Breakthru (song)

Last updated

"Breakthru"
Queen Breakthru.png
Artwork for UK release
Single by Queen
from the album The Miracle
B-side
Released19 June 1989
RecordedJanuary 1988 – January 1989
Genre Power pop [1]
Length
  • 4:08(Album version)
  • 5:45 (12" extended version)
Label Parlophone, EMI, Capitol
Songwriter(s) Queen
(Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor)
Producer(s) Queen and David Richards
Queen singles chronology
"I Want It All"
(1989)
"Breakthru"
(1989)
"The Invisible Man"
(1989)
Music video
"Breakthru" on YouTube

"Breakthru" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor [ citation needed ] but credited to Queen, it was released in June 1989 from the album The Miracle . The single reached number seven in the UK, and peaked at number 6 in the Netherlands and Ireland, but failed to chart in the US. The song is notable for its video where the group is performing the song on an open platform of a fast-moving steam train.

Contents

Song

The album version of the song begins with 30 seconds of slow vocal harmony. It was apparently written by Freddie Mercury for a different song which ended up never being released, "When Love Breaks Up". [2] [3] [4] It then abruptly changes to a fast-paced rocker, that was written by Roger Taylor. Other song versions were created by either extending or cutting the introduction. [5] On the Queen for an Hour interview conducted in 1989, Mercury said that this was a great example of two separate bits coming together to make a final track. He commented on how the band had about 30 tracks to work with and only completed a handful, working on all of them at least somewhat. [6]

Video

A regular (demonstration) run of loco 3822 along Didcot Railway Centre's main demonstration line. Didcot 3822 demonstration line.jpg
A regular (demonstration) run of loco 3822 along Didcot Railway Centre's main demonstration line.

The video of the song was filmed within two days on the preserved Nene Valley Railway, near Peterborough in Cambridgeshire, England. The group members mentioned in the interviews that despite the hot summer weather, the event brought a nice refreshment to their studio work. It also helped heighten guitarist Brian May's spirits, as he was going through a bout of depression from the intense scrutiny surrounding his first marriage and Freddie Mercury's health starting to falter as a result of AIDS.

The steam locomotive No. 3822 [7] (fired by Mark Needham) and an open platform were rented by Queen from the Didcot Railway Centre in Oxfordshire and repainted for the video. In particular, the group named the train "The Miracle Express", and this name was reflected in large red letters on the sides of the locomotive. [8]

The idea of using a train in the video was suggested by Taylor and was inspired by the rhythm of the rapid part of the song. During the introduction ("new life is born"), the video features Taylor's then-girlfriend Debbie Leng, [9] with a black mask painted around her eyes, waking up and getting up on the rail track. The commencing of the fast part coincides with the scene of the train breaking through a polystyrene wall painted as a brick wall; the wall was constructed in a tunnel, under an arch of a stone bridge. The group was dissatisfied with this part because polystyrene could not stand the enormous air pressure buildup in the tunnel from the incoming train and the wall started breaking before the physical impact. The rest of the clip mostly shows the moving train with an attached open platform whereon the group performs the song.

May, Deacon and Taylor are playing guitars and drums, whereas Mercury is moving around the whole platform with his trademark bottomless microphone stand while singing. Leng appears in some scenes on the platform and further in the clip. [10] The train was reportedly going at a speed of between 30 [10] and 60 mph [11] (intermediate values were mentioned in interviews), and thus the group insured itself for £2 million against bodily damage. The clip cost £300,000 to make, closer to £760,000 as of February 2024. [11]

Queen comments on the record

It's the prime example what we were talking about before, I mean, the track "Breakthru" sort of stemmed from Roger, really, it's basically his track. But the sort of a capella vocal bit in front was from someone else, as we've said: we have 30 tracks, and that was a little piece that I thought was quite good, and I didn't want it to go amiss, and I just said, 'Oh, well, we'll just put it in front of "Breakthru".' It's basically another song, sort of seem to go away quite nicely, so, we just snipped it.

Freddie Mercury

I very much like the track, this is a Roger track, full of energy, and the track speaking lyrically is about breaking through to the next part of your life.

Brian May

Track listings

7" Single

A Side. "Breakthru" (Album Version) - 4:08

B Side. "Stealin" - 3:58 [12]

12"/CD Single

1/A Side. "Breakthru" (Extended Version) - 5:45

2/B1. "Stealin" - 3:58

3/B2. "Breakthru" (Album Version) - 4:08

Personnel

Queen
Additional

Distribution

The single was distributed in 1989 as 7-inch and 12-inch records, 5-inch CDs and tapes, with a Parlophone label in most countries. The label was from Capitol in the US. The B-side either contained the song "Stealin'", was only used as an addition to "Breakthru", [13] or was blank as in some UK 12" records. Other 12" records and 5" CDs contained two versions of "Breakthru" and one of "Stealin'". Most covers contained a photomorph of four heads of the group members; the faces were merged at one eye of each face creating a five-eyed merged face. A strip showing eyes only was cut of this picture for most covers. [14]

The song was included into the following albums and compilations: The Miracle , Greatest Hits II , The Platinum Collection , Box of Tricks , Greatest Video Hits 2 (disk 1), Greatest Flix II (VHS) and Queen: The eYe (electronic video game released in 1998 by Electronic Arts).

Charts

Chart (1989)Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) [15] 45
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders) [16] 10
Canadian Singles Chart [17] 80
Finland (Suomen Virallinen) [18] 10
German Singles Chart [19] 24
Ireland (IRMA) [20] 6
Italy ( Musica e Dischi ) [21] 15
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [22] 4
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [23] 6
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [24] 45
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) [25] 28
UK Singles Chart [26] 7

Related Research Articles

<i>Innuendo</i> (album) 1991 studio album by Queen

Innuendo is the fourteenth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 4 February 1991 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and it is the band's first studio album to be released by Hollywood Records in the United States. Produced by David Richards and the band, it was the band's last album to be released in lead singer Freddie Mercury's lifetime, and their most recent one to be composed of entirely new material, save for The Cosmos Rocks by the Queen + Paul Rodgers collaboration. It reached the No. 1 spot on the UK album charts for two weeks, and also peaked at No. 1 in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, and Switzerland, staying at No. 1 for three weeks, four weeks, six weeks, and eight weeks, respectively. It was the first Queen album to go Gold in the US upon its release since The Works in 1984.

<i>The Miracle</i> (album) 1989 studio album by Queen

The Miracle is the thirteenth studio album by the British rock band Queen, released on 22 May 1989 by Parlophone Records and Capitol Records in both the United Kingdom and the U.S. respectively, where it was the band's only studio album to be released on latter label. The album was recorded as the band recovered from Brian May's marital problems and Freddie Mercury's HIV diagnosis in 1987. Recording started in January 1988 and lasted for an entire year. The album was originally going to be called The Invisible Men, but three weeks before the release, according to Roger Taylor, they changed the name to The Miracle. It was also the last Queen album with a photo of the band on the front cover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Was Born to Love You (song)</span> 1985 single by Freddie Mercury

"I Was Born to Love You" is a 1985 song by Freddie Mercury that was released as a single from his first solo album, Mr. Bad Guy. After Mercury's death, Queen re-worked this song for their album Made in Heaven in 1995, by having the other members play their instrumental parts over the original track, transforming the song from disco to rock. The Queen version from the Made in Heaven album also includes snippets of Mercury's ad-lib vocals taken from "A Kind of Magic" and from "Living on My Own".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Innuendo (song)</span> 1991 single by Queen

"Innuendo" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor but credited to Queen, it is the opening track on the album of the same name (1991), and was released as the first single from the album. The single debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart in January 1991, the band's first number-one hit since "Under Pressure" nearly a decade before, and additionally reached the top ten in ten other countries. It is included on the band's second compilation album Greatest Hits II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Show Must Go On (Queen song)</span> 1991 single by Queen

"The Show Must Go On" is a song by British rock band Queen, featured as the twelfth and final track on their 1991 album, Innuendo. It is credited to Queen, but was primarily written by guitarist Brian May. The song chronicles the effort of frontman Freddie Mercury continuing to perform despite approaching the end of his life, although his diagnosis with HIV/AIDS had not yet been made public in spite of ongoing media speculation that he was seriously ill. When the band recorded the song in 1990, Mercury's condition had deteriorated to the point that May had concerns as to whether he was physically capable of singing it. May recalls; "I said, 'Fred, I don't know if this is going to be possible to sing.' And he went, 'I'll fucking do it, darling'—vodka down—and went in and killed it, completely lacerated that vocal".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)</span> 1997 single by Queen

"No-One But You " is the final single recorded by the British rock band Queen. Recorded and released in 1997, six years after the death of lead singer Freddie Mercury, it is the only Queen recording to feature a three-piece lineup: guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor, and bassist John Deacon. May and Taylor share lead vocals. The song was released on the album Queen Rocks and it was also released as a double a-side single with "Tie Your Mother Down". It was later included on the compilation album Greatest Hits III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hammer to Fall</span> 1984 single by Queen

"Hammer to Fall" is a 1984 song by the British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, the song is the eighth track on their 1984 album The Works. It was the fourth and final single to be released from that album, although the single version was edited down by thirty seconds from the version on the album. Different sleeves were used to package this single and the live picture sleeve is now a collector's item. The song harks back to the old roots of the band, being built around a hard angular and muscular riff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I'm Going Slightly Mad</span> 1991 single by Queen

"I'm Going Slightly Mad" is a song by the British rock band Queen. Written by Freddie Mercury but credited to Queen, with uncredited lyrical contributions by Peter Straker, it was released as the second single from the band's 1991 album Innuendo. The song was released as a single on 4 March 1991, a month after the release of the album. The lyrics and the accompanying music video project the song as humorous and lighthearted, despite the lyrics dealing with the mental decline Mercury was experiencing as one of the effects of advancing AIDS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Too Much Love Will Kill You</span> 1988 song by Queen

"Too Much Love Will Kill You" is a song written by British guitarist Brian May of Queen, Frank Musker and Elizabeth Lamers. The song reflected the breakdown of May's first marriage and attraction to his future wife, Anita Dobson. It was first recorded by Queen around 1988 or before, and was intended to be on the band's The Miracle album in 1989, but did not make the cut due to legal disputes following the band's decision that all songs on the album would be written by the group as opposed to individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Want It All (Queen song)</span> 1989 rock single by Queen

"I Want It All" is a song by British rock band Queen, featured on their 1989 studio album, The Miracle. Written by guitarist and vocalist Brian May and produced by David Richards, it was released as the first single from the album on 2 May 1989. "I Want It All" reached number three on the singles charts of the United Kingdom, Finland, Ireland and New Zealand, as well as on the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart. Elsewhere, it peaked at number two in the Netherlands and charted within the top 10 in Australia, Belgium, Germany, Norway and Switzerland. With its message about fighting for one's own goals it became an anti-apartheid protest song in South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heaven for Everyone</span> 1988 single by the Cross

"Heaven for Everyone" is a song written by British rock band Queen drummer Roger Taylor. It originally appeared on his side project the Cross's album Shove It, with Freddie Mercury as a guest vocalist, and it is the album's fourth track. It was reworked with Queen's music and appeared in their fifteenth and final studio album, Made in Heaven (1995), where it was the seventh track, and was released as the first single by Parlophone – four years after Mercury's death. Queen's version reached number two on the UK Singles Chart while peaking at number one in Hungary and becoming a top-ten hit in several other European nations. In 1999 it was included in Queen's compilation album Greatest Hits III.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scandal (song)</span> 1989 single by Queen

"Scandal" is a song by the British rock band Queen. It was released as the fourth single from their 1989 album The Miracle and peaked at #25 in the UK. The single was released in the United States but failed to chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Headlong (song)</span> 1991 single by Queen

"Headlong" is a song by British rock band Queen, released as the third single from their fourteenth studio album, Innuendo (1991). The song was written by Queen guitarist Brian May, who intended to record it for his then-upcoming solo album Back to the Light (1992), but when he heard Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury sing the track, he allowed it to become a Queen song. As with all the songs on Innuendo, the track was promptly credited to the entire band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Back Chat</span> 1982 single by Queen

"Back Chat", written by the bass guitarist John Deacon, is the track most influenced by funk on the 1982 Queen album Hot Space. The song is a prime example of how Deacon was strongly pulling the band into dance orientated genres such as R&B, disco, and funk. It reached #40 on the UK Singles Chart, #18 in South Africa and a #19 entry in Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's a Hard Life</span> 1984 single by Queen

"It's a Hard Life" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by lead singer Freddie Mercury. It was featured on their 1984 album The Works, and it was the third single from that album. In 1991 it was included in the band’s second compilation album Greatest Hits II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Invisible Man (song)</span> 1989 single by Queen

"The Invisible Man" is a song by the British rock band Queen, written by drummer Roger Taylor but credited to Queen. The song is sung mostly by Freddie Mercury, with vocal contributions from Taylor. The song was released in August 1989 as the third single from the bands album The Miracle. Taylor claims that he got the inspiration to create the song while reading a book, and the bassline instantly came to his imagination. The song title was inspired by the H. G. Wells novel of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Miracle (song)</span> 1989 single by Queen

"The Miracle" is the fifth and final single from Queen's 1989 studio album of the same name. It was composed by the entire band, though Freddie Mercury and John Deacon were the main writers. It was released as a single on 27 November 1989 and it was the band's final single release of the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Winter's Tale (Queen song)</span> 1995 single by Queen

"A Winter's Tale" is a song by Queen, from the album Made in Heaven, released in 1995 after Freddie Mercury's death in 1991. It was written after the Innuendo sessions, inspired as Mercury was staring out the windows of various places in Montreux. The song has a psychedelic, dreamy feel, and describes what Mercury saw outside the windows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Made in Heaven (song)</span>

"Made in Heaven" is the third single recorded by Freddie Mercury, and his fourth release as a solo artist. Originally featured in Mercury's first solo album, Mr. Bad Guy, the song was modified and published as a 45 rpm single paired with "She Blows Hot and Cold", described on the record sleeve as 'A Brand New Track'. The single reached No. 57 on the UK Singles Chart.

<i>The Game</i> (Queen album) 1980 studio album by Queen

The Game is the eighth studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 30 June 1980 by EMI Records in the UK and by Elektra Records in the US. The Game features a different sound from its predecessor, Jazz (1978). The Game was the first Queen album to use a synthesizer.

References

  1. Simpson, Dave (26 October 2018). "Queen's 50 UK singles – ranked!". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  2. Track 16 on the Miracle Collectors Edition It was released in a Demo form for the collectors Edition of "The Miracle" in 2022
  3. Sutcliffe, Phil; Hince, Peter & Mack, Reinhold (15 November 2009). Queen: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Crown Kings of Rock. MBI Publishing Company. ISBN   978-0-7603-3719-6.[ permanent dead link ]
  4. Unreleased Queen Tracks. Ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved on 2 March 2011.
  5. The Miracle. QueenVault.com (1989-03-15). Retrieved on 2 March 2011.
  6. 1989 Radio Interview with Queen hosted by Mike Read
  7. Didcot Railway Centre Archived 5 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine . Didcot Railway Centre. Retrieved on 2 March 2011.
  8. Peterborough Tourist Attractions: Sightseeing and Attractions in Peterborough Area, England, UK. Peterborough.world-guides.com. Retrieved on 2 March 2011.
  9. "Facts about the promotional video for "Breakthru"".
  10. 1 2 Freestone, Peter & Evans, David (2001). Freddie Mercury: An Intimate Memoir by the Man who Knew Him Best. Omnibus Press. p. 129. ISBN   978-0-7119-8674-9.
  11. 1 2 Sky, Rick (1994). "4". The show must go on: the life of Freddie Mercury . Carol Pub. Group. ISBN   0-8065-1506-6.
  12. "Queen "The Miracle" album and song lyrics". www.ultimatequeen.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  13. Georg Purvis (1 April 2007). Queen: Complete Works. Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN   978-1-905287-33-8 . Retrieved 2 March 2011.
  14. Breakthru as an a-side. Pcpki.com. Retrieved on 2 March 2011.
  15. "Queen – Breakthru". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  16. "Queen – Breakthru" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
  17. Collectionscanada.gc.ca Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  18. Nyman, Jake (2005). Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Tammi. ISBN   951-31-2503-3.
  19. Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche Archived 1 January 2005 at the Wayback Machine . musicline.de. Retrieved on 2 June 2023.
  20. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Breakthru". Irish Singles Chart.
  21. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 28 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Queen".
  22. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Queen" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  23. "Queen – Breakthru" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  24. "Queen – Breakthru". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  25. "Queen – Breakthru". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  26. Queen – Breakthru'. Chart Stats (26 August 1989). Retrieved on 2 March 2011.