"Breathe" is a song by English

electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...

band

the Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...

, released in November 1996 by

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been run and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. It releases an average of six albums a year. T ...

as the second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from their third album, ''

The Fat of the Land ''The Fat of the Land'' is the third studio album by English electronic music group The Prodigy, released on 30 June 1997 through XL Recordings. The album received critical acclaim and topped the UK Albums Chart and the US ''Billboard'' 200. ...

'' (1997). It was written by band members

Liam Howlett Liam Paul Paris Howlett (born 21 August 1971) is an English record producer, musician, DJ, songwriter, co-founder and leader of the British electronic band the Prodigy. Early years Liam Paul Paris Howlett was born on 21 August 1971 in Braint ...

Keith Flint Keith Charles Flint (17 September 1969 – 4 March 2019) was an English singer, motorcyclist, dancer and a vocalist of the Electronic dance music, electronic dance act The Prodigy. Starting out as a dancer for the group, he became the vocalist an ...

and

Maxim Reality Keith Andrew Palmer (born 21 March 1967), better known by his stage name Maxim (previously Maxim Reality), is a British musician, known for being a vocalist of electronic music band The Prodigy. Pre-Prodigy history Keith Andrew Palmer was born ...

, featuring a

drum break In popular music, a break is an instrumental or percussion instrument, percussion section during a song derived from or related to stop-time – being a "break" from the main section (music), parts of the song or piece. A break is usually interp ...

from the song "Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed" by

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...

. The whiplashing sword

sound effect A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. In m ...

is a

sample Sample or samples may refer to: * Sample (graphics), an intersection of a color channel and a pixel * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of something * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample ...

of "Da Mystery of Chessboxin" by

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

. As with " Firestarter", Jim Davies played the guitar in the song. "Breathe" became the group's second consecutive number-one in the United Kingdom and also topped the charts in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden. Its music video was directed by Walter Stern, depicting the band in an abandoned, decrepit apartment building. ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' ranked "Breathe" number 29 in their list of the best singles of 1996, and ''

Q Magazine ''Q'' was a British popular music magazine. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series ''The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ''Q'' was published in print in the ...

'' featured it in their "1001 Best Songs Ever" in 2003.

History

The first ever performance of the song was held at a concert at the Pionir Hall in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, on 8 December 1995, 11 months prior to its release. It was the first major international music act to play in Belgrade since the

breakup of Yugoslavia After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, the constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia split apart in the early 1990s. Unresolved issues from the breakup caused a series of inter-ethnic Yugoslav ...

, and came shortly after UN sanctions were partially lifted. "Breathe" thus became an iconic song for Serbia's

urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood (Maturity (psychological), maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as bei ...

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' stated that the song, "with its jittery, faux

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...

, caustic synths, and snarling vocals" gets stronger with repeated spins. Nick Varley from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' wrote, "' Firestarter' was only softening us up.

and his assorted helpers have now served up an even more stunning slab of modern genius." He added, "You don't have to be in a club, helped by the strobe lights, to appreciate the appeal as the drum roll cracks into place before giving way to the type of pounding beat that seems to have been the essential ingredient in the great singles of the year. Think 'Firestarter', ' Setting Sun', '

Born Slippy "Born Slippy .NUXX" is a song by the British electronic music group Underworld. It was first released as the B-side to another track, "Born Slippy", in May 1995. The fragmented lyrics describe the perspective of an alcoholic. After it was used ...

' and

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

's ' Devil's Haircut'." ''

'' ranked "Breathe" number 29 in their list of "Singles of the Year" in December 1996, naming it "a rarity, this; a Prodigy single that grew on you. Less instant, more insistent — insidious, even. Nervous tension made music." ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave it three out of five, noting that Howlett's "raucous electronic punksters get louder and less accessible by the day. This frantic, apocalyptic number will do well to emulate their spring number one 'Firestarter'." Paul Moody from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' wrote, "'Breathe' - that rarest of things, a Prodigy track that grows on you - sounds ever more sinister in such claustrophobic surroundings, drilled as it is to a brain-numbing intensity of kick drums over which Keith howls the still baffling lyric, "Twisted animator!"(sic)." A reviewer from ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''Peopl ...

'' said that songs like this "are cathartic performances capable of spreading dance fever to the stubbornest

rock-and-roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African American music such as jazz, rhythm and ...

head-bangers".

James Hyman James Hyman (born 1970) is a British radio and television presenter, music supervisor, DJ and the owner and founder of HYMAG. Hyman studied Film & Media at London Guildhall University (1989-1992, BA Hons, 1st), whilst working at MTV Europe d ...

from the ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' Dance Update praised the track, giving it a top score of five out of five. He added, "The

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

-aggressive energy found here echoes landmark anarchist tracks such as the

Pistols A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a barrel with an integral chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the English language when early handguns ...

' '

God Save the Queen "God Save the King" ("God Save the Queen" when the monarch is female) is '' de facto'' the national anthem of the United Kingdom. It is one of two national anthems of New Zealand and the royal anthem of the Isle of Man, Australia, Canada and ...

' (with its 'no future' cries) and

Silver Bullet Silver Bullet(s) or The Silver Bullet may refer to: * Silver bullet, in folklore, a weapon against supernatural creatures; metaphorically, a simple, effective solution to a problem Film and television * The Silver Bullet (1935 film), ''The Silve ...

's 'Ruff Karnage'. Twangy guitar and ever-changing industrial breaks complement all the exhortations."

Chart performance

The song was a major worldwide hit, reaching the top 10 in several countries such as

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. "Breathe" was a number-one hit in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. The song was also a hit in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, reaching number 26. In the United States, the song reached number 18 on the US

Hot Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart. The single also returned to the ''Billboard'' charts after Flint's death, entering number 14 on its Dance/Electronic Digital Songs Sales chart in its 16 March 2019 issue.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Breathe" was directed by English director Walter Stern and took place in what resembled an abandoned, decrepit

apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

building, with the band members experiencing various

aural Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds through an organ, such as an ear, by detecting vibrations as periodic changes in the pressure of a surrounding medium. The academic field concerned with hearing is auditory s ...

, visual and psychological phenomena, with

and

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment *Maxim (magazine), ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** Maxim (Australia), ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** Maxim (India), ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim ...

representing the

phenomena A phenomenon ( phenomena), sometimes spelled phaenomenon, is an observable Event (philosophy), event. The term came into its modern Philosophy, philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be ...

, while

Leeroy Thornhill Leeroy Thornhill (born 8 October 1968) is a British electronic music artist and formerly a rave dancer and occasional keyboardist for the British electronic group the Prodigy. Thornhill's live performances throughout the 1990s included his uniq ...

and

are caught in the phenomenon. Various animals, like an

alligator An alligator, or colloquially gator, is a large reptile in the genus ''Alligator'' of the Family (biology), family Alligatoridae in the Order (biology), order Crocodilia. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mis ...

, and

crickets Crickets are orthopteran insects which are related to bush crickets and more distantly, to grasshoppers. In older literature, such as Imms,Imms AD, rev. Richards OW & Davies RG (1970) ''A General Textbook of Entomology'' 9th Ed. Methuen 886 ...

, make an appearance, evoking different types of

phobia A phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected ...

s. The music video won the

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

MTV Video Music Award The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...

for Viewer's Choice and International Viewer's Choice Award for MTV Europe. This was also the band's final video to feature dancer

Impact and legacy

In 2003, ''

'' featured "Breathe" in their "1001 Best Songs Ever". In 2020, ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was printe ...

'' featured it in their "The Best Basslines in Dance Music", writing, "What nightmares are made of. But inject it into my veins, C'MON!!! The Prodigy reached another level thanks to their 1997 album ''

'', and 'Breathe', a cloudy whirlwind of twisted

vocals, whacking kicks and a

-licked bassline, definitely played a part in their frenetic rock-rave taking on the world."

Track listings

* UK, Canadian, and Australian CD single * Australian cassette single # "Breathe" (edit) – 3:59 # "Their Law" (live at

Phoenix Festival The Phoenix Festival was set up by John Vincent Power of the Mean Fiddler Music Group in 1993 as an alternative to the established Glastonbury and Reading Festivals. It was held at Long Marston Airfield near Stratford-upon-Avon, England, and wa ...

'96 featuring PWEI) – 5:24 # "

Poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figurati ...

" (live at the Tourhout & Werchter Festival '96) – 5:16 # "The Trick" – 4:25 * UK 12-inch single :A1. "Breathe" (edit) – 3:59 :A2. "The Trick" – 4:25 :B1. "Breathe" (instrumental) – 5:35 :B2. "Their Law" (live at Phoenix Festival '96 featuring PWEI) – 5:24 * UK cassette single and European CD single # "Breathe" (edit) – 3:59 # "The Trick" – 4:25

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

In popular culture

The song is included in a 2012

television commercial A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

for

Tooheys Extra Dry Tooheys Extra Dry (TED) is a dry style Australian lager brewed by Lion in the Tooheys Brewery at Lidcombe, New South Wales, Australia. Lion has been owned by Japanese conglomerate Kirin Holdings Company Limited since 2009. See also *Australian ...

. Up until the

2012 PDC World Darts Championship The 2012 Ladbrokes.com World Darts Championship was the 19th World Championship organised by the Professional Darts Corporation since it separated from the British Darts Organisation. The event took place at the Alexandra Palace between 15 Decemb ...

, Dutch

darts Darts is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, projectiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dartboard. Point ...

player

Michael van Gerwen Michael van Gerwen (; born 25 April 1989) is a Dutch professional darts player, who competes in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events, where is currently ranked PDC Order of Merit, world number three; he was ranked world number one from 20 ...

used the song as his walk-on theme. The song was also used as the theme tune of the Filipino public service program ''

Aksyon Ngayon ''Aksyon Ngayon'' () is a public service program aired on DZMM. Originally hosted by Ted Failon and Korina Sanchez, it premiered on August 5, 1991. The show originally concluded on December 30, 2016. It was then revived on June 2, 2025. The p ...

'' broadcast on

DZMM DZMM (630 AM) Radyo Patrol is a radio station owned by Philippine Collective Media Corporation and operated conjointly with ABS-CBN Corporation under Media Serbisyo Production Corporation. The station's studios is located at the ABS-CBN Broad ...

during its first iteration. Professional wrestler

Al Snow Allen Ray Sarven (born July 18, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Al Snow. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation/ World Wrestling Entertainm ...

used the song as an entrance theme during his stint in

Extreme Championship Wrestling Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was an American professional wrestling promotion that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operated by its parent company HHG Corporation. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as Nationa ...

. In episode two of Guy Richie's

MobLand ''MobLand'' is a British crime drama television series created by Ronan Bennett for Paramount+. The series stars Tom Hardy as Harry Da Souza, a fixer for the Harrigan crime family led by Conrad (Pierce Brosnan) and Maeve Harrigan (Helen Mir ...

the song is used when they walk into a club.

Remixes

Alongside other

songs, ''Breathe'' was remixed by

The Glitch Mob The Glitch Mob is an American electronic music duo from Los Angeles, California. It consists of edIT (Edward Ma) and Ooah (Josh Mayer). Boreta (Justin Boreta) was a member of the group from its formation until 2023. Chris Martins of ''LA Weekly' ...

and

Zeds Dead Zeds Dead is a Canadian electronic music duo from Toronto consisting of Dylan Mamid, also known as DC, and Zachary Rapp-Rovan, also known as Hooks. The duo rose to prominence releasing original music and remixes from 2009 to 2010 before becoming ...

on a sampler titled ''The Added Fat EP'' in 2012. In 2021, two remixes by Rene LaVice featuring

RZA Robert Fitzgerald Diggs (born July 5, 1969), better known by his stage name RZA ( ) or the RZA, is an American rapper, record producer, composer, actor, and filmmaker. He is the '' de facto'' leader of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, having pro ...

were released for the F9 Soundtrack.

Camo & Krooked Camo & Krooked are an electronic music duo from Vienna, Austria with their musical roots embedded in drum and bass, consisting of Reinhard "Camo" Rietsch (born 12 November 1983 in Salzburg) and Markus "Krooked" Wagner (born 31 July 1989 in Lilien ...

and Mefjus released a remix of the song in 2022 which was awarded the "Best Remix" award at the Drum & Bass Arena Awards 2022.

References

External links

*
Music video screenshots gallery
{{Authority control 1996 singles 1996 songs European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Maverick Records singles Music videos directed by Walter Stern Mute Records singles Number-one singles in the Czech Republic Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Hungary Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Scotland Number-one singles in Sweden The Prodigy songs Songs written by Liam Howlett Songs written by Maxim Reality UK singles chart number-one singles XL Recordings singles