The band has been highly influential in the electronic dance music scene, especially synthpop, techno, and trance, partly due to their innovative work, recording techniques, and use of sampling. Their most successful album is arguably 1990's Violator, which reached the #2 position in the UK, #7 in the US, and sold over 8 million copies worldwide. The band has released a long series of high-charting singles over their three-decades long career. Enjoy the Silence is their most recognized song and one of history's most covered songs.
The original line-up was Dave Gahan, Martin L. Gore, Andy Fletcher, and Vince Clarke. In December 1981, Clarke left the band and later formed Yazoo, The Assembly, and Erasure. Alan Wilder joined the group initially in January 1982 as a live keyboardist but became an official member in December 1982. He left in mid-1995 to fully concentrate on his Recoil project, and the band continued as a trio. In 2010 Wilder re-joined Depeche Mode on stage after 16 years for a performance of Somebody during a show at London's Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust.
Depeche Mode's origins date back to 1977, when Vince Clarke and Andrew Fletcher formed a band called No Romance in China, with Clarke on vocals and guitar and Fletcher on bass. In March 1980, Clarke, Gore, and Fletcher formed a band called Composition of Sound, with Clarke on vocals/guitar, Gore on keyboards, and Fletcher on bass. Soon after the formation of Composition of Sound, Clarke, and Fletcher switched to synthesizers. Dave Gahan joined the band in 1980 after Clarke heard him perform at a local scout hut jam session, singing to a rendition of David Bowie's "Heroes" and Depeche Mode was born.
While playing a live gig at the Bridge House in Canning Town, Daniel Miller, the founder of Mute Records, approached the band, who proposed a verbal contract. The result was their first single, Dreaming of Me, recorded in December 1980 and released in February 1981, reaching number 57 in the UK charts and followed soon by a real contract with Mute.
To date, Depeche Mode have released:
15 studio albums: Speak & Spell (1981), A Broken Frame (1982), Construction Time Again (1983), Some Great Reward (1984), Black Celebration (1986), Music For the Masses (1987), Violator (1990), Songs of Faith and Devotion (1993), Ultra (1997), Exciter (2001), Playing the Angel (2005), Sounds of the Universe (2009), Delta Machine (2013), Spirit (2017), and Memento Mori (2023);
8 compilations: People Are People (1984), The Singles 81-85 (1985), Catching Up with Depeche Mode (1985), Greatest Hits (1987), The Singles 86>98 (1998), Remixes 81-04 (2004), The Best Of Depeche Mode Volume 1 (2006), The Complete Depeche Mode (2006);
5 live albums: 101 (1989), Songs of Faith and Devotion Live (1993), Recording the Angel (a series of live recordings; 2006), Tour Of The Universe: Barcelona 20/21:11:09 (2009) and Live In Berlin (Soundtrack) (2014) ;
Over 50 singles: including Just Can't Get Enough, Everything Counts, People Are People, Master and Servant, Shake the Disease, Stripped, A Question of Time, Strangelove, Never Let Me Down Again, Personal Jesus, Enjoy the Silence, World in My Eyes, Policy of Truth, I Feel You, Walking in My Shoes, In Your Room, Barrel of a Gun, It's No Good, Home, Dream On, Freelove, Precious, Wrong and Heaven ;
14 live / video collections (VHS/DVD/Blu-ray): The World We Live In and Live in Hamburg (1985), Some Great Videos (1985), Strange (1988), 101 (1989), Strange Too (1990), Devotional (1993), The Videos 86>98 (1998), One Night in Paris (2002), The Videos 86>98 (2002), Touring the Angel: Live in Milan (2006), The Best of - Volume 1 (2006), Tour of the Universe : Barcelona 20/21.11.09 (2009), Live in Berlin (2014) and Video Singles Collection (2016)
Breathing in Fumes
Depeche Mode Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I taste when we kiss
Come back to the land
For a few hours
Let me see you stripped down to the bone
(Taste when we kiss)
(You're breathing in fumes)
(I taste when we kiss)
Let me see you stripped down to the
(I taste when we kiss)
(I taste when we kiss)
Let me see you stripped down to the
(Come back to the land)
(Come back to the land)
Let me see you stripped down to the bone
Breathing in fumes
I'm breathing in fumes
(Breathing in fumes)
(You're breathing in fumes)
The lyrics of Depeche Mode's song Breathing in Fumes convey a sense of detachment and disconnection from reality. The first two lines present a paradox: the singer experiences nothing when they kiss, suggesting a lack of emotional connection or passion, yet they urge their partner to return to them for a few hours. This could imply that the relationship is superficial and transactional, lacking genuine intimacy or love.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "Let me see you stripped down to the bone", which could be interpreted as a desire for vulnerability and authenticity in the relationship. The repetition of "I taste when we kiss" and "breathing in fumes" creates a sense of being trapped in a cycle of pleasure-seeking or escapism, disconnected from reality and possibly addicted to unhealthy behavior.
Overall, the lyrics of Breathing in Fumes suggest a longing for connection and authenticity in a relationship, while acknowledging the challenges of breaking free from addictive or escapist patterns of behavior.
Line by Line Meaning
Nothing of this
I cannot find any substance or truth in our relationship
I taste when we kiss
The only thing I feel from our physical intimacy is the taste of chemicals and artificial substances
Come back to the land
I want us to reconnect with nature and experience the purity of natural things
For a few hours
Even if it's just for a short period of time, I want to escape from the artificiality of our normal lives
Let me see you stripped down to the bone
I want us to be completely honest and transparent with each other, without any external masks or barriers
Breathing in fumes
We are constantly surrounded and influenced by toxic and synthetic elements
You're breathing in fumes
You are also affected by the same polluted environment and relationships as I am
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Martin Gore
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
lesbelge
THE BEST INDUSTRIAL SONG EVER!!!! TRAINS ,FACTORIES,WHISTLES,HAMMERS,AN UNIQUE SOUND WHICH ONLY DM COULD MAKE IT...
Jérémie Lesne
Si tu le dis Billy !
FLUTCH
:/
Gonzalo Tafur
Solo un genio como Alan Wilder lograba conseguir ese sonido limpio e industrial q tenía en aquel tiempo dM
Spritnee Peers
33 years later and 3:33 is still giving me goose bumps every time I hear this mix
breath888
@Gencoil lmaooo me too
Gencoil
That loud part scared the crap out of me the first time I heard this remix.
Robert Kenny
In the car!!!! I’m like, I don’t have speakers back there!!
Greg Barnes
2020 and this mix is crazy good
David Bull
This experimental remix of Stripped sounds years ahead of its time