“Queen Bitch” was written as an homage to Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground, two massive sources of influence for David Bowie.

Bowie first discovered the Velvet Underground when his manager, Kenneth Pitt, gave him an acetate of the then-unreleased The Velvet Underground and Nico in 1966. The 19-year-old Bowie fell in love with the music and with the idea of New York City as the sexy den of scum and villainy he heard in the music. The vision was so seductive that Bowie was continually drawn back to NYC throughout his life. He’s lived there continually since the late ‘90s.

As for Lou Reed, Bowie went on to produce his 1972 album Transformer, giving him the single biggest success of his career. They became lifelong friends (however mercurial and frequently at each other’s throats).

Bowie and Lou Reed eventually performed “Queen Bitch” together for Bowie’s 1997 birthday concert in Madison Square Garden. Bowie has also performed this song with Arcade Fire.

The main riff from “Queen Bitch” was taken from Eddie Cochran’s 1960 single “Three Steps to Heaven”.
In turn, The Killers‘ early noughties “Mr. Brightside” lifts heavily from this song.

As a tribute to the Velvet Underground, the song contains numerous references to the band, both musically and lyrically. The handwritten sleeve notes on the back cover of Hunky Dory read: “some V.U. White Light returned with thanks”, acknowledging the influence of “I’m Waiting for the Man” and “White Light/White Heat”.