Queen’s Hot Space album, featuring “Under Pressure,” was released on May 21st, 1982. Inspired by listening to classic records, Queen and David Bowie write a classic of their own. It was released as a single and on Queen’s Greatest Hits in 1981 and on Hot Space in 1982 David Bowie, John Deacon, Brian May, Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor all wrote “Under Pressure” because they were neighbors. In the late ’70s, many British musicians left the country to escape the exorbitant tax rates for those making lots of money. That’s how Queen and David Bowie found themselves neighbors in Switzerland. Queen drummer Roger Taylor explains how that proximity led to “Under Pressure.”
“Bowie used to live in Switzerland and we actually bought a studio there. So we became quite close friends, especially Freddie and I, with David. And then David used to drop by the studio, it’s as simple as that. And one day we were playing old songs — ‘The Last Time’ and some old Cream things — and we were just having a good nice time in the studio quite late at night and all of a sudden said, ‘Well, why don’t we write our own?’ And so we did.”
