# New Order Manchester band formed in 1980 from the wreckage of Joy Division. One of the defining post-punk/electronic acts of the 1980s — started out as gloomy guitar-driven post-punk close to their previous incarnation, then progressively fused that with synths, sequencers, and club culture to more or less invent a blueprint for indie-dance. "Blue Monday" is the best-selling 12" single of all time. ## From Joy Division to New Order See [[Misc./Music/Joy Division|Joy Division]] for the fuller story of the earlier band. In brief: Bernard Sumner (guitar/keyboards) and Peter Hook (bass) formed Joy Division in Manchester in the late 1970s after seeing the Sex Pistols play at the Lesser Free Trade Hall — the same gig that's credited with kickstarting half of Manchester's music scene. With Ian Curtis on vocals and Stephen Morris on drums, Joy Division became one of the defining post-punk bands, releasing *Unknown Pleasures* (1979) and *Closer* (1980) on Factory Records. Curtis died by suicide on 18 May 1980, on the eve of the band's first US tour — he'd struggled with epilepsy and depression, including seizures onstage. The three surviving members regrouped as New Order later in 1980, adding Gillian Gilbert (keyboards/guitar), who was Stephen Morris's partner (later wife). Sumner took over lead vocals. The name is generally read as a deliberate break from the past rather than a political statement, though it's drawn accusations of fascist overtones over the years that the band has always denied. ## Sound and evolution Early New Order (*Movement*, 1981) still sounds a lot like a Joy Division continuation — moody, guitar-forward post-punk, recorded with Joy Division's producer Martin Hannett. Through the early-to-mid 80s the band leaned harder into synthesizers, drum machines, and the New York club/electro scene they were exposed to on tours, culminating in *Power, Corruption & Lies* (1983) and the "Blue Monday" single, which fused club music with the band's cold, melancholic melodic sense. That hybrid — danceable, electronic, but still carrying a post-punk emotional register — became their signature and hugely influential on what followed in indie and dance music. Notably, New Order's first eight singles (1981–84), including "Blue Monday," weren't taken from any album and were mostly issued only as 12"s rather than radio-friendly 7"s — an unusual model for a pop act at the time. ## Factory Records and the Haçienda New Order stayed with Tony Wilson's Factory Records for most of their classic run, embodying the label's arty, financially chaotic ethos (bands owned their own masters, handshake deals, no contracts). The band was also a major investor in the Haçienda, the Factory-affiliated Manchester nightclub that became ground zero for the UK's acid house and rave scene in the late 80s. The club was a cultural landmark but a financial sinkhole — profits from "Blue Monday" and other New Order records were largely absorbed keeping it afloat, and the famous line is that Factory lost money on every copy of "Blue Monday" sold because of the expensive die-cut floppy-disk-style sleeve. ## Discography (studio albums) - *Movement* (1981) - *Power, Corruption & Lies* (1983) - *Low-Life* (1985) - *Brotherhood* (1986) - *Technique* (1989) - *Republic* (1993) - *Get Ready* (2001) - *Waiting for the Sirens' Call* (2005) — last studio album with Peter Hook - *Lost Sirens* (2013) — outtakes from the *Sirens' Call* sessions, held back and released after Hook's departure - *Music Complete* (2015) ## Peter Hook's departure Hook left/was pushed out around 2007, with the split described as acrimonious and playing out publicly for years afterward (competing tours, dueling interviews, lawsuits over the New Order name and royalties). Hook has since performed Joy Division and New Order albums live with his own band, The Light. The remaining members — Sumner, Morris, Gilbert, plus later additions Tom Chapman (bass) and Phil Cunningham (guitar/keyboards) — continued as New Order. ## Notes to self - Listen closely to *Power, Corruption & Lies* and *Technique* front to back — the two records where the guitar/synth balance feels most right to me. - Dig into the Hook vs. Sumner/Gilbert/Morris legal fallout in more detail if I want the full ugly story. - Maybe a companion note on Joy Division specifically, since it's really a two-act story. - Tony Wilson / Factory Records / Haçienda probably deserve their own note too — huge overlap with Manchester music history generally.