"Back Chat"
UK single picture sleeve
Single by Queen
from the album Hot Space
A-side"Back Chat" (Extended Version) (A Side for the 12" version)[1]
B-side"Staying Power"
Released
  • 9 August 1982 (UK)
  • 22 November 1982 (US)
Recorded1981 – 1982
Genre
Length
  • 4:31 (album version)
  • 4:10 (single version)
  • 6:55 (12" extended version)
Label
Songwriter(s)John Deacon
Producer(s)
Queen singles chronology
"Staying Power"
(1982)		 "Back Chat"
(1982)		 "Radio Ga Ga"
(1984)
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]

Track listings

7" Single

A Side. "Back Chat" (Single Version) - 4:10

B Side. "Staying Power" - 4:10[8]

12" Single

A Side. "Back Chat" (Extended Version) - 6:55

B Side. "Staying Power" - 4:10

Personnel

Instruments sourced from Queenvinyls.[9]

Chart performance

Chart (1982) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[10] 19
South Africa (Springbok Radio)[11] 18
UK Singles (OCC)[12] 40
West Germany (Official German Charts)[13] 69

References

  1. ↑ "Ultimate Queen". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk.
  2. 1 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.
  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. ↑ "Queen "Hot Space" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  9. ↑ "From Harpsichord to Synthesizer and beyond: an introduction to Queen Organology". queenvinyls.com. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  10. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Back Chat". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  11. ↑ "South African Rock Lists Website SA Charts 1969 – 1989 Acts (Q)". Rock.co.za. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  12. ↑ "Queen: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  13. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Queen – Back Chat" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
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