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

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

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 mid ...

song by British rock band Queen. 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 worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in th ...

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''. The

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

for the song was the first one to be banned from MTV for its

nudity Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to ...

, 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 band Queen. Written by bassist John Deacon, the song was featured on the group's eighth studio album '' The Game'' (1980). It was a worldwide hit, charting number one on the US ''Bi ...

" inspired Queen to temporarily abandon their glam roots in the early 1980s, and experiment with

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pi ...

and

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became p ...

. "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's OB-series polyphonic analog subtractive synthesizers. First commercially available in June 1979, the OB-X was introduced to compete with the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5, which had been success ...

), 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 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-nine concerts, in Tokoro ...

, with the first performance being in Vienna on 13 May. It often got a lukewarm reaction, although the live arrangement was very different from the studio one. The song was played every night on the U.S leg and the Japanese leg, where the song achieved more commercial success. 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 A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

line Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Art ...

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, best known for being 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 Bit ...

on the recording.

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury a ...

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. It was first known for its cov ...

'' ''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 Blake James McGrath (born November 21, 1983) is a Canadian professional dancer, pop singer, actor, model, and choreographer. He was known for being on the first season of ''So You Think You Can Dance'' in 2005, and on the MTV reality dance show ...

and Jessica Fernandez on ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...

''. "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 a bachelor party or other private event. Mo ...

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

Nip/Tuck ''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...

''. * The

Foo Fighters Foo Fighters are an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1994. Foo Fighters was initially formed as a one-man project by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl. Following the success of the eponymous debut album, Grohl (lead vocals, guitar) re ...

used "Body Language" in a video promoting the tour for '' Wasting Light'', called "Hot Buns".

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of grun ...

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 which was broadcast on E! The show debuted on July 16, 2007, and was produced by Handler's production company, Borde ...

Personnel

- lead and backing vocals, synthesizer, drum machine,

- electric guitar * Roger Taylor - electronic drums

References

External links

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