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"Breakaway" | ||||
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Single by Tracey Ullman | ||||
from the album You Broke My Heart In 17 Places | ||||
Released | 1983 | |||
Recorded | August 1982 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Label | Stiff Records | |||
Songwriter(s) | Jackie DeShannon, Sharon Sheeley | |||
Producer(s) | Peter Collins | |||
Tracey Ullman singles chronology | ||||
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"Breakaway" is a song written by Jackie DeShannon and Sharon Sheeley. It was originally recorded by Irma Thomas in 1964 and released as the B-side of her biggest hit, the US No. 17 single "Wish Someone Would Care". The song was later a huge success for the British singer Tracey Ullman, who had a UK Top 5 hit with it in 1983. A demo version performed by DeShannon was also recorded but remained unreleased until a 1994 compilation.
"Breakaway" is today generally a better-remembered song than the A-side of Thomas' record, [1] [2] largely due to Ullman's 1983 hit cover of the song. It has become a staple in Thomas' live performances and appears on several later Irma Thomas and "New Orleans music" compilations.
"Breakaway" was Tracey Ullman's debut single, released in the UK in early 1983 where it reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart. The track then appeared on Ullman's UK Top 20 album You Broke My Heart in 17 Places , which was released in November 1983.
In North America, "Breakaway" was actually Ullman's second single, being released after her Top 10 hit "They Don't Know" (which was Ullman's second single in the UK). "Breakaway" charted at No. 70 in the US in 1984, although the video for Ullman's version received significant play on the then-fledgling MTV and Canada's MuchMusic.
The song's lyrics speak of the singer's inability to find the strength to leave a relationship, and describe a situation where the song's first person protagonist is repeatedly on the verge of running away from the bad situation, only to find at the last moment she does not have the strength of will to follow through.
British singer Beryl Marsden recorded a cover version of this song in 1965, for Columbia Records.
In 2010, a version of the song by the Detroit Cobras was used in commercials for the NFL RedZone channel. [3]
Tracey Ullman is a British-American actress, comedian, singer, writer, producer, and director. Critics have lauded her ability to shift seamlessly in and out of character and accents, with many dubbing her the "female Peter Sellers". Her earliest mainstream appearances were on British television sketch comedy shows A Kick Up the Eighties and Three of a Kind. After a brief singing career, she appeared as Candice Valentine in Girls on Top with Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders.
Jackie DeShannon is an American singer-songwriter and radio broadcaster with a string of hit song credits from the 1960s onwards, as both singer and composer. She was one of the first female singer-songwriters of the rock and roll period. She is best known as the singer of "What the World Needs Now Is Love" and "Put a Little Love in Your Heart", and as the writer of "When You Walk in the Room" and "Bette Davis Eyes", which became hits for The Searchers and Kim Carnes, respectively.
"Ain't No Sunshine" is a song by Bill Withers, from his 1971 debut album Just As I Am, produced by Booker T. Jones. The record featured musicians Donald "Duck" Dunn on bass guitar, Al Jackson Jr. on drums and Stephen Stills on guitar. String arrangements were done by Booker T. Jones. The song was recorded in Los Angeles, with overdubs in Memphis by engineer Terry Manning.
Irma Thomas is an American singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans".
"Time Is on My Side" is a song written by Jerry Ragovoy. First recorded by jazz trombonist Kai Winding and his orchestra in 1963, it was covered by both soul singer Irma Thomas and then later the Rolling Stones in 1964.
"Oh, What a Night" is a song first recorded by the doo-wop group the Dells and released in 1956, originally under the title "Oh What a Nite". It is said to have been inspired by a party, which had been held in the Dells' honor by some female friends of the group.
"Superstar" is a 1969 song written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell, that has been a hit for many artists in different genres in the years since. The best-known versions are by the Carpenters in 1971, Luther Vandross in 1983, and Sonic Youth in 1994.
"They Don't Know" is a song composed and first recorded in 1979 by Kirsty MacColl. Though unsuccessful, the song was later recorded by Tracey Ullman in 1983. Ullman's version reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 8 in the US.
"Terry" is a song by Kirsty MacColl, released as a single in October 1983, and charting at No. 82 in the UK the following month. It was her first release after returning to Stiff Records, and was the last in a run of poorly selling singles released between "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" and "A New England". The music video featured an appearance from actor and comedian Ade Edmondson, who played MacColl's rejected boyfriend who got her back after fighting off a rival man. The photo on the front sleeve features MacColl and Chris Heester.
You Broke My Heart in 17 Places is the debut studio album by Tracey Ullman, released in 1983. It peaked at No. 14 on the UK Albums chart and No. 34 in the spring of 1984 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. It was certified Silver by the BPI for sales in excess of 60,000 copies. The album contained three UK Top Ten hit singles, including Ullman's first hit "Breakaway".
You Caught Me Out is the second and final studio album by Tracey Ullman. It was released on Stiff Records in November 1984 throughout Europe. Unlike her 1983 debut album, this album was never released commercially in the United States.
"Need Your Love So Bad", sometimes known as "I Need Your Love So Bad", is a song first recorded by Little Willie John in 1955. Called a "unique amalgam of gospel, blues and rhythm & blues", it was John's second single as well as his second record to reach the US charts.
Kirsty Anna MacColl was an English singer and songwriter, daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl. She recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" and cover versions of Billy Bragg's "A New England" and the Kinks' "Days". Her first single, "They Don't Know", had chart success a few years later when covered by Tracey Ullman. MacColl also sang on a number of recordings produced by her then-husband Steve Lillywhite, most notably "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues. Her death in 2000 led to the "Justice for Kirsty" campaign.
Beryl Marsden is a British R&B and pop singer, who first came to notice on the Liverpool club scene of the early 1960s. She recorded a number of "powerful and soulful", but unsuccessful, records, and has been described as "undeservedly neglected".
"Bobby's Girl" is a song and single written by Gary Klein and Henry Hoffman. The original was performed by American teenage singer Marcie Blane, and became a No. 3 hit on the US charts. A near-simultaneous cover by British singer Susan Maughan was a hit in the UK, coincidentally also reaching No. 3 on the UK charts. Both Blane and Maughan are one-hit wonders; for both these artists, "Bobby's Girl" marked their only appearance on a national top 40 chart.
"Move Over Darling" is a song originally recorded by Doris Day, which was the theme from the 1963 movie Move Over, Darling, starring Doris Day, James Garner and Polly Bergen, and was released as a single the same year. The song was written by Doris Day's son, Terry Melcher, along with Hal Kanter and Joe Lubin.
"Sun Glasses" is a song originally released by Skeeter Davis in 1965, which was written by John D. Loudermilk. In 1984 Tracey Ullman released a version of the song titled "Sunglasses", which became an international hit.
"It's Raining" is a soul/R&B ballad, written by Allen Toussaint under the name "Naomi Neville". It was first recorded in November 1961 by Irma Thomas, and produced by Allen Toussaint. The song has emotional ties to Louisiana, having been written and sung by people born in that state, being released on a New Orleans–based record label and enduring in the Deep South as a regional classic.
This is the discography of former British-American pop singer Tracey Ullman. Known mainly for her work in television and film, she had a brief career as a successful pop singer. She was signed to Stiff Records in 1983 after label owner Dave Robinson heard some of the song parodies she did in her early television work. Her albums consisted mainly of cover versions of songs from the 1950s through the early 1980s.
"You Caught Me Out" is a song written by Kirsty MacColl, Pete Briquette and Simon Crowe. It was originally recorded by MacColl in 1979, with Liam Sternberg as the producer, but the intended single release later that year was shelved. In 2023, it was issued as a limited edition 7-inch single. Versions have also been recorded by Australian singer Christie Allen and British-American singer/actress Tracey Ullman.