"Too Many Broken Hearts" is a song by Australian singer

Jason Donovan Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap ''Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 mi ...

. The song was released on 20 February 1989 as the third single from his debut album, ''

Ten Good Reasons ''Ten Good Reasons'' is the debut studio album by Australian pop star and actor Jason Donovan. It was released on 1 May 1989 by PWL (UK) and Mushroom Records (Australia). It became the biggest selling album in the UK that year, and yielded t ...

'' (1989), and 1991's ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' album and again on a later collection in 2006. The song reached number-one in the United Kingdom and Ireland in March 1989. The song additionally peaked within the top 10 in Australia, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain. British magazine ''

Classic Pop Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

'' ranked "Too Many Broken Hearts" number 19 in their list of "Top 40 Stock Aitken Waterman songs" in 2021.

Background

Written and produced by

Stock, Aitken and Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken, and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s through the early 1990s. SAW is considered ...

(SAW), the song attracted some media controversy after producer

Pete Waterman Peter Alan Waterman, (born 15 January 1947) is an English record producer, songwriter, radio and club DJ, television presenter, president of Coventry Bears rugby league club and a keen railway enthusiast. As a member of the Stock Aitken Waterm ...

outrageously claimed he "wrote the song on the toilet in ten minutes". The claim has been dismissed by the song's actual composer, Mike Stock, who says Waterman only supplied a rough title idea for the song. Donovan said he recorded sections of the song on different days, describing the process as "pop singing by numbers". He initially had no idea the track would go on to be so successful, and thought it might just be an album track. However, he now regards it as one of SAW's best songs, as well as being his defining hit.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was filmed in

Beechworth, Victoria Beechworth is a well-preserved historical town located in the north-east of Victoria, Australia, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the , Beechworth had a population of 3,859. Beechworth's many histor ...

, and featured Donovan strumming an unpowered electric guitar in the outdoors, while interacting with an apparent love interest. The guitar scenes generated some media scorn—including a parody on TV show ''

Hey Hey It's Saturday ''Hey Hey It's Saturday'' was a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 28 years on the Nine Network from 9 October 1971 to 20 November 1999, with a recess in 1978. Its host throughout its entire ...

''—and were also slammed by singer

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...

, who accused Donovan of trying to look like a rock star. The singer's romantic interest in the video was a local woman known to the director, Chris Langman, who had never acted or modelled before. He insists she was not cast due to her widely perceived resemblance to

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

. The mountain shack featured in the video belonged to Langman at the time, and he chose both the shooting location and the actress out of convenience. The video proved popular with fans, with Waterman saying its emotionally uplifting scenes and sunny landscapes represented "hope" to young people in Britain.

Track listings

7-inch and cassette single # "Too Many Broken Hearts" – 3:26 # "Wrap My Arms Around You" – 3:40 12-inch single :A1. "Too Many Broken Hearts" (extended version) :B1. "Wrap My Arms Around You" :B2. "Too Many Broken Hearts" (instrumental) 12-inch remix single :A1. "Too Many Broken Hearts" (techno mix) :B1. "Too Many Broken Hearts" (extended version) :B2. "Wrap My Arms Around You" CD single # "Too Many Broken Hearts" (extended version) # "Wrap My Arms Around You" # "Nothing Can Divide Us" US 12-inch single :A1. "Too Many Broken Hearts" (urban mix) – 8:00 :A2. "Too Many Broken Hearts" (techno mix) – 5:10 :A3. "Too Many Broken Hearts" (edit) – 3:26 :B1. "Too Many Broken Hearts" (Party Hardy mix) – 6:25 :B2. "Too Many Broken Hearts" (extended mix) – 5:45

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1988 songs 1989 songs 1989 singles Jason Donovan songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Mushroom Records singles Pete Waterman Entertainment singles Song recordings produced by Stock Aitken Waterman Songs written by Mike Stock (musician) Songs written by Matt Aitken Songs written by Pete Waterman UK Singles Chart number-one singles