A read/write head for a disk drive having a magnetoresistive (MR) read element and an inductive write element suitable for perpendicular recording of data onto a disk having a media layer in which the data is stored perpendicularly to the planar surface of the disk and a soft underlayer (SUL) underneath the media layer to provide a low reluctance return path for the magnetic recording field. The write element is formed on top of a substrate, with the read element on top of the write element on the other side of the write element from the substrate. A pancake write coil coils around a magnetic via that either connects to a write shield adjacent to the read element in one embodiment or directly to one of the read shields in a second embodiment.