"Breakthru" is two songs joined together. The slow vocal harmony during the first half minute was originally "A New Life Is Born," an unreleased song written by Freddie Mercury. The remainder of the song is "Breakthru," written by Roger Taylor with some contributions from the rest of the band. Freddie Mercury said, "Breakthru stemmed from Roger, really; it's basically his track."

In the music video the boys are riding a train while performing. Brian May said on Queen's Greatest Video Hits 2 that he'd been feeling sick and depressed that week and making the video had lifted his spirits. The band agreed that it was a nice interlude from studio work. Roger Taylor's girlfriend Debbie appears in the clip.

The loco used is a preserved ex-Great Western Railway, number 3822, from the Nene Valley Railway, which also was the setting for the video - except for segments on the platform, which were filmed at Didcot Railway Centre. The train traveled anywhere between 30 and 60 MPH during filming, which meant the band had to be insured (to the tune of £2 million!) against bodily damage in event of an accident, especially considering they were filming on an open-top carriage.