Gemma Fraser: Stars who cry all the way to the top of the charts

THE grieving process for any relationship break-up would not be complete without the obligatory angry/spurned/tearful song blaring out from your stereo.

Whether it be Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive, Shania Twain's Home Ain't Where His Heart Is Anymore or Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus, everyone loves a good break-up song.

Now X Factor judge Cheryl Cole has joined the long list of popstars who have opted to turn the bitter end of a relationship into song following her break-up with footballer Ashley Cole over allegations of cheating.

Her new album, due out on November 1, features a song called Happy Tears which includes the lines: 'I cried when I heard you were cheatin', I cried when I said I was leaving, I cried when my heart stopped believin, But I'm all out of tears'.

Here are some of the other artists who have penned songs on heartbreak.

Every Breath You Take – The Police

Despite many a newly-wed couple choosing this song for their "romantic" first dance, Every Breath You Take is about as unromantic as it gets.

Frontman Sting wrote it after separating from his first wife, Frances Tomelty, and it is actually a song about an obsessive stalker, rather than a love ballad, as is the common misinterpretation. The lyrics "every step you take, I'll be watching you" are not loving, but actually very sinister. In a 1983 interview with the NME, Sting said: "It's about jealousy and surveillance and ownership."

The Winner Takes It All – Abba

The personal lives of the band members are almost as well-known as the songs they produced, with both couples going through public divorces.

Written by Bjrn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, with Agnetha Fltskog singing the lead vocal, The Winner Takes It All said to be about the divorce between Ulvaeus and Fltskog in 1979. However, Ulvaeus himself has denied this, reportedly saying the basis of the song was merely "the experience of a divorce", adding "there wasn't a winner or a loser in our case". In a 2006 poll for a Channel Five programme, the song was voted 'Britain's favourite break-up song'.

No Distance Left To Run – Blur

They were Britpop's most famous couple, the original Posh and Becks.

But when Blur frontman Damon Albarn and Elastica's Justine Frischmann parted company in 1998, it left an even more permanent mark in Britpop history – in the form of a raft of new material. Blur's 13 album is said to be largely inspired by Albarn's break-up with his long-term girlfriend. Albarn reportedly wept while writing this song.

Here, My Dear – Marvin Gaye

Not content with penning one break-up song to help him vent his frustrations over his divorce from wife Anna Gordy, Gaye dedicated a whole album to the messy break-up. When his estranged wife demanded a $1 million in the divorce settlement, Gaye, who had an expensive cocaine habit, pleaded poverty. Instead, his lawyer came up with the idea of offering Anna the $305,000 advance made by Motown against Gaye's next album, plus the first $295,000 it would inevitably turn in profit. She took the deal and Gaye went on to write a poison pen album to air his grievances very publicly, giving a detailed account of the breakdown of their marriage.

You Oughta Know – Alanis Morissette

One of the most bitter break-up songs in recent years was Alanis Morissette's angst-ridden You Oughta Know.

Featuring hate-filled lines such as "And every time I scratch my nails down someone else's back I hope you feel it", it's clear that Morissette did not have an amicable end to her relationship. An anthem to many a spurned woman, the song has not only become notorious for its lyrics, but for the inspiration behind them. The most widely accepted culprit for her heartbreak is actor David Coulier. According to him, he heard the song on the radio and noticed the singer seemed to be really angry. Upon discovering it was his ex-girlfriend, he realised he had "really hurt" her and called her to patch things up. However, there are many other celebrities have been linked with the song.

Go Your Own Way - Fleetwood Mac

When guitarist Lindsey Buckingham and singer Stevie Nicks ended their eight-year relationship, it was never going to be easy given that they still had to work together. But to make matters worse, Buckingham turned his heartache into music when he penned the song Go Your Own Way. Buckingham's lyric "packing up, shacking up is all you want to do" seemed to point the finger at Nicks for straying, but Nicks insisted she never "shacked up" with anyone when they were together. Nicks responded by writing her own song about their relationship, the more philosophical Dreams.

No Woman No Cry – Bob Marley

While this song features in many "top ten" lists of break-up songs, it is in fact incredibly uplifting and not meant to be the stereotypical soundtrack for mourning a relationship. The original title was "No, Woman, Nuh Cry", with the word 'nuh' meaning don't in Jamaican. It is said that Marley had intended it to be a reassuring song for a woman in his life not to cry about the conditions they lived in.