"Back Chat" | ||||
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![]() UK single picture sleeve | ||||
Single by Queen | ||||
from the album Hot Space | ||||
B-side | "Staying Power" | |||
Released |
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Recorded | 1981 – 1982 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | John Deacon | |||
Producer(s) |
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Queen singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Back Chat" on YouTube |
"Back Chat", written by the bass guitarist John Deacon, is the track most influenced by funk on the 1982 Queen album Hot Space . The song is a prime example of how Deacon was strongly pulling the band into dance orientated genres such as R&B, disco, and funk. [4] It reached #40 on the UK Singles Chart, #18 in South Africa [5] and a #19 entry in Ireland.
The track was performed on the Hot Space Tour at a faster tempo, with a more rock-oriented arrangement. "Back Chat", the title, is an English idiom referring to "impertinent or impudent replies, especially to a superior". [6] In a Rolling Stone album review, critic John Milward described the musical style of the song as: "a hot rock-funk tune, with guitar tracks as slick as an icy dance floor." [2]
In 2022 Far Out magazine named the song as one of the 40 best songs released in 1982 alongside such songs as Come On Eileen and 1999. [7]
Upon its release, Johnny Waller of Sounds called "Back Chat" "custom made disposable pop in a sense", but believed it would be a "huge hit and deservedly so". He continued, "It's a great little pop song, with a deft guitar ripple intro, a bass line that Grandmaster Flash will liberate as soon as he hears it, and a simple, catchy danceable tune." [8]
7" Single
A Side. "Back Chat" (Single Version) – 4:10
B Side. "Staying Power" – 4:10 [9]
12" Single
A Side. "Back Chat" (Extended Version) [10] – 6:55
B Side. "Staying Power" – 4:10
This section needs additional citations for verification .(December 2017) |
Instruments sourced from Queenvinyls. [11]
Chart (1982) | Peak position |
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Ireland (IRMA) [12] | 19 |
South Africa (Springbok Radio) [13] | 18 |
UK Singles (OCC) [14] | 40 |
West Germany (GfK) [15] | 69 |