How Swing Out Sister Formulated Their “Breakout” in the Nick of Time in 1986

Many artists think that the easiest way to hit big is to follow along with prevalent musical trends. But time and again, history has given us examples of acts succeeding by bucking those trends and doing what comes naturally to them.

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Swing Out Sister exemplifies this phenomenon. The ebullience of their single “Breakout” went against the grain in 1986, and the song became a worldwide hit because of it.

A Swing for the Fences

When you’re up against the clock, amazing things can happen. That’s one of the lessons we can learn from the story of Swing Out Sister’s “Breakout”. The group rose to the occasion with the song when the pressure was building.

The British band formed when Andy Connell and Martin Jackson, who were active in the Manchester electronic music scene in the mid-80s as producers and members of various bands, connected with Corinne Drewery, who was making the transition from a career in fashion to singing. They knew they had stumbled upon the right name for the band when they found one that they all thought was awful.

Swing Out Sister’s first single, “Blue Mood”, was released in 1985. But the song didn’t make any impact. Since they had signed a deal for two singles, they knew that they had better step up their game on the next one. That’s when they delivered “Breakout”.

Their Big “Break”

The music for “Breakout” came from Andy Connell’s annoyance with the television theme music for the 1986 World Cup. He decided to come up with something that he’d much prefer to hear, which is how the bouncy bassline for Swing Out Sister’s biggest hit was formed.

As for the lyrics and melody, Drewery was still recovering from a serious brain injury caused by a fall when she was tasked with writing them. And she did this while under the gun. The record company insisted on something resembling a finished product immediately, and she couldn’t get in contact with her bandmates in time to run anything by them.

After the fact, she realized that the lyrics for “Breakout” reflected her own desire to take a chance on a singing career. The upbeat, horn-filled song stood apart from the gloom-filled electronic music that dominated Great Britain at the time. That otherness seemed to help it, as “Breakout”, well, broke out everywhere, including a No. 6 spot in the US.

Behind the Lyrics of “Breakout”

“Breakout” expresses the importance of taking action when you’ve reached an impasse in your life. Drewery mentions those times “when every answer’s wrong/You’re fighting with lost confidence.” Also: “When situations never change/Tomorrow looks unsure.”

“Don’t leave your destiny to chance,” she insists. “Lay down the law/Shout out for more,” she later advises. Lest paralysis by analysis set in, you need to make the leap. “Don’t stop to ask,” Drewery belts. “Now you’ve found a break to make at last/You’ve got to find a way/Say what you want to say and breakout.”

Swing Out Sister, which soon narrowed down to Connell and Drewery, has enjoyed an extremely successful career, especially in their native UK. None of it would have been possible without the “Breakout” that they both preached and practiced.

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