Breakthru

The song *Breakthru* by Queen starts with a captivating introduction: about 30 seconds of soft vocals and piano, which actually come from a piece by Freddie Mercury that was never fully released, titled *When Love Breaks Up*. Suddenly, everything takes a turn and transforms into energetic and vibrant rock, which is the essence of *Breakthru*, a composition primarily by Roger Taylor. What's interesting is how these two very distinct parts come together to form a cohesive final song, something that Mercury himself commented on regarding the band's creative process, where they worked with many ideas and managed to shape a handful of them. John Deacon's bass, moreover, seeks to evoke the feeling of a train's movement, a detail that connects directly with the music video.

This track was released in June 1989 as part of the album The Miracle, which was Queen's thirteenth studio work. The recording of The Miracle began in January 1988 and extended for a full year, in a period marked by Brian May's personal problems and Freddie Mercury's HIV diagnosis in 1987. The album, originally intended to be called The Invisible Men, was renamed The Miracle just three weeks before its release. The single *Breakthru* reached number 7 in the UK. The video accompanying the song shows the band members playing on a train dubbed "The Miracle Express". In it, the marks of Kaposi's Sarcoma, a visible symptom of his illness, can be seen on Freddie Mercury's wrists. Debbie Leng, Roger Taylor's then-partner, also appears in the clip. The filming took place at the Nene Valley Railway, near Peterborough, in Cambridgeshire, England.