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"When I Start To (Break It All Down)" is a single by English synthpop duo Erasure, released as the lead single from their 2011 album Tomorrow's World.[1] The song was written by Andy Bell and Vince Clarke, whilst it was produced by electropop musician Frankmusik who produced the rest of the Tomorrow's World album.[2]

"When I Start To (Break It All Down)"
Single by Erasure
from the album Tomorrow's World
B-side	"Tomorrow's World"
Released	23 September 2011
Genre	Synthpop, electronic
Length	3:34
Label	Mute Records
Songwriter(s)	Andy Bell, Vince Clarke
Producer(s)	Frankmusik
Erasure singles chronology
"A Little Respect" (HMI Redux)" (2010) "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (2011) "Be With You" (2011)

Background

The song was released on 23 September 2011,[3] and received its first UK airplay on BBC Radio 2's Ken Bruce show on 15 August.[4]

It was the first eligible single (discounting remixed versions of hit singles) since the duo's formation in 1985 not to chart in the top 100 in the UK. The song peaked at number 172 in the UK.[5] In November 2011, the song peaked at number 25 on the American Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs Chart.[6]

An official YouTube short film featured the duo speaking of the album. In this film, it was stated that the original leading single from the album was to be "You've Got to Save Me Right Now" until "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" replaced it at short notice. Bell stated "Usually we don't choose the singles, you kind of have an instinctive feeling sometimes. In this instance, "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" took over from "Save Me" because we thought the song had gone in the direction that sounded really good."[7]

The song originally had the demo title "Tender", where it was loosely based on the Elvis Presley song "Love Me Tender". In the short film on the album, Clarke stated the track got "mashed up into what it is now", noting "to me now it sounds like Tears for Fears."[7]

Mute Records released a live video clip for the song as its official music video. This clip used footage recorded during the Total Pop Tour in the summer of 2011, most of them coming from the first of two Dublin gigs played in June 2011. It was released officially onto YouTube on 18 November 2011.[8]

The song was performed live on the Tomorrow's World tour, where an official rehearsal video was uploaded onto YouTube in early September, featuring the duo in London rehearsing the song in full.[9]

Release

The single was released on CD, where a single version of "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" was used as the main track.

The b-side "Tomorrow's World" is an instrumental track, exclusive to the single, written by Richard Denton and Martin Cook. The track was originally released in 1980 as the theme from the BBC TV series of the same name.[10]

A total of 9 remixes were created for the track, not including the album, radio edit and single version of the track. Four remixes were created by the House music duo Steve Smart & Westfunk, three remixes by German DJ/producer Kris Menace, one by Little Loud and one by Frankmusik.[1]

In Europe, the single was released with five tracks, the single version of the song, the b-side, the "Steve Smart & Westfunk Main Room Mix Edit", the "Kris Menace Remix" and the "(Little Loud Remix)".[11] In France, a cardboard sleeve edition of the single was released.[12]

Various promotional versions of the single were released. In the UK, a one track promo was released, containing the radio version of the song.[13] A European promo contained the single version and the "Steve Smart & Westfunk Main Room Radio Edit".[14] In Greece, a promotional single featured both the single and album version, all four Steve Smart & Westfunk remixes and two Kris Menace remixes.[15] Another promotional single grouped all of the song's remixes, along with the radio edit and album version, except for the "Steve Smart & Westfunk Club Mix".[16]

In America, the song was not officially released as a single but as a promotional single instead. This release featured three Steve Smart & Westfunk remixes, two Kris Menace remixes and the Little Loud remix.[17]

For the Deluxe 2-Disc Set of Tomorrow's World, the Frankmusik Remix of the song featured as a bonus track.[2]

The single's cover is similar to the Tomorrow's World album, where like the album, the artwork was created by Tom Hingston using sculptures made by Kate MacDowell.

Track listing

CD Single (UK and Europe)

1. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" - 3:34
2. "Tomorrow's World" - 4:18
3. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Steve Smart & Westfunk Main Room Mix Edit) - 4:23
4. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Kris Menace Remix) - 5:24
5. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Little Loud Remix) - 4:36

CD Single (European Promo)

1. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Single Version) - 3:33
2. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Steve Smart & Westfunk Main Room Radio Edit) - 4:04

CD Single (UK Promo)

1. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Radio Version) - 3:45

CD Single (Greek Promo)

1. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Single Version) - 3:34
2. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Album Version) - 3:45
3. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Steve Smart & Westfunk Main Room Radio Edit) - 4:02
4. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Steve Smart & Westfunk Main Room Edit) - 4:20
5. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Steve Smart & Westfunk Club Mix) - 6:19
6. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Steve Smart & Westfunk Main Room Dub Mix) - 6:19
7. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Kris Menace Club Remix) - 5:12
8. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Kris Menace Remix) - 5:23

CD Single (American Promo)

1. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Steve Smart & Westfunk Main Room Edit) - 4:21
2. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Steve Smart & Westfunk Club Mix) - 6:19
3. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Steve Smart & Westfunk Main Room Dub) - 6:19
4. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Kris Menace Remix) - 5:12
5. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Kris Menace Club Remix) - 5:23
6. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Little Loud Remix) - 4:34

CD Single (Promo)

1. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Radio Edit) - 3:35
2. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Album Version) - 3:45
3. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Steve Smart & Westfunk Edit) - 4:20
4. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Steve Smart & Westfunk Mix) - 6:18
5. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Steve Smart & Westfunk Dub) - 6:18
6. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Kris Menace Remix) - 5:11
7. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Kris Menace Club Remix) - 5:22
8. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Kris Menace Instrumental) - 3:31
9. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Little Loud Remix) - 4:36
10. "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" (Frankmusik Remix) - 4:58
11. "Tomorrow's World" - 4:15

Critical reception

In a review for the Tomorrow's World album, Allmusic.com wrote "Fans get to experience Vince Clarke's fingerprints on "Fill Us with Fire" and "When I Start To (Break It All Down)," as the recent reunion of his Yaz project is reflected in the nocturnal synth pop and soul muscle driving these highlights."[18]

Allmusic.com picks the track as an AMG recommended track.[18]

Chart performance

Chart (2011)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart[5]	172
U.S. Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs Chart[6]	25

Personnel

• Design – Tom Hingston Studio
• Design (Sculptures) – Kate Macdowell
• Photography – Dan Kvitka
• Assistant Engineer - Neil Quinlan
• Mixer – Robert Orton
• Mixer of "Tomorrow's World" - Timothy "Q" Wiles
• Producer – Frankmusik
• Producer, programmer, instrumentation on "Tomrorow's World" - Vince Clarke
• Remixers - Steve Smart & Westfunk, Kris Menace, Little Loud, Frankmusik
• Programmed, Instrumentation by, Keyboards, Piano – Frankmusik, Vince Clarke
• Keyboards on "(Steve Smart & Westfunk Main Room Mix Edit)" - Danny Dove, Steve Smart
• Drums, Keyboards on "(Kris Menace Remix)" - Christoph Hoeffel, Walter Schmidt
• Writers of "When I Start To (Break It All Down)" - Andy Bell, Vince Clarke
• Writers of "Tomorrow's World" - Richard Denton, Martin Cook

References

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