Under Pressure

Queen had been working on a song called "Feel Like", but were not satisfied with the result.[10][11] David Bowie had originally gone to Mountain Studios to sing backing vocals on another Queen song, "Cool Cat", but his vocals were removed from the final song because he was not satisfied with his performance. Once he got there, they worked together for a while and wrote the song.[12] The final version, which became "Under Pressure", evolved from a chance encounter[13] jam session that Bowie had with the band at Queen's studio in Montreux, Switzerland. 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),[14] 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."[15] 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.[16]

There has also been some confusion 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.[17] Roger Taylor, in an interview for the BBC documentary Queen: the Days of Our Lives, stated that Deacon did indeed create 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, amusingly, forgot the riff, but fortunately Taylor was still able to remember it.[18] Brian May clarified matters in a 2016 Mirror Online article, 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".[19]

"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. In a review of Hot Space, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called "Under Pressure" as the album's "undeniable saving grace" and "the only reason most listeners remember this album".[20] 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."[20] Similarly, Ned Raggett of AllMusic described the song as "anthemic, showy and warm-hearted, [and] a clear standout for both acts".[21]

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."[22] 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."[2]

The September 2005 edition of online music magazine Stylus singled out the bassline as the best in popular music history.[23] 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".[24] In 2012, Slant Magazine listed "Under Pressure" as the 21st best single of the 1980s.[25]

The video for the song features neither Queen nor David Bowie due to touring commitments.[26] 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 masterpiece of the German Expressionist movement.[26][27] 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 lots of black and white kissing scenes).[27] Top of the Pops refused to show the video due to it containing footage of explosions in Northern Ireland, so a choreographed performance was instead shown.[28][29] In 2003, Slant Magazine ranked "Under Pressure" number 27 among the 100 greatest music videos of all time.[30]

• Original producers:
  • Queen
  • David Bowie

Musicians on original version:

• Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals, piano, Hammond organ, handclaps, finger snaps
• Brian May – electric guitars, handclaps, finger snaps
• Roger Taylor – drums, backing vocals, handclaps, finger snaps
• John Deacon – bass guitar, handclaps, finger snaps
• David Bowie – lead and backing vocals, synthesizer, handclaps, finger snaps

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).[31] However, after Mercury's death and the Outside tour in 1995, Bowie 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 set lists 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.[32] While Bowie was never present for a live performance of the song with Mercury, Taylor instead filled for backing vocals in unison with Mercury, as Mercury took over all of Bowie's parts.

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", his own answer song to "Space Oddity".[45]

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[87] but did not originally pay songwriting credit or royalties to Queen and Bowie.[88][89] A lawsuit resulted in Bowie and all members of Queen receiving songwriting credit for the sample.[90] Vanilla Ice later claimed that he purchased the publishing rights to "Under Pressure",[91][92] saying that buying the song made more financial sense than paying out royalties,[91] but a Queen spokesman clarified that Vanilla Ice's statement was inaccurate.[93]

"Under Pressure"
Single by My Chemical Romance and the Used
from the album In Love and Death
Released	12 April 2005
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2005
Genre	Alternative rock[94]
Length	3:32
Label	Reprise
Songwriter(s)	Roger Taylor Freddie Mercury David Bowie John Deacon Brian May
Producer(s)	Howard Benson
My Chemical Romance singles chronology
"Helena" (2005) "Under Pressure" (2005) "The Ghost of You" (2005)
The Used singles chronology
"I Caught Fire" (2005) "Under Pressure" (2005) "The Bird and the Worm" (2007)

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.[95]

"Under Pressure"
Promotional single by Shawn Mendes featuring Teddy<3
Released	11 October 2018
Format	Digital download streaming
Length	3:11
Label	Virgin EMI
Songwriter(s)	Roger Taylor Freddie Mercury David Bowie John Deacon Brian May
Producer(s)	Teddy Geiger
Shawn Mendes promotional singles chronology
"Don't Be a Fool" (2016) "Under Pressure" (2018)

In October 2018, Canadian singer and songwriter Shawn Mendes featuring American singer and songwriter Teddy Geiger (credited as teddy<3) released a version of the song.[96]

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.[97][98][99]

A portion of the profits from the "Under Pressure" cover were 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 honored to be able to support the amazing legacy of Freddie and Queen by doing a cover of one of my favorite songs, 'Under Pressure'".[98][100]

• Official YouTube videos:
  • Original music video
  • Live at Wembley
  • Live at The Bowl
  • At Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert (with Annie Lennox and David Bowie)
• Lyrics of Rah Mix at Queen official website (from Greatest Hits III)