"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 was a hit at the time, reaching #1 in the UK singles chart.
The song evolved from a jam session the band had with Bowie at its studio in Montreux, Switzerland, therefore it was credited as co-written by the five musicians. 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. An earlier, embryonic version of the song without Bowie called "Feel Like" is widely available in bootleg form.
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.
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 jammed for a while and wrote the song.
Very nice song sung by the great Freddie Mercury and nicely played by Queen.
Tags: Queen Under Pressure Freddie Mercury Brian May Roger Taylor John Deacon Wembley Stadium Live
