Breathe (Erasure song)

"Breathe"
Single by Erasure
from the album Nightbird
B-side	"Gone Crazy"
Released	3 January 2005
Format	CD Single DVD single digital download
Recorded	2004
Genre	Synth pop
Length	03:49
Label	Mute Records
Writer(s)	Vince Clarke, Andy Bell
Producer	Erasure
Erasure singles chronology
"Oh L'amour (August Mix)" (2004) "Breathe" (2005) "Don't Say You Love Me" (2005)

"Breathe" is a song by British synth pop duo Erasure. It was released by Mute Records in the UK and the U.S. as the first single from the band's eleventh studio album Nightbird.

Written and produced by Vince Clarke and Andy Bell, the track is a mid-tempo love song similar in musical style to their 1994 hit "Always", albeit with more uplifting lyrical content. "Breathe" was remixed slightly for its radio version — most notably in the song's introduction. The UK compact disc single included CD-ROM information that allowed buyers to download the Digipro software package and use isolated musical tracks of "Breathe" to create their own remixes. For a time fans were able to upload their finished "Breathe" remixes to Erasure's website to share with others.

The single was widely regarded as a major return to form by critics and fans alike, leading to comparisons to Erasure's glory days of the late 1980s and early 1990s, when The Innocents and Chorus both topped the UK album charts.

"Breathe" also resonated with the record-buying public and hit number four on the UK singles chart, Erasure's highest-charting UK single since "Always" a decade earlier. In the United States, Erasure entered the Hot Dance Club Play chart for the first time in eight years and scored their second U.S. dance chart-topper — the first being "Victim of Love" in 1987. In Germany, "Breathe" was Erasure's twentieth Top 40 single, peaking at number thirty-five. It topped the singles chart in Denmark. On the Top 60 chats in Sweden it peaked at 33.

Track listings

CD single #1 (CDMUTE330)

1. "Breathe" (Album Version)
2. "Gone Crazy"

CD single #2 (LCDMUTE330)

1. "Breathe" (LMC Extended Club Mix)
2. "Breathe" (When Andy Bell Met Manhattan Clique Extended Remix)
3. "Breathe" (Acoustic Version)
4. CD-ROM - *Video*: "Breathe"

US CD Maxi Single (Catalog #9259-2)

1. "Breathe" (Radio Version)
2. "Breathe" (Album Version)
3. "Gone Crazy"
4. "Mr. Gribber and His Amazing Cat"
5. "Breathe" (Acoustic Version)
6. "Breathe" (Pete Heller's Phela Mix)
7. "Breathe" (LMC Extended Club Mix)
8. "Breathe" (When Andy Bell Met Manhattan Clique Extended Remix)
9. Enhanced CD - Music Video: "Breathe"

DVD single (DVDMUTE330)

1. "Breathe" (Radio Version)
2. "Mr. Gribber and His Amazing Cat"
3. DVD Music Video: "Breathe"

Digital download (iMUTE330)

1. "Breathe" (Radio Version)

Chart performance

Chart (2005)	Peak position	Total weeks
Danish Singles Chart	1	6
European Hot 100 Chart	34	5
German Singles Chart	35	9
Irish Singles Chart	30	1
Swedish Singles Chart	33	3
UK Singles Chart	4	6
US Dance/Club Play Singles	1	13
US Hot Dance Music Sales	1