“Under Pressure” was a massive hit song forQueenandDavid Bowie— butBrian Maywas never quite pleased with how the recording turned out.
In a new interview withTotal Guitar, the Queen guitarist reflected on how the 1981 duet came together between the two British acts and said Bowie removed some of his guitar parts from the final product, sparking his complicated relationship with the rock song.
Queen and Bowie created “Under Pressure” during a late-night studio session “after we had a meal and a lot of drinks,” May, 76, told the outlet, explaining that an early iteration of the song “sounded likeThe Who” and was “massively chord-driven” — which he enjoyed.
Brian May.Dave Benett/Getty Images
Dave Benett/Getty Images
The band member described the collaboration as “very difficult” due to each musician coming with “different ideas of how it should be mixed.” May said the moment was “the only time in my career I bowed out, because I knew it was going to be a fight.”
“So basically it was Freddie and David fighting it out in the studio with the mix. And what happened in the mix was that most of that heavy guitar was lost,” he explained.
David Bowie.Michael Putland/Getty
May used an electric guitar on “the main riff,” playing in a similar “arpeggiated style” used in Queen’s live shows today, he detailed: “But that never made it into the mix. What they used [were] the acoustic bits which were done first as a sort of demo.”
Despite knowing how strongly audiences connected with “Under Pressure,” May admitted, “I never liked it, to be honest, the way it was mixed. But I do recognize that it works. It’s a point of view, and it’s done very well. And people love it.”
Looking back, May felt there were too many cooks in the kitchen. “I mean, David was an awesome creative force. But you can’t have too many awesome creative forces in the same room,” he toldTotal Guitar. “It starts to get very difficult! Something has to give.”
Queen.Kent Gavin/Mirrorpix/Getty
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“Under Pressure” was originally released as a single in October 1981 before the track was included on Queen’s 1982 albumHot Space. The collaboration charted at No. 1 in the United Kingdom, Canada and the Netherlands, while it reached No. 29 in the United States.
source: people.com
