A Far Out Magazine piece revisits the fraught making of Queen's 1982 album Hot Space, which guitarist Brian May has said plunged the band into "deep emotional trouble" during recording sessions in Munich. The album marked a sharp shift towards a synth-heavy, club-influenced sound championed by Freddie Mercury's then-assistant Paul Prenter, a departure from Queen's guitar-driven rock roots that alienated bandmates Roger Taylor and May and much of their fan base, despite producing the hit "Under Pressure".

Taylor has said Prenter wanted the music to sound "like you had just walked into a gay club", a direction he strongly disliked, while May described the period as reflecting real cracks forming within the band, with Mercury affected "more so" than the others. Tracks such as "Body Language" exemplified the new sound, with its overtly sexual video banned by MTV, and audiences reacted with visible disdain when the band played new material live, including a notably frosty response at a 1982 Milton Keynes show.