Imagine creating an unforgettable bassline only to, actually, forget it! That’s what happened with “Under Pressure,” leading to the track almost not being created.
The 1981 track would go on to become a global smash hit. While it only peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1982 in the United States, it would go on to reach No. 1 in other parts of the world, including in the UK. Since then, it has been sampled and played on repeat, and it’s all thanks to that iconic bassline.
Yet, the bassline was almost forgotten. While at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland, bassist John Deacon came up with the rift that we can no longer forget. Despite looping it for some time, the whole band decided to grab some food to soak up some of the alcohol they’d been drinking.
When Queen came back to their instruments, Deacon had completely forgotten what he had created. Drummer Roger Taylor tried to help, thinking that he’d remembered the exact sequence, but guitarist Brian May says that he’s the one who really saved the track. He stepped in and corrected the slightly different variation Taylor had recreated, and the rest was history.
The Princess of Wales, The Prince of Wales, David Bowie, Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen, during the Live Aid Concert at Wembley Stadium, 13th July 1985 (Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)Well, sort of. When it came to performing the track with David Bowie, there was something the music icon wanted to try. Both he and Freddie Mercury went into their recording booths separately. They had no idea what each other would sing, and it became one of the biggest and most astounding tracks Queen would create.
As for Bowie joining in on the jam and landing a writing credit for it, Deacon shared in a 1986 interview that it all came about when Bowie came to the recording studio in Switzerland with them. He mentioned, “It was credited to Queen and David Bowie, but it was actually, I think, Freddie and Roger and David that mainly wrote most of it.”
It turned out that while Deacon didn’t mind Bowie taking over and giving orders, May took offense to it. That likely didn’t help that while Bowie knew Mercury and Taylor well, he didn’t know the other two Queen band members that well, and some personalities clashed.
“Under Pressure” was released as a single in October 1981, just months after Deacon created the riff. It wasn’t until 1982 that fans could listen to it on an album, when it was added to the “Hot in Space” release.
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