“Heartbreak Beat” is a popular

Popular music

Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...

 song written by Richard Butler

Richard Butler (singer)

Richard Lofthouse Butler is the lead singer of the Psychedelic Furs. He is also the founder and vocalist for the disbanded Love Spit Love.-Musical career:...

, John Ashton

John Ashton (guitarist)

John Ashton , is a British musician, songwriter and record producer. He was a guitarist for and founding member of the Psychedelic Furs along with brothers Tim and Richard Butler...

, and Tim Butler

Tim Butler

Tim Butler is an English songwriter and musician. He is the bass player, and co-founder of the Psychedelic Furs. He is also the youngest of three brothers....

 of The Psychedelic Furs. The song appeared on the band's 1986 album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 Midnight to Midnight

Midnight to Midnight

Midnight to Midnight is the fifth studio album by the English rock band The Psychedelic Furs, released in 1987. It featured the hit "Heartbreak Beat", written by Richard Butler, John Ashton, and Timothy Butler, which released as a single, was the sole U.S...

, and was released as its first single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 in March.

The song is the band's highest charting single on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

 Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

, peaking at #26. It is their only Top 40 hit. The song also reached the top 20 of both the Mainstream Rock and Dance

Hot Dance Club Play

The Hot Dance Club Songs chart is a weekly national survey of the songs that are most popular in U.S. dance clubs...

charts.

Track listing

7" Vinyl

1. "Heartbreak Beat" (4:03)
2. "New Dream" (4:54)

12" Vinyl (UK)

1. "Heartbreak Beat" (New York Mix) (8:04)
2. "Heartbreak Beat" (Single Mix) (4:02)
3. "New Dream" (4:54)

12" Vinyl (US)

1. "Heartbreak Beat" (Extended) (8:04)
2. "Heartbreak Beat" (Dub) (5:41)
3. "New Dream" (4:54)

12" Vinyl (US Promo)

1. "Heartbreak Beat" (7" Version) (4:03)
2. "Heartbreak Beat" (Album Version) (5:10)

Chart performance

Chart (1987)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	26
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	11
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	14