Pioneers of dance music in the 1980s and one of the first bands to effectively and popularly synthesize keyboard- and guitar-based music, New Order's members hailed from Salford and Macclesfield, England out of the ashes of Joy Division, are noted as being one of the first bands to bridge the gap between Post-Punk and Dancefloor. They were Factory Records' highest selling artist. They also funded Factory's famous Manchester club, The Haçienda. The band partnered with Quincy Jones's American label Qwest, recorded with legendary hip-hop producer Arthur Baker (on 1983's single "Confusion" and 1984's "Thieves Like Us"), and they embraced Ibizan club culture on the album, Technique.
The band was formed in 1980 by the three surviving members, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris of Joy Division after the lead singer Ian Curtis committed suicide. Morris' girlfriend (and later wife) Gillian Gilbert joined in October 1980 on keyboards and occasional guitar shortly after contributing guitar to the second release of New Order's first single "Ceremony". Their early music followed in the same vein as Joy Division, most notably on debut album Movement. This is mostly seen now as a 'transitional' album where the new 4-piece band was trying to find a new identity.
They continued to develop their music and their identity with tracks such as "Procession" and "Temptation" until 1983 when, under the influence of early electro funk and Italo-Disco tracks (most notably Klein & MBO's Dirty Talk), they released "Blue Monday", arguably their most famous song and the biggest-selling 12" single of all time. This came in such a detailed Peter Saville-designed sleeve (replicating a floppy disc) that it is claimed by some that the band's record company, Factory, lost money on every copy sold.
The release of "Blue Monday" coincided with the album Power, Corruption & Lies which further developed their dance/rock crossover. Other albums followed in 1985 (Low-Life), 1986 (Brotherhood) and 1989 (Technique, influenced heavily by Ibiza's acid house scene). In 1990 the band scored their sole number 1 hit with a song written by Keith Allen and performed with the England football team, "World in Motion", the official England World Cup song. One more album, Republic followed in May 1993, which was released by London Records after the collapse of Factory in November 1992.
The band effectively split in 1993 to pursue solo projects, but returned with a triumphant gig at the Reading Festival in 1998. After the recording of 2001's Get Ready album Gillian Gilbert left the band amicably for family reasons - her and Stephen's daughter Grace had been diagnosed with Transverse myelitis and she came to the decision that it would be easier for the band to replace her than her husband. They have since gone on to produce one more album with the help of Phil Cunningham of Marion when they released their last album, Waiting For The Sirens' Call.
Hook left acrimoniously in 2007 and according to him, the band has effectively broken up. However, Sumner, Cunningham and Morris repeatedly denied that the band was over, and that if Hook no longer wanted to be in the band, that was his choice. Hook has since threatened to take legal action if they attempt to continue as New Order. In 2009, Sumner, Morris and Cunningham announced that they did not plan on continuing on as New Order without Hook. However, in September 2011 it was announced that they will reform as New Order for two concerts in October (Brussels and Paris), without Hook but with Gillian Gilbert. Hook's replacement is Tom Chapman, who is also in Bad Lieutenant with Sumner, Morris and Cunningham. The charity gigs in Brussels and Paris were very successful and New Order decided to go on tour in 2012. They played various concerts all over the world and also some big festivals in the summer.
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)
Lost Sirens (2013)
Music Complete (2015)
Collaborations and other projects:
Shortly after the split, Sumner and Cunningham formed Bad Lieutenant. The band's debut album Never Cry Another Tear, released in 2009, features Morris on drums on several tracks, although he is not an official member of the band and has committed to continue musical projects with Gillian Gilbert. The band's various solo projects understandably seemed to contain elements of the New Order 'sound', and gave some clues as to each member's contribution to the band.
Bernard Sumner worked with Johnny Marr (formerly of The Smiths) and Neil Tennant (of The Pet Shop Boys) in the 'supergroup', Electronic. Peter Hook formed the bands Revenge and, later, Monaco. These projects gained some commercial success. Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert recorded two albums of songs as The Other Two, and also did scoring work for film and television.
Each of New Order's four original members have, at various times, acted as producers and/or guest musicians under the moniker of Be Music for a myriad of Factory labelmates and other artists, including: Section 25, A Certain Ratio, Happy Mondays, Paul Haig, The Stockholm Monsters, The Stone Roses, and Stanton Miranda.
Special
New Order Lyrics
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I wake up every night
On the stairs
Waiting for the dawn to come
Every drop of wine
You can be my time
Only tomorrow knows
Why do we beg when we can borrow
No more or less
There's nothing left
It was always special
It was like water down the drain
I'm intoxicated
Every time I hear your name
I try to remember
But nothing is the same
It wasn't that I didn't try
It's not the kind of thing, that you buy
Written in my destiny
Life is but a dream
Covered by the sky
Stop saying that you're calling time
Look at your life before you start on mine
I'm not the kind of person that you need
I'm sick of trying
I mean that it's over
It was always special
It was like water down the drain
I'm intoxicated
Every time I hear your name
I try to remember
But nothing is the same
It was always special
it was like water down the drain
Patiently you wait for me
You're so blind
I thought it couldn't be
Then changed my mind
Drowning in the endless sea
Line all those lines
The traces of your memory
Don't belong with mine
The lyrics of New Order's song "Special" is about the end of a special relationship between two people. The first verse begins with the singer reflecting on how everything used to be different and how they wake up every night waiting for the dawn to come. The following lines suggest that every drop of wine he drinks, they can be his time, but only tomorrow knows. He then asks why they beg when they can borrow, suggesting that maybe they have been trying to force something that isn't meant to be, and that they need to let go. It's a realization that there is nothing left to save in their relationship.
The chorus repeats how their relationship was always special but now is like water down the drain, and hearing the name of their ex-lover makes them intoxicated, but they can't seem to remember how it used to be, suggesting things have changed beyond comprehension. The following verses show that the singer did try, but it wasn't enough to keep the relationship afloat. They then accept that it's over and that they're tired of trying. The song ends with the singer stating that they don't belong together anymore, and that they need to move on.
Line by Line Meaning
It isn't what it used to be
Things have changed and are not the way they used to be
I wake up every night
Every night I wake up from my sleep
On the stairs
I am on the stairs when I wake up
Waiting for the dawn to come
I am waiting for the sun to rise
Every drop of wine
Every sip of wine
You can be my time
You can be the time that I spend
Only tomorrow knows
We can never know what will happen in the future
Why do we beg when we can borrow
We should not beg for things that we can easily borrow from others
This time we knew
We were aware of the situation this time
No more or less
Nothing more and nothing less
There's nothing left
There is nothing remaining
It was always special
Our relationship was always unique and memorable
It was like water down the drain
Our relationship has lost its meaning and has disappeared like water down the drain
I'm intoxicated
I am emotionally affected and overwhelmed
Every time I hear your name
Every time I hear your name mentioned
I try to remember
I try to recall and reminisce about our past
But nothing is the same
Things have changed and are not the way they used to be
It wasn't that I didn't try
I did try to make our relationship work
It's not the kind of thing, that you buy
Our relationship cannot be bought or paid for
Written in my destiny
Our relationship was predetermined and inevitable
Life is but a dream
Life is ephemeral and passing
Covered by the sky
Our relationship is over and it is time to move on
Stop saying that you're calling time
Stop saying that our time together is over
Look at your life before you start on mine
Reflect on your own life before criticizing mine
I'm not the kind of person that you need
I am not the right person for you
I'm sick of trying
I am tired of attempting to make things work
I mean that it's over
Our relationship is over and there is no turning back
Patiently you wait for me
You are patiently waiting for me
You're so blind
You are oblivious to how I feel
I thought it couldn't be
I did not think that our relationship could end
Then changed my mind
I changed my mind and realized that our relationship was over
Drowning in the endless sea
I am overwhelmed and drowning in emotions
Line all those lines
All those memories and emotions
The traces of your memory
The memories you left behind
Don't belong with mine
Our memories and emotions are not the same and do not belong together
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BERNARD SUMNER, GILLIAN LESLEY GILBERT, PETER HOOK, STEPHEN PAUL DAVID MORRIS, STEPHEN ERIC HAGUE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind