| "Under Pressure" | ||||
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 UK picture sleeve | ||||
| Single byQueen andDavid Bowie | ||||
| from the albumHot Space | ||||
| B-side | "Soul Brother" | |||
| Released | ||||
| Recorded | September 1981 | |||
| Studio | Mountain,Montreux | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:08 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers |
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| Queen singles chronology | ||||
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| David Bowie singles chronology | ||||
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| Alternative cover | ||||
 Artwork for US release | ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Under Pressure" onYouTube | ||||
"Under Pressure" is a song by the Britishrock bandQueen and singerDavid Bowie. Released as a single in October 1981, it was later included on Queen's tenth studio albumHot Space (1982). The song reached number one on theUK Singles Chart, becoming Queen's second number-one hit in their home country and Bowie's third; it also charted in the top 10 in more than 10 other countries.
The song has been described as a "monster rock track that stood out" on theHot Space album.[4] "Under Pressure" was listed at number 31 onVH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s, and voted the second-best collaboration of all time in a poll byRolling Stone. In 2021, it was ranked number 429 onRolling Stone's list ofThe 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.[5][6][7] Live recordings appear on Queen live albums, includingQueen Rock Montreal andLive at Wembley '86.
The song was included on some editions of Queen's firstGreatest Hits compilations, such as the original 1981 Elektra release in North America. It appears on the band's compilation albumsGreatest Hits II,Classic Queen, andAbsolute Greatest, and on Bowie compilations such asBest of Bowie (2002),The Platinum Collection (2005), "The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987" (2007),Nothing Has Changed (2014),Legacy (2016), andRe:Call 3 (2017).
"Under Pressure" was sampled by American rapperVanilla Ice for his 1990 single "Ice Ice Baby". Vanilla Ice initially did not credit Bowie or Queen, who sued and gained a songwriting credit on Ice's song. "Under Pressure" has been recorded by American rock bandsMy Chemical Romance andthe Used, and singerShawn Mendes, whose version featured singerTeddy Geiger.Xiu Xiu covered the song, withSwans frontmanMichael Gira, for Xiu Xiu's 2008 albumWomen as Lovers.
"Under Pressure" was recorded atMountain Studios inMontreux, Switzerland, in September 1981.[8] Queen, working on their 1982 albumHot Space, had been working on a song called "Feel Like", but were not satisfied with the result.[9] Although it was said that the collaboration started from Queen running into David Bowie at Mountain while recording "Cat People (Putting Out Fire)",[10] the story told in interviews was that Bowie happened to be around in Montreux and lived nearby to the studio, so Queen invited Bowie down to the studio and it took off from there.[11] The track was recorded during one marathon evening session at Mountain, with vocals and mixing completed at thePower Station in New York a couple of weeks later.[12]
Bowie sang backing vocals for Queen's song "Cool Cat",[13] 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".[14][15] It was credited as being co-written by the five musicians. Thescat singing that dominates much of the song is evidence of the jam-beginnings asimprovisation. However, according to Queen bassistJohn Deacon (as quoted in a French magazine in 1984),[16] the song's primary musical songwriter wasFreddie Mercury – though all contributed to the arrangement. AsBrian May recalled toMojo 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 drummerRoger Taylor.[18]
Also, some confusion has arisen about who had created the song'sbassline. John Deacon said (in Japanese magazineMusic 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 documentaryQueen: 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 again. He also claims that when the band returned from dinner, Deacon misremembered the riff, but Taylor was still able to remember it.[20] According to Brian May in a 2016 article forMirror Online, 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]
"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 ofSounds 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] ReviewingHot Space decades later,Stephen Thomas Erlewine ofAllMusic 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]
FollowingBowie's death in 2016, Jack Hamilton ofSlate called "Under Pressure" a "masterpiece" and is a reminder to the public that Bowie could be "wonderfully, powerfully human."[26]
The September 2005 edition of online music magazineStylus singled out the bassline as the best inpopular music history.[27] In November 2004,Stylus Magazine 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 onVH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s[30] and voted the second best collaboration of all time in a poll byRolling Stone magazine.[31] It is ranked number 429 onRolling Stone's list ofThe 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[32]
Themusic video for the song features neither Queen nor David Bowie due to touring commitments.[33] Taking the theme of pressure, directorDavid 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 notablySergei Eisenstein's influential Soviet filmBattleship Potemkin, The Eagle,My Lady of Whims, the silentDr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde starringJohn Barrymore, andF.W. Murnau'sNosferatu, a masterpiece of theGerman 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]
AfterVanilla Ice sampled the song's intro bassline and piano chords for his 1990 single "Ice Ice Baby", he did not initially give songwriting credit or pay royalties to Queen and Bowie.[37][38] When asked to do so, he denied having sampled the song, then he acknowledged the sample but said he had modified it.[39] Bowie and Queen sued and received songwriting credit.[40] Vanilla Ice later claimed that he had 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 said Vanilla Ice's statement was untrue.[43]
Side one
Side two
Side one
Side two
According to Bowie biographer Chris O'Leary and Queenvinyls:[13][44]
Although very much a joint project, only Queen incorporated the song into their live shows at the time. Mercury sang Bowie's parts, as Bowie was never present for a live performance of the song with him. Bowie chose not to perform the song before an audience until the 1992Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, when he andAnnie Lennox sang it as a duet (backed by the surviving Queen members).[46] However, after Mercury's death and theOutside tour in 1995, Bowie performed the song at virtually every one of his live shows, with bassistGail Ann Dorsey taking Mercury's vocal part. The song also appeared in set lists fromA Reality Tour mounted by Bowie in 2004, when he frequently would dedicate it to Freddie Mercury.Queen + Paul Rodgers have performed the song. In summer of 2012,Queen + Adam Lambert toured, including a performance of the song by Lambert and Roger Taylor in each show.[47]
| "Under Pressure (Rah Mix)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byQueen andDavid Bowie | ||||
| from the albumGreatest Hits III | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | 6 December 1999 | |||
| Genre | Rock,dance rock | |||
| Length |
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| Label | ||||
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| Producers |
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| Queen singles chronology | ||||
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| David Bowie singles chronology | ||||
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A remixed version (called the "Rah Mix") was issued in December 1999 to promote Queen'sGreatest Hits III compilation, reaching No. 14 on theUK Singles Chart. The video for the Rah Mix was directed by DoRo, featuring footage of Freddie Mercury from Queen's Wembley concert on 12 July 1986 and David Bowie at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert also at Wembley Stadium on 20 April 1992 spliced together using digital technology (with Annie Lennox carefully edited out). This version is featured on theGreatest Hits III compilation, the Rah Mix CD single (as an Enhanced CD video) and the 2011 iTunes LP edition ofHot Space.
Two CD singles (one multimedia enhanced) released 6 December 1999 and 7" picture disc released 13 December 1999. As "Bohemian Rhapsody" wonThe Song of The Millennium award, this was released with Bohemian Rhapsody as B-side[52]
CDS No. 1
CDS No. 2
7-inch single
"Mouth Pressure". Released in January 2017 as a part of theNeil Cicierega albumMouth Moods, "Mouth Pressure" pairs the instrumentals from "Under Pressure" with the vocals fromSmash Mouth's "All Star".[55][56]
"Percy's Pressure". A karaoke version of the song was released in September as a part of the soundtrack of the animatedWarner Brothers musical filmSmallfoot whose lyrics detail one of the central human characters Percy's (voiced byJames Corden) fall from fame and his need to bounce back. Additional lyrics were written by Karey Kirkpatrick, the film's director, and his brother Wayne Kirkpatrick.[57]
A radically remixed version is used inCharlotte Wells' 2022BAFTA winning filmAftersun. The track appears at the climactic ending of the film in a version which gradually strips away most of the instrumentation leaving Bowie and Mercury’s vocals to be accompanied by electronic drones and cello from composerOliver Coates.[58]
In the U.K., "Under Pressure" was Queen's second number-one hit and Bowie's third. Queen's smash hit "Bohemian Rhapsody" reached number one in November 1975, just two weeks after Bowie's "Space Oddity" had done the same. Bowie also topped the British charts in August 1980 with "Ashes to Ashes", hisanswer song to "Space Oddity".[59]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[102] | 3× Platinum | 210,000‡ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[103] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[104] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[105] | 3× Platinum | 300,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[106] | 6× Platinum | 180,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[107] | 2× Platinum | 120,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[108] | 4× Platinum | 2,400,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[109] | 4× Platinum | 4,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| "Under Pressure" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byMy Chemical Romance andthe Used | ||||
| from the albumIn Love and Death | ||||
| Released | 12 April 2005 | |||
| Recorded | 2005 | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock[110] | |||
| Length | 3:32 | |||
| Label | Reprise | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Howard Benson | |||
| My Chemical Romance singles chronology | ||||
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| The Used singles chronology | ||||
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The song was covered in 2005 by Americanalternative rock bandsthe Used andMy Chemical Romance fortsunami relief. The cover was originally released as anInternet download track but has subsequently been featured as a bonus track on the 2005 re-release of the Used's second studio albumIn Love and Death, and received wide airplay in 2005.
On theBillboard charts, the single reached number 28 onModern Rock chart and number 41 on theHot 100.[111]
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard Hot 100[112] | 41 |
| USAlternative Airplay (Billboard)[113] | 28 |
| USBillboard Pop 100 | 28 |
| "Under Pressure" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Promotional single byShawn Mendes featuringTeddy<3 | ||||
| Released | 11 October 2018 | |||
| Length | 3:11 | |||
| Label | Virgin EMI | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Teddy Geiger | |||
| Shawn Mendes promotional singles chronology | ||||
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In October 2018, Canadian singer-songwriterShawn Mendes featuring American singer-songwriterTeddy Geiger (credited as teddy<3) released a version of the song.[114]
The song was released to coincide with the release of the filmBohemian Rhapsody.Universal Music Group released three tracks by different artists "channeling their innerFreddie Mercury"; this was the first installment, released in October 2018 followed by5 Seconds of Summer's "Killer Queen" cover track.[115][116][117]
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 fightAIDS 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'".[116][118]
Taylor Weatherby fromBillboard 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."[116]
The sleek dance-rock hybrid—informed by disco but not belonging to it—is essentially ephemeral and amorphous, built upon a lithe John Deacon bassline that anchors interwoven harmonies and melodies that build to an overwhelming crescendo culminating with Bowie and Freddie Mercury singing "This is our last dance."
there was one monster rock track that stood out among the rest
The case was settled out of court, costing Ice an undisclosed sum and earning him a not-insignificant amount of public scorn. Bowie and members of Queen all received songwriting credits on the track.
... 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.
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.
A spokesman for Queen tells Ultimate Classic Rock that Vanilla Ice's statement is inaccurate: An arrangement was made whereby the publishing in the song was shared.
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