New Order
New Order has a rather improbable success story. Born from the ashes of Joy Division after the tragic death of vocalist Ian Curtis on May 18, 1980, the English rock and electronic music band brought together Bernard Sumner on vocals, guitar and synthesizers, Peter Hook on bass and synthesizers, and Stephen Morris on drums, synthesizers and programming.
Somewhat ill-equipped and probably still grieving the loss of a dear friend, they played a few small shows in American clubs and returned home somewhat shaken.
However, they recovered and soon returned to the United States, overcoming their own ghost and gradually freeing themselves from the shadows of Joy Division – now as a complete band. It took a few live performances as a trio before Gillian Gilbert, Morris's partner, took over the keyboards and guitar. Similarly, Sumner became an increasingly confident and powerful vocalist, ready to show the audience who he really was.
Mixing elements of post-punk with technopop, New Order became one of the most acclaimed bands of the 1980s, and although their debut album, Movement (1981), followed the spectrum of Joy Division, a rare interest in synthesizers – not to mention the numerous trips to New York clubs – would quickly change their sound.
By the end of 1981, Sumner, Hook, Morris, and Gilbert had fully immersed themselves in dance music, eventually finding themselves within a new musical style, now known as alternative dance or dance rock.
Nothing in pop history has confounded market expectations as much as "Blue Monday" from 1983, one of New Order's biggest hits. Its cover, central to the song's history and now part of pop music folklore, was designed by Peter Saville, co-founder of the defunct independent label Factory Records.
37 years later, in an interview with The Telegraph, Saville reveals that "Blue Monday" broke "all the laws" of the recording industry and overcame the decision to release a seven-and-a-half-minute song that "nobody will play on the radio" in the first place. And, contrary to all that, "Blue Monday" sold over 700,000 copies (or 1.2 million, if we consider the re-releases of 1988 and 1995): "Nobody expected it to sell... But it did, didn't it?"
It's important to remember, however, that even after influencing decades of dance, rock, and experimentalism, "Blue Monday" was also inspired by other successful artists, as Hook stated to NME in 2014. But perhaps the genius lies precisely in blending diverse characteristics and transforming them until something new is achieved.
"Well, 'Blue Monday' has a sonic impact that few songs have. It was truly a gift, and it was quite ironic – and quite sad, actually – that we stole it from Donna Summer. It's a strange song. It became one of the greatest ever made in Manchester," said the band's former bassist. And there's more: "It's a great honor for someone to tell you that you're one of the biggest inspirations in dance music, but the truth is that we borrowed a lot from Kraftwerk. We were also inspired by names like Giorgio Moroder, Sparks, etc. The idea is to take something as a starting point and transform it into something of your own."
After parting ways in 1993, New Order returned to activity in 1998, enjoying an enviable legacy and inspiring artists such as Pet Shop Boys, Moby, Chemical Brothers, The Prodigy, Happy Mondays, Radiohead, Massive Attack, The Killers, and others.
Unfortunately, in 2007, Hook left New Order and, according to him, the dispute seems to have no end in sight.
In an interview with Rolling Stone USA last month, the bassist revealed that he has never stopped "arguing" with his former bandmates since he started playing the band's songs live. "I've argued with lawyers," he stated. "It's the most ridiculous thing that's ever happened to me. The fact that they stole New Order from me is unforgivable."
Meanwhile, the band continues strong with Sumner, Morris and Gilbert, along with keyboardist and guitarist Phil Cunningham and, in Hook's place, bassist Tom Chapman.
NEW ORDER - FUTPEDIAMUSIC SELECTION
New Order
Futpediamusic Selection
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