New Order no more?

The recent New Order line up,clockwise; Phil Cunningham, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris

New Order, the legendary Manchester band, may have split up for good.
Peter Hook, the band’s bass player, told radio station Xfm that he is no longer working with Bernard Sumner.

This will come as a shock to New Order’s many fans. In recent years the band have recorded two really good albums and played a number of festival dates.

This band are hugely influential, inspiring a new generation of pop acts like The Killers, Interpol, Coldplay and many more. In fact The Killers took their name from a fictional band that appeared in a New Order video.

New Order began life in 1980. Tragically, it was the death of Joy Division front man Ian Curtis that gave life to the band. Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, and Bernard Sumner were all in Joy Division and refused to continue when Curtis committed suicide. This decision led to the birth of New Order, with Sumner becoming the band's lead singer.

New wave

Over the next few years New Order spent a lot of time in New York, and soaked up the new sounds coming out of the city. A lot of the bands in New York during this period of time were known as New Wave. This was a type of music that came after the punk rock of the 1970s. Where punk rock had been quite brutal, New Wave allowed for catchy tunes and intelligent lyrics. Talking Heads and Television are the perfect example of this type of music.

However, New Order were also spending a lot of time in clubs, listening to some of the best DJ’s in America playing Hip Hop records and dance music. This period of time clearly influence the band, resulting in albums like Low-Life and Power, Corruption and Lies. On these records, New Order were one of the first British bands to combine a electronic sound with strong guitars. Also, the music that New Order created was clearly influenced by Manchester, the city they lived in. During this period of time, Manchester was a very sombre, forlorn city. The band's music certainly captured something of this.

The Factory years

The band were also famous for signing to Factory Records. This record label was created by Tony Wilson in 70s Manchester. While today record companies exist to make profit, Factory was all about the punk rock ethic. New Order were the label’s biggest stars and so helped pay for the Hacienda. While this nightclub became very famous, it was badly managed and cost New Order and Factory a lot of money. For a few years though in the mid to late 80s, the nightclub and the band did seem to be at the centre of the world.

Ibitha

Later in the 1980s, New Order started to visit Ibitha, the Spanish island in the Mediterranean. This was the centre of a new type of dance music, which became known as “acid house.” New Order loved it, and let this sound dominate their album, Technique. This period of time was probably New Order's high point, when they may well have been the best band in the world.

Decline

By the early 1990’s , the band seemed tired and fractious. Factory Records and the Hacienda were both in decline, so New Order left them both behind. Republic is a good record, but for many it was the beginning of the end. Key members of the band then fell out with each other, with the pressures of touring and lifestyle problems also playing a part.

Sumner and Hook stopped speaking and the band stopped work for five years in the 1990s. However, by 1998 the band were back in business. In 2001 they released Get Ready, one of their best albums in years. The band also put in a number of stunning live shows, and seemed back to their best. In 2005 they released Waiting For The Siren’s Call, which was well received. All seemed well, and many expected news of a new album soon.

Legacy

New Order were one of Britain’s great rock and roll bands, up there with The Rolling Stones and The Sex Pistols. They also lived out the rock and roll lifestyle, which is something many bands only talk about. The set of albums they released during the 1980’s is simply better than most other bands and too good to ignore. Their back catalogue is a stunning collection of songs, that quite frankly makes a mockery of some of their more successful contemporaries.

The classic albums
Power, Corruption and Lies
Low-Life
Brotherhood
Substance
Technique

Singles that stopped the world
Blue Monday
Perfect Kiss
Thieves Like Us
Bizarre Love Triangle
True Faith
Touched By The Hand of God
Fine Time
Regret
Ruined in a Day