..."I don't want to start any blasphemous rumours, but I think that God has a sick sense of humour and when I die, I expect to find him laughing."... 'Blasphemous Rumours' can be very much seen as a product of the increasingly darker and deeper Depeche Mode. The track was one of the first to stray into religious territory and teetered dangerously close to the bounds of bad taste in some people's eyes. Though not banned by radio, it suffered from lack of exposure after attracting the attention of Christian groups who were displeased by it's reference to an uncaring and cynical God. Musically too, it stood out from the crowd and once again proved that only a group like DM (with a track whose opening bars featured the unlikely combination of a backwards oboe against a hammer crashing onto concrete) could subvert the pop charts and still have a hit record on their hands. Due to a heavy touring schedule, the promo was gleaned from a live performance and featured one of the more inventive percussive set-ups - the bicycle spokes and corrugated iron combination.