AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Queen and David Bowie

Artist:Queen and David Bowie

Song:Under Pressure

Album:The Platinum Collection

The 1981 one off single Under Pressure topped the British charts. And that was big deal for Queen who hadn't topped the British charts for a while. It didn't do as well in the US probably because this was a time when radio stations resented the rise of MTV and there were songs they refused to play just for spite. So I think it did better than its chart position. Under Pressure appeared on Queen's 1982 album Hot Space but it did not appear on a Bowie album. So it is a half discography orphan. Under Pressure happened by accident. Queen was working on Hot Space at Mountain Studios Montreux, Switzerland. Bowie was also there recording vocals for the theme for the 1982 film Cat People. Bowie was between record labels. He was planning to leave RCA for EMI America. They ran into each other at the studio. After Bowie recorded background vocals for the song Cool Cat that weren't used because Bowie was unhappy with them, they decided to write a new song and perform it together. Though the songwriting is credited to Queen and David Bowie, Queen bassist John Deacon says that Freddie Mercury wrote Under Pressure and they all worked on the arrangement. It was based on the song Feel Like written by Deacon and Roger Taylor. Under Pressure was released as a one off single in 1981. It topped the British Singles chart and reached #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. MTV played the video in heavy rotation and that's what made the single go 4XPlatinum in the US. It was a big deal for Queen as it was their first #1 hit in England since the 1975 single Bohemian Rhapsody. Under Pressure wasn't supposed to be on Queen's 1982 album Hot Space but they decided to add it after the song was a hit. It appears on this Queen 3CD comp. Under Pressure does not appear on a Bowie album. But it does appear on Bowie comps. I just think that at the time, the success of the song was a bigger deal for Queen. Of course Under Pressure was sampled in the 1991 Vanilla Ice hit Ice Ice Baby. They had to sue him and the publishing is now shared. Here's the video for Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie.