Under PressureDavid Bowie
Under Pressure
David Bowie and Queen
1981 · From Hot Space
Bowie lived near Mountain Studios, dropped in, and one evening's jam became a UK number one with a disputed bassline.
★ 8.4
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1981
Showing 37 songs from 1981
In The Air Tonight
1981
Padgham's talkback-microphone accident on Peter Gabriel's third album, a Roland CR-78 pattern, and pop's most anticipated drum entrance.
★ 7.7
Don't You Want Me
1981 · From Dare
Oakey thought it the weakest thing on Dare; it became Britain's best-selling single of 1981 and Christmas number one.
★ 7.6
Radio Free Europe
1981 · From Murmur
Hib-Tone pressed about a thousand copies in 1981, and Stipe mumbled lyrics he hadn't finished writing.
★ 7.5
Tainted LoveSoft Cell
Tainted Love
1981
A Northern soul flop from 1964 rebuilt on synthesizers at Advision, Marc Almond's first vocal take kept intact.
★ 7.4
The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel
1981
Three turntables, two mixers, ten to fifteen takes, and a record built entirely out of ten other records.
★ 7.4
Don't Stop Believin'
1981
Cain lifted the title from his father's advice, and the chorus stays hidden until the last fifty seconds.
★ 7.3
Ghost Town
1981
Cut in Leamington Spa on eight tracks, the flute squeezed onto full brass, number one while Britain burned.
★ 7.3
Start Me Up
1981 · From Tattoo You
Two rock takes buried under dozens of abandoned reggae versions, dug out of the vault while assembling Tattoo You.
★ 6.9
Super Freak
1981
The Temptations sang backup, and the bass line James dismissed as silly later won him a Grammy through Hammer's sample.
★ 6.8
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
1981 · From Ghost in the Machine
Four years in Sting's drawer before The Police cut it, and Jean Roussel's piano overdubs are why it soars.
★ 6.8
Just the Two of UsGrover Washington Jr.
Just the Two of Us
1981
MacDonald's track came first, Withers added the words, and Washington's saxophone carried it to number two in 1981.
★ 6.7
I Can't Go For That
1981
Hall started with a Roland preset and a Korg bass line, the one Jackson borrowed for Billie Jean.
★ 6.7
Our Lips Are Sealed
1981
Written by post after Wiedlin and Hall's 1980 tour romance, and it still sounds like a secret being kept.
★ 6.6
Just Can't Get Enough
1981 · From Speak & Spell
Daniel Miller sequenced it on a Roland MC-4, Vince Clarke's last single for the band and still a terrace chant.
★ 6.6
Bette Davis Eyes
1981
A DeShannon album track from 1975 until Bill Cuomo's Prophet-5 riff arrived; nine non-consecutive weeks at number one followed.
★ 6.5
You Make My Dreams Come True
1981
A rare Yamaha CP-30 supplies the riff, and Oates traced the song to Delta blues jammed against Texas swing.
★ 6.5
Let's Groove
1981
A vocoder hello, Philip Bailey's falsetto, and eight weeks at the top of the soul chart.
★ 6.4
The Look of Love
1981
Trevor Horn's desk, Anne Dudley's strings, and Fry making his own jilting sound like the most glamorous thing available.
★ 6.3
Jessie's Girl
1981
A Pasadena stained-glass class, a friend's girlfriend, and Neil Giraldo's guitar turning ordinary envy into a number one.
★ 6.2
Down Under
1981
Greg Ham played the flute hook as a joke; it carried Hay's tale to number one in seven countries.
★ 5.9
Chariots of Fire
1981
Vangelis scored the film alone on synthesizers, won the Oscar, and needed twenty-two weeks to reach number one in America.
★ 5.8
Physical
1981
Written for Rod Stewart, declined by Tina Turner, and parked at number one for ten weeks by Newton-John.
★ 5.8
Kiss On My List
1981
Written with Janna Allen and kept as the demo take; by Hall's account Van Halen borrowed its synth for "Jump".
★ 5.4
Who Can It Be Now?
1981
Hay wrote the music in a Bermagui treehouse, and Greg Ham's saxophone hook does the rest.
★ 5.1
Endless LoveLionel Richie
Endless Love
1981
Nine weeks at number one, from vocals Richie and Ross cut around three in the morning in Reno.
★ 5.0
Working for the Weekend
1981
Dean found an empty beach midweek and wondered where everyone was; Reno turned waiting for the weekend into working.
★ 4.9
Get Down On It
1981
Deodato's production strips it to bassline and handclaps, and J.T. Taylor asks the only question a dancefloor needs.
★ 4.9
867 5309 Jenny
1981
Alex Call says there was no Jenny, just a backyard afternoon, four chords and seven digits America dialed for decades.
★ 4.3
Leader of the Band
1981
Fogelberg wrote it for his father Lawrence, a working bandleader who lived to hear it and talk about it.
★ 3.8
Turn Your Love Around
1981
Graydon, Lukather and Champlin wrote it for a greatest hits album, Porcaro programmed the Linn drum, and it won a Grammy.
★ 3.7
Take it on the Run
1981
Epic wanted a different follow-up single; the band held out for Richrath's chain of hearsay and reached number five.
★ 3.6
Angel of the Morning
1981
Chip Taylor wrote it after hearing Ruby Tuesday, Connie Francis passed on it, and Newton reached number four.
★ 3.1
Caught Up In You
1981
Jim Peterik of Survivor co-wrote it with Barnes and Carlisi, and it gave the band their first top ten.
★ 2.8