Under Pressure


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Under Pressure

Under Pressure (Album Version) 4:03
Written by Queen/David Bowie
Appears on:
Hot Space, Track 11

Under Pressure (Greatest Hits II CD Edit) 3:55
Written by Queen and David Bowie
Appears on:
UK Greatest Hits II CD, UK David Bowie: The Singles
This minor edit by David Richards was done to reduce run time on the Greatest Hits II CD. The only difference is the end lyrics; "this is our last dance..." is only repeated once, as opposed to the normal two times.

Under Pressure (Classic Queen Mix) 4:02
Written by Queen and David Bowie

Appears on: US Classic Queen, US David Bowie: The Singles
This remix is very close to the final album version. The bass lines seem to be a bit more prominent in the mix and the overall sound is a little less muddy. Freddie singing "that's okay!" has been removed right before Bowie sings, "it's the terror of knowing..." It is unknown who did this remix. It is rumored that this is actually an old mix from around the Hot Space time period.

Under Pressure (Mr. Mixx Remix) 4:04
Written by Queen and David Bowie, Remixed by Mr. Mixx
Appears on:
BASIC Queen Bootlegs promo CD
Mr. Mixx is best known as a co-creator of the rap group 2 Live Crew. The remix is made up of the lead vocals of Freddie and David with scratching and drum beats in the background. The famous bass line pops up now and again.

Under Pressure (1998 Karaoke Version) 3:55
Written by Queen and David Bowie
Appears on:
1998 Greatest Karaoke Hits
This is a nice instrumental version which shows there's much more to this song than people may think. It ends short of the album version, leaving a singular finger snap at the end. There is no click track to begin this karaoke version.

Under Pressure (2004 Karaoke Version) 4:04
Written by Queen and David Bowie
Appears on:
2004 Greatest Karaoke Hits
The ending to this Karaoke Version differs from the original 1998 version. There is an extended outro, featuring 13 finger snaps to end the song.

Under Pressure (Rah Mix) 4:08
Written by Queen and David Bowie
Appears on:
Greatest Hits III, 1999 Under Pressure 12" vinyl promo, Queen + David Bowie/Elton John CD promo
The Rah Mix is a really good remix to promote the Greatest Hits III release. Most notably, it features brand new lyrics to open the song from both Bowie and Freddie. The mix is bass heavy and features some neat guitar and vocal effects. It is unknown who remixed this one, but I have heard from reliable sources that it stems from Brian.

Under Pressure (Rah Mix Radio Edit) 3:53
Written by Queen and David Bowie
Appears on:
UK Under Pressure Rah Mix CD Single, UK Under Pressure Rah Mix 7" vinyl, UK The Singles Collection Volume 4
This mix is exactly the same as the regular Rah Mix, except that it is missing the 15 seconds of extra vocals from Bowie and Freddie at the beginning. It is surprising that one of the most interesting parts of the song was edited.

Under Pressure (Rah Mix Video Version) 4:22
Written by Queen and David Bowie
Appears on:
UK Under Pressure Rah Mix CD Single - Part 1, UK 2011 Hot Space iTunes Video Download
The Rah Mix video is actually fairly well done, mixing together elements of the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert and Wembley '86. The video creates a good illusion of Queen and Bowie performing together on stage. The audio is the same as the regular version, just adding crowd cheers and noise to go along with the video.

Under Pressure (Mike Spencer Mix) 3:52
Written by Queen and David Bowie, Remixed by Mike Spencer
Appears on:
UK Under Pressure Rah Mix CD Single, Queen + David Bowie/Elton John CD promo, UK The Singles Collection Volume 4
This remix from producer Mike Spencer stays true to the original song. The bass line is much more prominent. The song opens with Bowie's backing humming edited in with Freddie's a capella opening. A few effects are added here and there which adds a bit to the song. Not a bad remix at all.

Under Pressure (Knebworth Mix) 4:17
Written by Queen and David Bowie
Appears on:
UK Under Pressure Rah Mix CD Single, UK The Singles Collection Volume 4
Recorded live at Knebworth Stadium. This live mix from Queen's last concert starts with Freddie doing his vocals exercises with the crowd and goes right into the live version of Under Pressure from that night's concert. This is a great live version to have just because this is the band's last performance of the song.

Under Pressure (2000 Club Mix) 5:21
Written by Queen and David Bowie
Appears on:
1999 Under Pressure 12" vinyl promo
This remix begins with the strange guitar effects from the Rah Mix and pretty much remixes and rearranges the Rah Mix edit from that point on.

Under Pressure (Greatest Video Hits 2 Surround Mix) 4:10
Written by Queen and David Bowie
Appears on:
Greatest Video Hits 2 DVD
A new 96/24 DTS 5.1 surround mix of Under Pressure was made for the 2003 Greatest Video Hits 2 DVD. The new mixes on this DVD were produced by Justin Shriley-Smith. Engineered by Justin Shirley-Smith and Kris Fredriksson. Pro Tools HD by Kris Fredriksson. The mixes were done at Sphere Studios, London. A few seconds of silence are added to the beginning of the track for the video title card on the DVD.

Cool Cat

Cool Cat (Original Version with David Bowie) 3:48
Written by John Deacon/Freddie Mercury
Appears on:
Hot Space Test Pressing
The original version is very similar to the final album release. The performance is mostly the same and it features David Bowie doing some backing vocals. Bowie's vocals actually add a weird "haunting" element to the track. Definitely worth finding, although the current bootleg copies are not the best.

Cool Cat (Alternate Take with David Bowie) 3:45
Written by John Deacon/Freddie Mercury
Appears on:
Unreleased
Not to be confused with the completed version with David Bowie that appears on the Hot Space test pressing, this is a completely different take of Cool Cat. The backing track is different in many parts, Freddie's lead vocal is from a different take, and there are lyrical changes. Bowie's contribution seemss to be from the same take as the original version. Not dramatically different, but there is enough here to stick out.