Breakout by Swing Out Sister

Album: It's Better To Travel (1986)

Charted: 4 6

License This Song

lyrics

Songfacts®:

Swing Out Sister was formed in 1985 in Manchester, England by keyboardist Andy Connell (who used to be in a Certain Ratio) and drummer Martin Jackson (formerly of Magazine). They were joined by singer Corinne Drewery, who was previously a fashion designer. They got themselves a two-single deal, and the first one was "Blue Mood." Corrine Drewery describes on Remember The '80s the pressure she was under to write the lyrics for the second one: "The second single had to be a hit or we were going to get dropped and there was a lot of pressure on us to get it right. Andy was off on tour with A Certain Ratio, Martin was up in Manchester and I was in London and they kept phoning and asking if I'd finished the lyrics to this song and I got really worried because I wanted it to be perfect - I wanted it to be just right - and the day before the deadline our A&R man phoned up and asked if I'd finished and when I said no he said, 'Oh come on it's only writing a bloody nursery rhyme,' but at that stage I didn't have any ideas and I'd just confused myself and I couldn't discuss it with Andy and Martin because they were off doing their respective things. So I was just sitting in this squat that I was living in, with a microphone plugged into the back of a stereo trying things out but I ended up with like half an hour and the bike was due to pick up the tapes! But maybe that lack of time just forced the best thing out - I just had to record something there and then - I think if anyone had seen how it all came about they would never have taken it seriously! I can remember having the idea the night before but I couldn't record it then because it would make too much noise, but the thing that made me remember it was thinking of a chicken clucking combined with Michael Jackson's 'Thriller.'"
The video was inspired by Corinne Drewery's previous career. It features her as a fashion designer, designing and making her own dress, then modeling it.
This song earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Group or Duo.
This was to be Swing Out Sister's biggest hit in the UK and US and after a few years their career tailed off in those territories. However in Japan the band have proved very popular. In 1997 they won the Grand Prix award (the Japanese equivalent of a Grammy) for best international single for the song "Now You're Not Here." >>>
Suggestion credit:
Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England, for all above

Comments: 3

AnonymousHow - times with in a do people actually take timeout those do the most have a mental illness or if something is bothering someone deeply that makes say out loud breakout it normally effects people the heard someone say out loud what most people are thinking making the other person to seek comfort trun to a person or place where they feel safe like a neghberhode where is a doctor the call breakout is like a person who what it means to be mentally crazy or hear a word they don't normally hear if a person is willing to say the word out loud to a doctor it's calling breakout like rape and who said somepeaple stop to it out but someone 51 let the BBF lay out the law on on parents so the BBF might have been wrong to get back normal life just lay on the flour so the BBF and a 51 woman are as one calling out breakout that's more like the epiphany if you waiting perents at out the BBF want the lady out the door he's treating the lady like a dog before he says breakout
Meocyber from Alma, Co Yes a really excellent song. A very positive, upbeat, feel good piece of music. Just a really nice combo of lyrics, vocals and music . I totally tie this to my wife and I's first Hawaii trip.
Camille from Toronto, OhHey, great song here. Sort of on the sublime side, insisting that we break out, find a way, say what we want to say, break out. Not in a crazy, frenetic, out-of-control way, but in a positive, encouraging, insistent way. Sort of like Nike's 'just do it'.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Pink CadillacBruce Springsteen

"Pink Cadillac" was a B-side for Bruce Springsteen in 1984, but after Aretha Franklin sang about pink Cadillacs on "Freeway Of Love" the following year, Natalie Cole covered the song and had a hit with it in 1988.

The Man Comes AroundJohnny Cash

The idea for "The Man Comes Around" came to Johnny Cash from a dream he had where he was in Buckingham Palace and the Queen said to him, "Johnny Cash, you're just like a thorn tree in a whirlwind."

No ScrubsTLC

"No Scrubs" introduced the term "scrub" to the popular lexicon, and defined it in the opening lines ("a scrub is a guy that think he's fine...").

RudeMagic!

"Magic" was the first word to serve as both the title of a #1 hit (Olivia Newton-John's 1980 tune "Magic") and the name of an artist behind a chart-topping song (Magic!'s 2014 hit "Rude").

I'd Like To Teach The World To SingThe New Seekers

The first hit song that was used in a commercial before it was released as a single was "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing," which was written for a Coke ad.

Ho HeyThe Lumineers

"Ho Hey" by The Lumineers is about New York City, where lead singer Wesley Schultz moved to make it in music. He was dismayed to find many "trust fund kids" in the music scene while he struggled to pay the rent.