Songfacts®:

• This song is a look at the fitness culture was that burgeoning around the world, but especially in America, in the early '80s. Two of the big drivers were Jane Fonda's workout videos and Olivia Newton-John's 1981 hit "Physical," a song that greatly amused Robert Palmer. Both are mentioned in the lyric.
  
  The song is a lighthearted takedown of those who, driven by pride, overdo the exercise and diet plans. The last line makes Palmer's point:
  
  We used to ride tandem and have lots of fun
  But bicycles for exercise are made for one
• Palmer incorporated lots of world music into his songs. This one is juju, a type of African rhythm. "It's music with a lot of humor, which allowed me to couch the calypso story and utilize the rhythmic approaches I learnt by studying with Gaspar Lawal and Shamsi, our two African drummers, back in '73," he explained in the liner notes to his Addictions: Volume 1 compilation. "Gaspar taught me a lot about syncopation and African musicianship."
• Palmer recorded the song in Compass Point studios in Nassau, Bahamas, using local percussionists, including Bill Bonaparte on steel drums. According to Palmer, one of the guys played serrated knife blades.
• "Pride" was the title track to Palmer's seventh album, released in 1983. Palmer had built a decent-sized fanbase by this point but had yet to hit on a sound that would break him out of his niche. A breakthrough came two years later when he teamed with two of the Taylors (Andy and John) from Duran Duran to form The Power Station. They landed a hit with "Some Like It Hot," a sleek rocker with lots of attitude. Palmer took what he learned and later that year released "Addicted To Love," which with help from an iconic video, was a #1 hit in America.