Song · Prefab Sprout
“When Love Breaks Down” by Prefab Sprout
From the album Steve McQueen (1985)
“When Love Breaks Down” by Prefab Sprout appears on 3 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1985 and 2021. It was first released in 1985 on the album Steve McQueen. Its best result is #87 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1985. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #202 alternative song of 1985 and #4,890 alternative song of all time.
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"When Love Breaks Down" came out on Kitchenware in October 1984 as the first single from Prefab Sprout's Steve McQueen, which followed the next year. Paddy McAloon wrote it, words and music, Phil Thornalley produced, and it was recorded and mixed at RAK Studios in London.
It took two tries. The first release missed the UK chart altogether, but a 1985 reissue climbed to number 25, and that October it gave the English pop band their first American chart placing, peaking at 42 on Billboard's Top Rock Tracks. McAloon came back to it in 2006 with a brand-new acoustic arrangement, released in March 2007 to go with the two-disc Legacy Edition of Steve McQueen.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 87 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1985 | 91 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 354 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 2021 | 630 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
Also listed as: Love Breaks Down.
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