Under Pressure
 | This article possibly contains original research. |
- This article refers to the Queen & David Bowie song. For other uses of the name, see Under Pressure (disambiguation)
| "Under Pressure" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Soul Brother" |
"Under Pressure" is a 1981 song by Queen and David Bowie. It marked Queen's first released collaboration with another recording artist, and is featured on their 1982 album Hot Space. The song reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart. It was also number 31 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s.
Collaboration
Bowie had originally come to the studios in order to sing backing vocals in 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. [citation needed]
Creation
Queen had been working on the song under the title "Feel Like" but were not yet satisfied with the result.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed] 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. [citation needed]
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. In any case, the September 2005 edition of online music magazine Stylus singled out the bassline as the best in popular music history.
The first title found for this song was "People on Streets". It then became "Under Pressure". [citation needed]
Taylor's involvement
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).
Track listing
- "Under Pressure" (Mercury, Taylor, Deacon, May, Bowie) – 4:02
- "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.
Production credits
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.
Live recordings
- Queen first recorded a live version of the song at The Montreal Forum in Canada on November 24, 1981. This was included in the concert film We Will Rock You. Incidentally it is one of the few times in concert where Mercury used falsetto in the song on the line "these are the days it never rains but it pours".
- A second live version of the song was recorded at Milton Keynes, England, in 1982. This was released in 2004 on the live album/DVD Queen on Fire - Live at the Bowl. Prior to the concert, rumours circulated that Bowie would appear with Queen to sing his parts onstage, but it is probable that he did not even attend the concert.
- Later, Queen recorded a third live version of the song at Wembley Stadium, London, in 1986. This was released on the live album/DVD Live at Wembley Stadium. Another rendition from this same tour (from Queen's concert in Budapest) appeared in edited form on the album Live Magic in 1986.
- A version recorded by David Bowie's live band in 1995 was released on the bonus disc included with some versions of Outside - Version 2. This live version was also released on the single "Hallo Spaceboy" in 1996.
- David Bowie's DVD A Reality Tour (2003) includes a live version with Bowie's bassist Gail Ann Dorsey singing the high (Freddie Mercury) parts.
Other releases
- Was initially released in US on the Elektra Records US and Canadian versions of Queen's Greatest Hits as a new track.
- The song was released as a bonus track on the Virgin Records reissue of Bowie's Let's Dance in 1995.
- A remixed version (the "Rah Mix") was issued in December 1999 to promote Queen's Greatest Hits III compilation, reaching #14 in the UK singles chart.
- 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 some Bowie compilations, most of which used the Hollywood Records remix:
- Bowie: The Singles 1969-1993 (1993)
- The Singles Collection (1993)
- Best of Bowie (2002)
- 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.[1]. 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, and on the Greatest Karaoke Hits release.
- Was released in UK on Queen's Greatest Hits II (which would later be included in The Platinum Collection (2003)) removing the second time David Bowie sings, "This is our last dance."
- Has also been performed, but without the lyrics, by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. [1]
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 |
In popular culture
- Played in an ad campaign for Gatorade's Propel Fitness Water.
- Played in the ad campaign for Saved.
- Played in the very first episode of Judging Amy.
- Played in an episode of Ally McBeal
- Played in an episode of Clueless (TV series)
- Played in the Scrubs episode, My Lucky Day.
- Played in an episode of Eyes.
- Played in an ad campaign for Rescue Me
- Played in an episode of the second season of Cold Case.
- Played in an episode of Everybody Hates Chris (S02E03)
- Played in the beginning of the Episode "Albratross" of Law and Order: Criminal Intent, season 6.
- Played in the pilot episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
- Played in the pilot episode of In Case of Emergency.
- Played in the 1988 movie A New Life.
- Played in the 1997 movie Grosse Pointe Blank during a scene in which Martin Blank (John Cusack) stares into the eyes of a friend's baby and has an epiphany during the reunion.
- Played in the 1998 skate movie The End.
- Played in the 1998 movie The Players Club.
- Played in the 1998 movie Stepmom.
- Played in two trailers for the 2002 movie 40 Days and 40 Nights.
- Played in the 2004 movie The Girl Next Door.
- Played in the VH1 documentary The Drug Years.
- Played in the trailer of Adaptation.
- Played in a commercial for Powerade.
- Played in a commercial for Zales Jewelry.
- Played for a PGA promo.
- Played in the 2005 movie Cheaper by the Dozen 2.
- Played in a commercial for Saved!.
- Included in Karaoke Revolution Volume 3 for the PS2
- Played on FOX before Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS
- Played on NFL Network during their coverage of the 2006 NFL Draft
- Played as the opening and closing theme song for Maxed Out, a 2006 credit card debt and national deficit documentary.
- Played in the 2006 film Zoom: Academy for Superheroes
- Played in 2007 on Newsnight on the BBC.
- Played as bumper music for Coast to Coast AM, a U.S. Late Night radio program.
- Played in the commercial for the HGTV show Buy Me.
- Played by My Chemical Romance and The Used at MTV's 2$ Bill show in 2005, and on the Taste of Chaos tour.
- Played in the 2007 movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
- Played in the 2007 movie The Heartbreak Kid.
- The first notes were played in the commercial for Oz, a subdivision of LGT, which is a telecommunication company based on South Korea.
- Played in the opening episode of the second season of Dirty Sexy Money.
Cover versions
| "Under Pressure" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
- Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – The Queen Collection (1982)
- Rajaton - Rajaton sings Queen with Lahti Symphony Orchestra (2008)
- Rapper Vanilla Ice sampled this song without permission for his only hit, the commercially successful "Ice Ice Baby". His response to criticism relied upon the addition of one note not present in the original, and completely re-recording the bass riff[citation needed].
- Small Brown Bike and The Casket Lottery on a split EP
- London Symphony Orchestra – Plays the Music of Queen (1994)
- Culture Beat – Queen Dance Traxx I (1996)
- Kween – Rhapsody from Heaven (1996)
- Fobia – Presionando – Tributo a Queen, Los Grandes del Rock en Español (1997)
- The Flaming Lips – Live recording on the 23rd volume in Warner Brothers seven-inch vinyl promo series Soil Samples
- Crooked Fingers on the Reservoir Songs EP (2002)
- Keller Williams on his 2004 live album Stage.
- The Blood Brothers – Live recording, and on the Three One G Queen tribute album Dynamite With a Laser Beam: Queen as Heard Through the Meat Grinder of Three One G
- The song was covered in 2005 by The Used and My Chemical Romance for tsunami relief. The cover was originally released as an Internet download track but has subsequently featured as a bonus track on the 2005 reissue of The Used's album In Love and Death, and received wide airplay in 2005.
- Joss Stone – Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen (2005)
- Stone played the song at the Concert for Diana on 1 July 2007.
- Bobby Flynn – Australian Idol 4 (2006)
- Keane released "Under Pressure" for the Radio 1. Established 1967 Compilation. In Mexico, it was released as an A-side from "The Night Sky".
- Kill Hannah covered the song for the movie soundtrack of The Invisible.
- Xiu Xiu feat. Michael Gira in their last album Women as Lovers (2008)
- Ben Harper with his new band Relentless 7, and also with Tenacious D on the recent "Get Out and Vote" Tour. (2008)
- Notes from the Edge performed an acoustic version of this song on their self titled CD (2008)
Trivia
- On the morning of December 14, 2006, "Under Pressure" was played at the International Space Station. It was used as a wake-up call for the crew of Space Shuttle flight STS-116. It was specially chosen for crew member and mission specialist Robert Curbeam.
- On the episode of Saturday Night Live which starred Vanilla Ice as the musical guest, Dennis Miller – in a direct reference to the notion of Vanilla Ice sampling the bassline – played the first verse of the 'real' "Under Pressure" as the intro to "Weekend Update" for that episode; his first lines in that sketch were "God, I love Bowie." The move was met with huge cheers from the audience.
- The song appears on the game Karaoke Revolution Volume 3.
- Despite the debate that surrounds the bass line from "Under Pressure" and "Ice, Ice, Baby," the first known instance of this bass line can be found in the opening of third movement of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius's Symphony No. 1 in E minor, in a slightly different metrical form.
