Mercury, who composed the song on synth bass, had previously explored the instrument’s potential with his contributions to the Flash Gordon soundtrack.

“Body Language” was the the lead track (i.e., the first single release) from Hot Space ; side B was Freddie’s “Life is Real (Life is Real (Song for Lennon)”), an interesting choice given its contrast to the overtly sexual “Body Language”, which charted rather well in the U.S., peak-wise, reaching #11 on Billboard’s Hot 100 (and #25 in the U.K.). Clearly a follow-up to “Another One Bites the Dust”, the collaboration with Bowie preceded it as a one-off Queen ‘45 RPM, a surprise #1 in the U.K. (and in the U.S., at the time? #29).

Tacking-on “Under Pressure” to “Hot Space” was clever, if not redundant? The song appeared as a bonus track on “Greatest Hits” in the U.S. 1981 version, and is now among their greatest of greatest hits. “Body Language” is perhaps one of the songs that has decreased in popularity over time.

The “Body Language” video filmed in Toronto, Canada, features close-shots of mostly torso-touching mixed male and female dancers writhing about in a dark steam (like a gay bathhouse?), whilst the band remained fully clothed amidst the “raunchy behaviour”?

Tongue firmly in cheek, Freddie’s concept was intended to push buttons, and he helped casting process, from the dressed up black ladies fanning themselves in dance, to the showers to the girl who falls into the enormous cake, surrounded by the dancers in a choreographic circle? Nudity is (sort of?) mostly innuendo.

Flash!back: The video for “Bicycle Race”, wasn’t bisexual in nature, and more silly, definitely more nude (yet far less sexual), and more “racy”, bicycle-wise.

The “Body Language” music video was banned in several territories, being too racy for MTV, probably on purpose. Nothing like banning a video to pique demand to SEE the video? (Shhhhhh…Don’t talk!) … and its comedic elements were very lost on the American prude-nation.

The song also appeared in the 1984 documentary film Stripper, being performed to by one of the dancers.

John Deacon – 1982 :
“Some of the tracks on the album, like ‘Body Language’, were Freddie on keyboard bass.”

*Brian May – 1982 :
“There are some things on the album which I felt came out too light, that’s all. Like ‘Body Language’. There’s a lot of things where I felt that we became so obsessed with the rhythm side that we were afraid to turn up the guitars. Afraid to use the guitar as a force.”

*Brian May – 1998 :
“I can remember having a go at Freddie because some of the stuff he was writing was very definitely on the gay side. I remember saying, ‘It would be nice if this stuff could be universally applicable, because we have friends out there of every persuasion.’ It’s nice to involve people. What it’s not nice to do is rope people out. And I felt kind of roped out by something that was very overtly a gay anthem, like ‘Body Language’. I thought it was very hard to take that in the other way. It’s hard to talk about this. But there you go.”

*Brian May – 2003 :
“This is very much a Freddie thing. He was immersed in the gay world. I think it’s very well constructed, it’s deliberately away from the Queen concept.”

*Roger Taylor – 2003 :
“Not really us but not a bad record.”