Stripped

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Stripped
Song	Stripped
By	Depeche Mode
Songwriter	Martin L. Gore
Produced by	Depeche Mode Gareth Jones Daniel Miller
Recorded at	Worldwide International Studios, London, UK Westside Studios, London, UK Hansa Mischraum, Berlin, Germany
Length (mm:ss)	4:14 (album version) 3:52 (7" version) 6:42 (12" version)
Tempo	90 BPM
Time signature	4 4
Key	G Major
Programmed by	Martin L. Gore
Engineering assistance	Richard Sullivan Peter Schmidt
Additional engineering	Kevin Paul Kevin Vanbergen Roger Johnson
Additional mixing	Kevin Paul
Mastering engineer	Tim Young
Remastering engineer	Simon Heyworth
Recording	Dave Allen
Recording assistance	Phil Tennant
Design	T&CP Associates
Photography	Brian Griffin
Photography assistance	Stuart Graham
Recorded	Late 1985
Originally released	10 February 1986
Live performances as Depeche Mode	866 times *
Total live performances	866 times *

"Stripped" is a song from the 1986 album Black Celebration by Depeche Mode. It was released as a lead single on 10 February 1986.

Notes

Depeche Mode said in the 1986-02-22 issue of No.1 magazine:

Andy: "The idea of 'Stripped' is to get away from technology and civilisation for a day and get back to basics in the country. It's about two people stripping down to their bare emotions. In the video we're seen demolishing a car and taking a TV apart... it's a bit, er, symbolic."

Dave: "It's not about sex. It's to do with having nothing except yourself. The people in the song could strip off if they wanted to though. The song is also a bit chancy. It doesn't capture you immediately. Some people hear it and say "Is that it?" Others go "Brilliant!"."

Dave also told Gear Magazine in 1998:

"This came from a period when Martin was really looking into himself; it's about stripping layers back and seeing what's left. Sampling was very, very, new. We used to run all over town looking for interesting sounding things to turn into a rhythmical element of the song. That's my Porsche 911 starting at the beginning. They've long since gone."

Martin Gore in Bong issue no. 37, 1998:

"I think that since the 'Black Celebration' album we’ve started getting things right and 'Stripped' is one of the best atmospheres we've ever captured."

Quotes from the documentary on the DVD of the Black Celebration remaster from 2006:

Alan Wilder: "One of the first tracks we recorded, I think, was Stripped. And that just flowed, probably the only track on the album that did, and it was easy. And I think I have to give credit to Martin's demo, because recorded the demo using the opening sound to that, which is an Emulator sample of a motorbike, ideally. And we said, "Well, let's just replicate that in the studio", and everything else just followed. We recorded Dave's Porsche, if you're trying to be [specific], a Porsche, and we recorded its ignition, which starts the track."

Gareth Jones: "Fireworks on Stripped, as well, is another famous piece. Obviously, on November the 5th, it was."

Daniel Miller: "It was rockets that we were doing, so we thought, if we angled them at a fairly low angle, we could set up a series of microphones and we would still be able to pick up the sound as it travelled along. If we straight up, we would have got just one sound, it would just have sort of disappeared, so we did that. We set up a sort of bottle at a very narrow angle and had, like, 5 microphones maybe, at, I don't know, 15 feet apart, something like that."

Martin Gore told Electronics and Music Magazine in 1986:

"[...] the rhythm of 'Stripped' was made up of the sound of an idling motorbike played half-an-octave down from its original pitch."

When Depeche Mode was interviewed about the songs on the '101' CD for the April 1989 issue of French magazine 'Best', Martin Gore said (translated from French):

"It's one of our best songs. It emerges out of the evolution of our music. After 'Some Great Reward', which was a pretty harsh album, we went in a more melodic direction with 'Black Celebration', and 'Stripped' illustrates this change well. It's a song that releases good vibrations, perfect for on stage. We all agree on that one."

Lyrics

Stripped

Come with me

Into the trees

We'll lay on the grass

And let the hours pass

Take my hand

Come back to the land

Let's get away

Just for one day

Let me see you

Stripped down to the bone

Let me see you

Stripped down to the bone

Metropolis

Has nothing on this

You're breathing in fumes

I taste when we kiss

Take my hand

Come back to the land

Where everything's ours

For a few hours

Let me see you

Stripped down to the bone

Let me see you

Stripped down to the bone

Let me hear you

Make decisions

Without your television

Let me hear you speaking

Just for me

Let me see you

Stripped down to the bone

Let me hear you speaking

Just for me

Let me see you

Stripped down to the bone

Let me hear you crying

Just for me

Songwriter: Martin L. Gore
Publishing Information: ©1986 Grabbing Hands Music Ltd/EMI Music Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

Live performances

Main article: Available recordings of "Stripped"

Main article: List of dates where "Stripped" was played

Live versions

This section provides an example of a live version of Stripped from each tour that it was played.

• Play 1986 Black Celebration Tour: 1986-04-10 N.E.C., Birmingham, England, UK
• Play 1987-1988 Music For The Masses Tour: 1988-01-11 Wembley Arena, London, England, UK
• Play 1990 World Violation Tour: 1990-07-21 Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountainview, San Francisco, CA, USA
• Play 1993 Devotional Tour: 1993-07-31 Crystal Palace Sports Ground, London, England, UK
• Play 1994 Exotic Tour: 1994-03-26 Blaisdell Arena, Honolulu, HI, USA
• Play 1998 The Singles Tour: 1998-12-19 Forum, Inglewood, CA, USA
• Play 2005-2006 Touring The Angel: 2006-06-04 Rock Am Ring, Nurburgring, Germany
• Play 2009-2010 Tour Of The Universe: 2009-05-06 Rockhal, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
• Play 2017-2018 Global Spirit Tour: 2018-06-26 Volt Festival, Sopron, Hungary
• Play 2023-2024 Memento Mori Tour: 2023-03-30 T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV, USA

References

Depeche Mode songs released as singles 1981-1985: Dreaming Of Me • New Life • Just Can't Get Enough • See You • The Meaning Of Love • Leave In Silence • Get The Balance Right • Everything Counts • Love In Itself • People Are People • Master And Servant • Blasphemous Rumours / Somebody • Shake The Disease • It's Called A Heart 1986-1989: Stripped • But Not Tonight • A Question Of Lust • A Question Of Time • Strangelove • Never Let Me Down Again • Behind The Wheel • Little 15 • Personal Jesus 1990-1998: Enjoy The Silence • Policy Of Truth • World In My Eyes • I Feel You • Walking In My Shoes • Condemnation • In Your Room • Barrel Of A Gun • It's No Good • Home • Useless • Only When I Lose Myself 2001-2009: Dream On • I Feel Loved • Freelove • Goodnight Lovers • Precious • A Pain That I'm Used To • Suffer Well • John The Revelator / Lilian • Martyr • Wrong • Peace • Fragile Tension / Hole To Feed 2013-2017: Heaven • Soothe My Soul • Should Be Higher • Where's The Revolution • Going Backwards • Cover Me 2023: Ghosts Again Recoil songs released as singles 1992-1998: Faith Healer • Drifting • Stalker / Missing Piece 2000-2008: Strange Hours • Jezebel • Prey • Allelujah Dave Gahan songs released as singles 2003-2008: Dirty Sticky Floors • I Need You • Bottle Living / Hold On • A Little Piece • Kingdom • Saw Something / Deeper And Deeper 2012-2015: Longest Day • Take Me Back Home • All Of This And Nothing • Shine Martin Gore solo songs released as singles 1989-2003: Compulsion • Stardust • Loverman 2012-2015: Spock • Single Blip • Aftermaths • Europa Hymn • "Pinking" (Christoffer Berg Remix) Official releases Studio albums • Live albums • Compilation albums • Video albums • Singles