Back Chat

"Back Chat"
"Back Chat"
	UK single picture sleeve
Single by Queen
from the album Hot Space
B-side	"Staying Power"
Released	9 August 1982 (UK); 23 November 1982 (US);
Recorded	1981 – 1982
Genre	Funk rock; new wave;
Length	4:31 (album version); 4:10 (single version); 6:55 (12" extended version);
Label	EMI (UK); Elektra (US);
Songwriter(s)	John Deacon
Producer(s)	Queen; Reinhold Mack;
Queen singles chronology
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]

Critical reception

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]

Track listings

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

Personnel

Instruments sourced from Queenvinyls.^[11]

Freddie Mercury – lead and backing vocals
Brian May – electric guitar solos
Roger Taylor – Simmons drums
John Deacon – bass guitar, electric guitars, Jupiter-8, Linn LM-1

Chart performance

Chart (1982)	Peak position
Ireland (IRMA)^[12]	19
South Africa (Springbok Radio)^[13]	18
UK Singles (OCC)^[14]	40
West Germany (GfK)^[15]	69

References

^ "Queen Vault singles". Queen Vault.
^ ^a ^b John Milward, "Queen: Hot Space", Rolling Stone, 10 June 1982
^ Sage, Tyler (9 August 2022). "40 Years Ago: Queen Releases a Minor Gem in 'Back Chat'". Ultimate Classic Rock.
^ Obrecht, Jas. "Brian May Interview". Guitar Player (January 1983). Archived from the original on 2 January 2007. Retrieved 18 February 2011.
^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
^ "backchat". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
^ "A playlist of the 40 best songs of 1982". faroutmagazine.co.uk. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
^ Waller, Johnny (14 August 1982). "Singles". Sounds. p. 30. ISSN 0144-5774.
^ "Queen "Hot Space" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
^ "Ultimate Queen". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk.
^ "From Harpsichord to Synthesizer and beyond: an introduction to Queen Organology". queenvinyls.com. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Back Chat". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
^ "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (Q)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
^ "Queen: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Queen – Back Chat" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 3 August 2020.

External links

Official YouTube videos: original music video, Live at The Bowl
Lyrics at Queen official website

This 1980s rock song–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] "Queen Vault singles". Queen Vault.

[RS-2] John Milward, "Queen: Hot Space", Rolling Stone, 10 June 1982

[3] Sage, Tyler (9 August 2022). "40 Years Ago: Queen Releases a Minor Gem in 'Back Chat'". Ultimate Classic Rock.

[BMI-4] Obrecht, Jas. "Brian May Interview". Guitar Player (January 1983). Archived from the original on 2 January 2007. Retrieved 18 February 2011.

[5] "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.

[6] "backchat". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 7 May 2013.

[7] "A playlist of the 40 best songs of 1982". faroutmagazine.co.uk. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.

[8] Waller, Johnny (14 August 1982). "Singles". Sounds. p. 30. ISSN 0144-5774.

[9] "Queen "Hot Space" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2020.

[10] "Ultimate Queen". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk.

[11] "From Harpsichord to Synthesizer and beyond: an introduction to Queen Organology". queenvinyls.com. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2023.

[sc_Ireland2_Queen-12] "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Back Chat". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 August 2020.

[13] "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (Q)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 8 October 2020.

[sc_UKsinglesbyname_Queen-14] "Queen: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 August 2020.

[sc_West_Germany_Queen-15] "Offiziellecharts.de – Queen – Back Chat" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 3 August 2020.

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v t e Queen songs
Queen	"Keep Yourself Alive" "Liar"
Queen II	"Seven Seas of Rhye"
Sheer Heart Attack	"Killer Queen" "Now I'm Here" "Flick of the Wrist" "Lily of the Valley" "Stone Cold Crazy" "Brighton Rock"
A Night at the Opera	"Bohemian Rhapsody" "You're My Best Friend" "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)" "I'm in Love with My Car" "'39" "Sweet Lady" "The Prophet's Song" "Love of My Life" "Good Company" "God Save the Queen"
A Day at the Races	"Somebody to Love" "Tie Your Mother Down" "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" "Long Away"
News of the World	"We Will Rock You" "We Are the Champions" "Spread Your Wings" "It's Late" "Sheer Heart Attack"
Jazz	"Bicycle Race" "Fat Bottomed Girls" "Don't Stop Me Now" "Mustapha" "Jealousy"
The Game	"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" "Save Me" "Play the Game" "Another One Bites the Dust" "Need Your Loving Tonight"
Flash Gordon	"Flash's Theme"
Hot Space	"Under Pressure" "Body Language" "Las Palabras de Amor (The Words of Love)" "Calling All Girls" "Staying Power" "Back Chat"
The Works	"Radio Ga Ga" "I Want to Break Free" "It's a Hard Life" "Hammer to Fall" "Is This the World We Created...?"
A Kind of Magic	"One Vision" "A Kind of Magic" "Princes of the Universe" "Friends Will Be Friends" "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" "Who Wants to Live Forever" "One Year of Love"
The Miracle	"I Want It All" "Breakthru" "The Invisible Man" "Scandal" "The Miracle"
Innuendo	"Innuendo" "I'm Going Slightly Mad" "Headlong" "These Are the Days of Our Lives" "The Show Must Go On" "I Can't Live with You" "Ride the Wild Wind"
Made in Heaven	"Heaven for Everyone" "A Winter's Tale" "Too Much Love Will Kill You" "I Was Born to Love You" "Let Me Live" "You Don't Fool Me" "Made in Heaven" "Mother Love"
Queen Rocks	"No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"
Queen Forever	"Let Me in Your Heart Again" "Love Kills" "There Must Be More to Life Than This"
Other songs	"Thank God It's Christmas" "Face It Alone"
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