"Breakout" is a song by British band
Swing Out Sister
Swing Out Sister are a British pop group best known worldwide for the 1986 song " Breakout". Other hits include "Surrender", " Twilight World", " Waiting Game", and a remake of the Eugene Record soul composition "Am I the Same Girl?"
Histor ...
. It was released in 1986 as the second single from their debut album ''
It's Better to Travel
''It's Better to Travel'' is the debut album by the British pop band Swing Out Sister, released in 1987 on Mercury Records. Upon its release, the album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart.
Information
This was Swing Out Sister's debut albu ...
''.
The single reached the number four position in the UK in the autumn of 1986, and rose to number six on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the US and number one on the
Adult Contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
in the US in 1987. The song also resulted in a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...
nomination for
Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group
The Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by ...
.
Background
The single was written and performed while the group was still a trio. It was one of their biggest hits, and the song most closely associated with the act. In the US, "Breakout" remains a staple of
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
and
smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s.
History
Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...
radio station playlists.
Singer Corinne Drewery wrote the song while recovering from a fractured skull from an equestrian accident. Swing Out Sister had a two-song deal with Mercury Records, and the first song failed to impact the charts. Mercury said the band had to have the second demo in by the next Monday morning or risk being dropped, causing the band to compose "Breakout" under stress. This influenced the lyrics, as well as Drewery's desire to quit her day job as a fashion designer and be a singer. The bass line was inspired by the
1986 FIFA World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia ha ...
TV theme in Britain.
Music video
The music video
for "Breakout" features lead singer
Corinne Drewery
Corinne Drewery (born 21 September 1959) is an English singer-songwriter and fashion designer, best known for being the lead vocalist of the band Swing Out Sister.
Early life
Drewery was born and grew up in Nottingham. She later moved to the Li ...
as a fashion designer, who with the assistance of the other two band members designs and makes her own dress, and later makes a successful runway debut, modelling the garment. The video was directed by
Nick Willing
Nick Willing (born 1961) is a British director, producer and writer of films and television series.
Early life
Willing is the son of Portuguese painter Dame Paula Rego and English artist Victor Willing and was largely brought up in Portugal, ...
.
Chart performance
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
See also
*
List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1987 (U.S.)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breakout (Swing Out Sister Song)
1986 singles
1986 songs
Mercury Records singles
Songs written by Andy Connell
Songs written by Corinne Drewery
Songs written by Martin Jackson
Swing Out Sister songs