[5] The soundtrack album, featuring songs performed by O'Connor, reached number 5 in the UK and was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry.

The film depicts the rise and fall of Kate Crowley (Hazel O'Connor), an angry but creative young singer and songwriter.

Breaking Glass consists of Kate on vocals and keyboard, best friends Tony (Mark Wingett) and Dave (Gary Tibbs) on lead and bass guitar respectively, the heroin-addicted and partially-deaf Ken (Jonathan Pryce) on saxophone and the 'mental' Mick (Peter-Hugo Daly) on drums.

After a brawl breaks out one night and the publican refuses to pay the band, Danny finally manages to persuade the anti-establishment Kate to record a demo tape.

The hard work eventually pays off when the gig promoters finally agree to help out but only by offering the band a contract that Danny describes as "feudal".

The chart rise of "Top of the Wheel", the band's first single, parallels the earlier success of Suzie Sapphire.

Forced into playing at a Rock Against Racism benefit concert, the band finds the organisation lacking and tries to leave, only to see a neo-Nazi rally approaching.

The next single released is "Big Brother", which features the 'offensive' lyrics completely changed as the music agents originally wanted, proving she has indeed sold out.

Mick and Ken meet with Danny and accuse him of abandoning them and ruining the band but all the same they plead with him to come back and help Kate, yet he refuses.

After the song finishes Kate flees the stage into the London Underground, where she begins hallucinating people dressed as her and her former bandmates, and has a nervous breakdown.

[4] The development costs were reimbursed to Goldcrest when Allied Stars, run by Dodi Fayed, put up the entire budget of $3 million to make it its first film.