Durant l'été 1981, Queen qui travaille sur de nouvelles compositions qui donneront naissance à l'album disco rock Hot Space, reçoit la visite de David Bowie. Ami de John Deacon, celui ci se joint à eux pour un jam session improvisée: après avoir épuisé quelques vieux titres de Bowie (Rebel Rebel) et de Mott the Hoople (All the young dudes écrit par Bowie) les cinq hommes décident de composer un morceau pendant que les magnétos tournent. Réécoutant plus tard ses bandes Freddy Mercury et Roger Taylor se disent qu'il y a peut être quelque chose à en tirer et c'est ainsi que "Under Pressure" voit le jour. Quand le single est sorti en 1981, le nombre considérable de fans de Bowie et de Queen assure au titre la place de numéro 1 dans les charts au Royaume Uni (leur deuxième après Bohémian Rhapsody). 

 Freddie Mercury était le principal compositeur de cette piste, avec lui et Bowie comme paroliers principaux (chacun écrit les lignes qu'il chante). Une partie de la progression d'accords est basée sur une démo brute d'une chanson inédite "Feel Like" (démo en bas de page). L'écriture est créditée aux cinq participants.

 La face B du single est composé d'un titre inédit de Queen "Soul Brother" (vidéo en  fin d'article) issu des sessions de "The Game".

Mm ba ba de
Um bum ba de
Um bu bu bum da de
Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you no man ask for
Under pressure - that burns a building down
Splits a family in two
Puts people on streets
Um ba ba be
Um ba ba be
De day da
Ee day da - that's o.k.
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming 'Let me out'
Pray tomorrow - gets me higher
Pressure on people - people on streets
Day day de mm hm
Da da da ba ba
O.k.
Chippin' around - kick my brains around the floor
These are the days it never rains but it pours
Ee do ba be
Ee da ba ba ba
Um bo bo
Be lap
People on streets - ee da de da de
People on streets - ee da de da de da de da
It's the terror of knowing
What this world is about
Watching some good friends
Screaming 'Let me out'
Pray tomorrow - gets me higher high high
Pressure on people - people on streets
Turned away from it all like a blind man
Sat on a fence but it don't work
Keep coming up with love
but it's so slashed and torn
Why - why - why ?
Love love love love love
Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking
Can't we give ourselves one more chance
Why can't we give love that one more chance
Why can't we give love give love give love give love
give love give love give love give love give love
'Cause love's such an old fashioned word
And love dares you to care for
The people on the edge of the night
And love dares you to change our way of
Caring about ourselves
This is our last dance
This is ourselves
Under pressure
Under pressure
Pressure

God bless my soul here he comes now
The man with the most how does he do it?
Sure he's got style he's so heavy
He's a trip can do anything
Anything anything
He's my soul brother

He's my best friend he's my champion
And he will rock you rock you rock you
'Cause he's the saviour of the universe
He can make you keep yourself alive
Make yourself alive
Ooh brother cause he's somebody somebody
You can love
He's my soul brother

When you're under pressure feeling under pressure
Yeah pressure yeah pressure
He won't let you down
When you're under pressure
Oh feeling under pressure yeah pressure
So he won't let you down
My brother won't let you down
He won't he won't he won't let you down
He can do anything anything anything
He's my soul brother

Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Ooh soul brother anything (soul brother)
Anything (soul brother) anything (soul brother)
He's my soul brother brother brother brother brother
Anything (soul brother) anything (soul brother) anything 
(soul brother)
He's my soul brother

Soul brother he can do anything
He can do anything
'Cause he's my soul brother