Under Pressure

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This article is about the song by Queen and David Bowie. For other uses, see Under Pressure (disambiguation).

"Under Pressure"
Song
B-side"Soul Brother"

"Under Pressure" is a 1981 song originally recorded by Queen and David Bowie, and was originally featured on Queen's 1982 album Hot Space. The song reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart. 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 Queen at Wembley.[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 the compilation Best of Bowie.[8]

Creation

Queen had been working on the song under the title "Feel Like" but were not yet satisfied with the result.[9][10] David Bowie had originally come to Mountain Studios in order to sing backing vocals on another Queen song, "Cool Cat", which would end up being edited out since he was not satisfied with it. Once he got there, they worked together for a while and wrote the song.[11] The final version that became "Under Pressure" evolved from a jam session that Bowie had with the band at Queen's studio in Montreux, Switzerland; therefore it was credited as co-written by the five musicians. The scat singing that dominates much of the song is evidence of the jam-beginnings as improvisation. 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. 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 had created it. In more recent interviews, Brian May and Roger Taylor have 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 had indeed created 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 had, amusingly, forgotten the riff, but fortunately Taylor was still able to remember it.[14]

Music video

The video for the song features neither Queen nor David Bowie due to touring commitments.[15] 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 master work of the German Expressionist movement.[15][16] The video celebrates 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).[16]

Track listing

1981 single

  1. "Under Pressure" (Mercury, Taylor, Deacon, May, Bowie) – 4:02
  2. "Soul Brother" (Mercury, Taylor, Deacon, May) – 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.[17] 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".[18] In 2012, Slant Magazine listed "Under Pressure" as the 21st best single of the 1980s.[19]

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).[20] 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; and in summer of 2012, Queen + Adam Lambert toured, including a performance of the song by Lambert and Roger Taylor in each show.[21] While Bowie was never present for a live performance of the song with Mercury, Taylor instead filled for backing vocals usually in unison with Mercury, as Mercury took over all of Bowie's parts.

Live recordings

Remixes & Other Releases

"Under Pressure"
Song
B-side"* The Song of the Millennium – Bohemian Rhapsody

Rah Mix

A remixed version (called "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 Under Pressure "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 due to digital technology (and with Annie Lennox carefully edited out) and features on Greatest Flix III VHS, Under Pressure "Rah Mix" cd single CD1 and Queen Hot Space 2011 iTunes edition.

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"[24]

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
  • Was initially released in US on the Elektra Records US and Canadian versions of Queen's Greatest Hits as a new track.
  • Was released in UK on Queen's (1991) Greatest Hits II (which would later be included in The Platinum Collection (2000 and 2002)) removing the second time David Bowie sings, "This is our last dance."
  • The song was released as a bonus track on the Virgin Records reissue of Bowie's Let's Dance in 1995.
  • Hollywood Records remixed the song for their 1992 release, Classic Queen. This version features improved sound quality, but removes Mercury's interjection "that's okay!" at about 0:53.
  • It also appeared on Bowie compilation Bowie: The Singles 1969-1993 (1993).
  • The original single version appears on disc three of Bowie's The Platinum Collection (2005), marking the first appearance of this version on a Bowie compilation.[25] This disc was later released separately as The Best of David Bowie 1980/1987 (2007).
  • An instrumental version appears in the DVD menu for the Hot Space section of Greatest Video Hits 2.
  • Has also been performed, but without the lyrics, by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.[26][27]
  • Was featured nearly in its entirety in the 2010 film It's Kind of a Funny Story, initially as a 'cover' by the patients in a music therapy class at a New York City psychiatric ward, which the film transformed into the authentic song 'performed' by the patients, dressed in glam, in a near music-video style imaginary sequence (with David Bowie and Queen's original vocals and instrumentation).
  • Jeanette Miller, Eleanor Miller and Little Bear covered this song on Bear Got Your Brain.

Juno Ray Club Mix

This trance influenced, Nu-House remix was featured on a notable, multi-genre music blog called TheMusicNinja.com on March 27, 2014. [28] Not much is known about the origin of this remix, however the sound of it is reminiscent of earlier work by Trance/Nu-House artist, Kaskade.

Lazy Kiss Edit

Released in October of 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.[29]

Chart positions

Under Pressure (1981):

Country Peak position Certification
Argentina 1
Netherlands 1
UK 1 Silver
Ireland 2
Canada 3
South Africa 4
Norway 5
New Zealand 6
Australia 8
Austria 10
Sweden 10
Switzerland 10
Germany 21
U.S. 29
Japan 88

Under Pressure – Rah Mix (1999):

Country Peak position Certification
UK 14
Netherlands 19

Cover versions

My Chemical Romance and The Used version

"Under Pressure"
Song

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 and Pop 100 charts and number 41 on the Hot 100.[31]

Chart (2005) Country Chart Peak
Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks United States 28
Billboard Pop 100 United States 28
Billboard Hot 100 United States 41

Other cover versions

1980s
1990s
  • In 1994, London Symphony Orchestra recorded an album Plays the Music of Queen, which contains classical covers of the Queen's hit singles, including "Under Pressure" and "The Show Must Go On".[33]
  • In 1996, Culture Beat, a German Eurodance project, covered "Under Pressure" for a compilation album, Queen Dance Traxx I.[34]
  • In 1997, Fobia, a Mexican rock band, covered "Under Pressure" for a compilation album, Tributo a Queen: los grandes del rock en español.[35]
2000s
2010s

Live cover performances

1990s
2000s
2010s

Remixes/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,[51] and did not originally pay songwriting credit or royalties to Queen and Bowie.[52][53] 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".[54][55] Vanilla Ice said buying the song made more financial sense than paying out royalties.[54]

Rock Band music gaming platform

The song was made available to download on 7 December 2010 for use in the Rock Band 3 music gaming platform in both Basic rhythm, and PRO mode which allows use of a real guitar / bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits / keyboards in addition to up to three-part harmony or backup vocals.[56][57]

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. ^ a b Queen Promo Videos – Under Pressure Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 20 September 2011
  16. ^ a b Queen and David Bowie, "Under Pressure" (David Mallet and Andy Morahan) Slant Magazine. Retrieved 20 September 2011
  17. ^ "Stylus Magazine's Top 50 Basslines of all Time". Stylus. 12 September 2005. Retrieved 23 July 2010. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ "Queen – Hot Space – On Second Thought". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  19. ^ "Best Singles of the 1980s". Slant Magazine. 20 August 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  20. ^ a b c Under Pressure – The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 29 August 2011
  21. ^ Parker, Lyndsey (12 July 2012). "Queen + Adam Lambert Rock London With "Queenbert" Concert". Retrieved 12 March 2013.
  22. ^ Queen Rock Montreal Allmusic. Retrieved 29 August 2011
  23. ^ 2006 VH1 Rock Honours Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 29 August 2011
  24. ^ "Queenpedia.com". Queenpedia.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  25. ^ Ruud Altenburg. "David Bowie – Illustrated db Discography > Compilations: CDs (2004–2007)". Illustrated-db-discography.nl. 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. ^ "[Nu-Disco] Queen & David Bowie – Under Pressure (Juno Ray Club Mix)". The Music Ninja. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  29. ^ Pubblicato da Deni. "Frequenze Indipendenti: GIOCARE COL FUOCO pt. 49". Frequenzeindipendenti.blogspot.com. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  30. ^ "( Under Pressure > Overview )". Allmusic. 12 April 2005. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  31. ^ Artist Chart History – The Used – Singles, Billboard
  32. ^ "Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – Queen Collection CD Album". Cduniverse.com. 18 January 1995. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  33. ^ "The London Symphony Orchestra Plays the Music of Queen: Information from". Answers.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  34. ^ "Various – Queen Dance Traxx I (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  35. ^ "Queen – Under Pressure (By Fobia – Presionando)". YouTube. 2 June 2009. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  36. ^ "Small Brown Bike/The Casket Lottery – split CD". Punknews.org. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  37. ^ Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen Allmusic. Retrieved 30 December 2012
  38. ^ "The Invisible Soundtrack (complete album tracklisting)". SoundtrackINFO. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  39. ^ Lahti Symphony Orchestra (29 September 2008). "Rajaton | Rajaton Sings Queen With Lahti Symphony Orchestra Download and Tracklist". eMusic. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  40. ^ "Xiu Xiu Covers Under Pressure – CrackedActor.com – a David Bowie fan site". Crackedactor.com. 1 March 2008. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  41. ^ "Watch Jedward & Vanilla Ice's 'Under Pressure (Ice Ice Baby)' music video!". Unreality TV. 30 January 2010. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  42. ^ Happy Feet Two: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Allmusic. Retrieved 21 December 2011
  43. ^ "The Flaming Lips – Under Pressure – Video, Musik hören & Statistiken bei Last.fm". Lastfm.de. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  44. ^ "Flaming Lips, The – Soil X Samples 23 (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs.com. 18 October 1994. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  45. ^ "Interviews: The Blood Brothers". Rockzone.Com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  46. ^ "Various – Dynamite with a Laserbeam: Queen As Heard Through The Meat Grinder Of Three One G at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  47. ^ "Keller Williams : : Stage on Jambase". Jambase.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  48. ^ "Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
  49. ^ "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.
  50. ^ "Google Plus amps advertising with Muppets: New commercials spotlight Hangouts feature". 9TO5 Google. Retrieved 17 October 2012
  51. ^ Stillman, Kevin (27 February 2006). "Word to your mother". Iowa State Daily. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
  52. ^ 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.
  53. ^ Feature: Has Vanilla Ice been stealing other people's songs?" Smash Hits (EMAP Metro) (12–25 December 1990): 59.
  54. ^ a b 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.
  55. ^ 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.
  56. ^ Cortez, Hector (4 December 2010). "More Queen Tracks Coming To Rock Band 3". Monstersandcritics.com. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
  57. ^ Snider, Mike (10 June 2010). "Rock Band 3: What's New, What's Notable". USA Today. Retrieved 8 November 2012.

External links

Preceded by UK number-one single
21 November 1981 – 28 November 1981 		Succeeded by
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