The band consists of singer Matthew Whitehouse, songwriter and drummer Joseph Kondras, guitarist Ryan Wallace and bassist Christopher 'Deaks' Deakin.

The band formed in the seaside resort of Morecambe in 2009, brought together by a shared love of soul music, Orange Juice and gritty Northern literature.

Their inclusion, an early demo of song, "Jealous, Don't You Know", was given its first airplay by Steve Lamacq, who introduced it on his BBC Radio 6 Music show as "Lipstick on Your Collar meets a juggernaut of guitars which veered off the motorway somewhere in the 1980s".

[14] Throughout 2011, The Heartbreaks supported both Morrissey and Hurts across Europe, and performed for Bono in Milan, Kitsuné in Paris and Burberry in New York, with Chief Creative Officer, Christopher Bailey declaring, "I love their energy, effortless style and very British attitude".

[15] Funtimes was produced by Tristan Ivemy (Babyshambles, Frank Turner, The Holloways) with additional production from Joe Cross (Hurts, The Sound of Arrows) and the track Remorseful by Edwyn Collins and Sebastian Lewsley.

[17] The Heartbreaks followed up Funtimes by releasing Polly as a single in September 2012[18] as well as a re-recorded version of Hand on Heart, with strings arranged by James Banbury of The Auteurs, in February 2013.

[19] After encountering the band in Morecambe, the co-editor of Crap Towns, Sam Jordison, wrote in The Independent about listening to Funtimes, "The music is bursting with energy, love and poison.