It was written by the band's lead singer Freddie Mercury and was a hit in North America, where it received extensive radio play.

The massive success of "Another One Bites the Dust" inspired Queen to temporarily abandon their glam roots in the early 1980s, and experiment with disco, funk and soul music.

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), and writer Freddie Mercury's moans and groans.

The full title of the song, as printed both on the single and Hot Space album sleeve, is "Body Language ↑⬱".

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