"Body Language" (printed as "Body Language ↑⬱") is a 1982 song by British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

. It was written by the band's lead singer

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter who achieved global fame as the lead vocalist and pianist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. Regarded as one of the gre ...

and was a hit in North America, where it received extensive radio play. However, the single only received a lukewarm response in the United Kingdom. The track was the second single released from their 1982 album ''

Hot Space ''Hot Space'' is the tenth studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 4 May 1982 by EMI Records in the United Kingdom and by Elektra Records in the United States. Marking a notable shift in direction from their earlier work ...

''. The

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the song was the first one to be banned from

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

for its

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and not ...

, despite the members of Queen being fully clothed.

History

The massive success of "

Another One Bites the Dust "Another One Bites the Dust" is a song by the British Rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen. Written by bassist John Deacon, the song was featured on the group's eighth studio album ''The Game (Queen album), The Game'' (1980). It was a worl ...

" inspired Queen to temporarily abandon their

glam Glam is a shortened form of the word glamour. Glam or GLAM may also refer to: Film * ''Glam'' (film), a 1997 experimental drama film Institutions * University of Glamorgan, founded in 1913 and merged into the University of South Wales in 2013 ...

roots in the early 1980s, and experiment with

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

and

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in African-American culture, African-American African-American neighborhood, communities throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Catchy rhythms, stressed by handclaps ...

. "Body Language" and its parent album ''Hot Space'' were the results of this change. "Body Language" is notable for its near lack of guitar; atmospheric guitar chords sparingly dot the body of the song, while a brief two-note riff is heard during the fade out. The song's key feature was its minimal, sparse production, with the emphasis of "suggestive" lyrics, a "slinky" synth bass (played on an

Oberheim OB-X The Oberheim OB-X was the first of Oberheim Electronics, Oberheim's OB-series polyphony (instrument), polyphonic Analog synthesizer, analog Subtractive synthesis, subtractive synthesizers. First commercially available in June 1979, the OB-X was ...

), and writer Freddie Mercury's moans and groans. This song was played twice during the European leg of the

Hot Space Tour The Hot Space Tour was the ninth headlining concert tour by the British Rock music, rock band Queen (band), Queen in support of their 1982 album ''Hot Space''. The tour started on the 9th of April in Gothenburg, Sweden and ended, after sixty-ni ...

, with the first performance being in Vienna on 13 May. The song was played every night on the U.S leg and the Japanese leg, where the song achieved more commercial success. It often got a lukewarm reaction, although the live arrangement was very different from the studio one. The full title of the song, as printed both on the single and ''Hot Space'' album sleeve, is "Body Language ↑⬱". The usage and pronunciation of the arrows was never explained by any member of Queen, though the arrows did show up as part of the single's cover art and in its video, where they were painted on the bodies of models, while Freddie Mercury also wore shirts and a white leather jacket during the album's ensuing tour that had similar arrow designs. The song features a distinctive rhythmic synth bass line as primary sound played by Mercury, making it one of the few band songs not to feature bassist

John Deacon John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician who was the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits " You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bites the Dust" a ...

on the recording.

Brian May Sir Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, animal welfare activist and astrophysics, astrophysicist. He achieved global fame as the lead guitarist and backing vocalist of the rock band Queen ...

only briefly participates on guitar towards the end of the song, being one of his least significant contributions to a Queen single.

Charts

Reaction

The drastic change caused the single to stall at #25 on the UK charts. However, it did far better in the US, where Americans appeared to be a lot more supportive of Queen's forays into dance music. "Body Language" peaked at #11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number thirty on the soul chart. The B-side is "Life Is Real (Song for Lennon)", this single was released just a little over a year after the assassination of the former Beatle. In the US, the accompanying

caused a considerable amount of controversy. Due to its erotic undertones plus plentiful skin and sweat, it was deemed unsuitable for a television audience in 1982. In a ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ''Magazine'' review, critic John Milward described the song as "a piece of funk that isn't fun".

Popular culture references

*"Body Language" was danced to in solo performances by both Blake McGrath and Jessica Fernandez on '' So You Think You Can Dance''. "Body Language" was danced to in the Top 12 performances as a Jazz routine by Pasha Kovalev and Sara Von Gillern on ''So You Think You Can Dance'' (Season 3). It was also danced to in Season 12's Top 10 Stage dance. *"Body Language" can be briefly heard in the 1984 documentary film ''

Stripper A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at private events. Modern forms of stripping m ...

'', being performed to by dancer Sara Costa. * The song was featured in an episode of '' Nip/Tuck''. * The

Foo Fighters The Foo Fighters are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Initially founded as a one-man project by former Nirvana (band), Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, the band comprises vocalist/guitarist Grohl, bassist Nate Mendel, gu ...

used "Body Language" in a video promoting the tour for ''

Wasting Light ''Wasting Light'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band Foo Fighters, released on April 12, 2011, through Roswell and RCA Records. Wanting to capture the essence of their earlier work and avoid the artificiality of digital recording, ...

'', called "Hot Buns".

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (; born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He founded the rock band Foo Fighters, of which he is the lead singer, guitarist, principal songwriter, and only consistent member. From 1990 to 1994, he was the drummer of th ...

stated the song was used in the video, which features the bandmembers dancing naked in a shower, because "it sounds like the soundtrack for a gay porn".Dave Grohl interview
''

Chelsea Lately ''Chelsea Lately'' is an American late-night comedy talk show created by Brody Stevens and hosted by comedian Chelsea Handler. The show was produced by Handler's production company (Borderline Amazing Productions), and taped its later years a ...

Personnel

- lead and backing vocals, synthesizer,

Linn LM-1 The Linn LM-1 Drum Computer is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics and released in 1980. It was the first drum machine to use samples of acoustic drums, and one of the first programmable drum machines. Its designer, the American en ...

, synth bass *

- guitars * Roger Taylor - electronic drums

References

External links

*
Lyrics at Queen official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Body Language (Queen Song) 1982 singles 1982 songs British new wave songs Dance music songs Elektra Records singles EMI Records singles British funk songs Hollywood Records singles Music video controversies Obscenity controversies in music Queen (band) songs Songs written by Freddie Mercury Songs about language Song recordings produced by Reinhold Mack