` falsetto and Geiger`s `raspier` tone complementing their plucky acoustic guitars."[114]