It's a Heartache is a song recorded by Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler. Written by Ronnie Scott and Steve Wolfe, and co-produced with David Mackay, the single was released in November 1977 through RCA Records. The song topped the charts in Australia, Canada, and numerous European countries, and reached nº 3 in the USA and nº 4 in the UK. It is listed among the best-selling singles of all time with sales of over six million copies. In the United States, Tyler's version was released in 1978 around the same time as recordings by Juice Newton and Ronnie Spector.It's a Heartache was recorded at The Factory Sound in Surrey, England in 1977. Producer David Mackay finished the construction of his recording studio in the summer of 1977, and "It's a Heartache" was cut during the very first session.
This song was one of the first recordings Tyler made following a surgical procedure to remove nodules from her vocal folds. The procedure left Tyler with an "unusually husky voice", which AllMusic journalist Marcy Donelson described as "an effective instrument".