Tina Turner’s 1986 album Break Every Rule followed her extraordinary comeback with another international success, led by the Phil Collins-assisted hit Typical Male.
by Paul Cashmere
Tina Turner’s Break Every Rule will mark its 40th anniversary on September 8, 2026, four decades after Capitol Records released the album that consolidated one of the most significant comebacks in popular music. Its first single, Typical Male, became one of Turner’s defining 1980s recordings, reaching No. 2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three consecutive weeks and establishing the album’s commercial momentum.
Released two years after Private Dancer transformed Turner’s solo career, Break Every Rule was her sixth solo studio album and her first solo album consisting entirely of original songs. The record continued the partnership with Terry Britten and Graham Lyle, the songwriting and production team behind What’s Love Got To Do With It, while bringing together an unusually broad group of musicians and producers.
Typical Male, released on August 11, 1986, was written by Britten and Lyle and produced by Britten. The recording featured Phil Collins on drums, with Turner on lead vocals, Nick Glennie-Smith on keyboards, Britten on guitar and bass, Tim Cappello on saxophone and Tessa Niles on backing vocals.
The song stopped one place short of No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, spending three weeks at No. 2 behind Janet Jackson’s When I Think Of You and Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors. It reached No. 3 on Billboard’s Hot Black Singles chart and topped the Cash Box pop singles chart.
The record’s accompanying video placed Turner in a comic, stylised scenario involving a lawyer, with chess, Scrabble and an oversized telephone providing visual motifs. Turner’s performance reinforced the playful character of the song while maintaining the distinctive visual identity that had become central to her 1980s solo career.
Typical Male also demonstrated the scale of the musicians Turner was working with at the time. Collins was already an international solo star as well as the drummer and singer of Genesis, while the album sessions included contributions from Steve Winwood, Mark Knopfler, Bryan Adams and David Bowie. The range of collaborators reflected the album’s production structure, which divided its songs among several teams.
Britten produced the first six tracks, including Typical Male, What You Get Is What You See, Two People, Till The Right Man Comes Along, Afterglow and Girls. Bryan Adams and Bob Clearmountain handled Back Where You Started, Rupert Hine produced Break Every Rule and I’ll Be Thunder, while Knopfler and Neil Dorfsman were responsible for Overnight Sensation and Paradise Is Here.
Break Every Rule became another major international seller. It peaked at No. 4 on the US Billboard 200 and No. 2 in Britain, while reaching No. 1 in Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Spain and other markets. In Australia, the album peaked at No. 11. It was certified platinum in the United States and Britain, with multi-platinum certifications recorded in several other territories.
The album also generated several further singles. What You Get Is What You See reached No. 13 in the United States, while Two People reached No. 18 on the US R&B chart and No. 1 in Spain. Afterglow reached No. 2 on the US Dance chart, while Back Where You Started reached No. 18 on the US rock chart.
Turner’s association with major rock and pop figures extended beyond the album. Back Where You Started was written with Adams and Jim Vallance, while Girls was written by David Bowie and Erdal Kızılçay. Afterglow featured a synthesiser contribution from Winwood.
The album’s success led to the Break Every Rule World Tour, which became one of Turner’s largest international concert campaigns. A performance in Rio de Janeiro drew an audience reported at 180,000 people and was subsequently released on home video. European performances were later documented on Tina Live In Europe, which won Turner another Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
In 1987, Back Where You Started earned Turner her third consecutive Grammy Award in the female rock vocal category. The achievement extended a run that had begun during the Private Dancer era and underlined how successfully Turner had moved between pop, rock, R&B and adult contemporary audiences.
Break Every Rule has continued to receive catalogue attention. A deluxe edition released in 2022 expanded the album with remixes, alternate versions, B-sides and live material, including the 12-inch Dance Mix of Typical Male and recordings from Turner’s 1988 Rio performance.
Forty years after its original release, Break Every Rule remains a significant chapter in Turner’s post-Ike solo career. Typical Male stands at the centre of that story, arriving first as the album’s commercial introduction and becoming another example of how Turner could turn a contemporary pop song into a distinctive performance of her own.
Tracklisting
Typical Male
What You Get Is What You See
Two People
Till The Right Man Comes Along
Afterglow
Girls
Back Where You Started
Break Every Rule
Overnight Sensation
Paradise Is Here
I’ll Be Thunder
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