When was New Order's peak?

Obviously it was 1987. That was the year when New Order finally found themselves nationally and globally acknowledged, with the help of Substance and True Faith video. Indeed the video summed up it all by the time: huge crowds at concerts, a collaboration with what's-his-name director, the lyrics. This video is a signature for New Order and always will be.

Besides True Faith the year saw 1967, Touched By The Hand Of God, re-recording of Confusion and Temptation, extensive touring, Wembley concert (is it right? or that was Glastonbury?). BLT 12" also could be included since it was released in the end of 1986.

I see 1989 is the winner here but technically all Technique songs were written and recorded in 1988. The first half of 1989 was spent in tours and the second half saw Bernard busy with his first Electronic production. :)

Shug wrote: 89!

Saw Technique go straight into the album charts at Numero Uno (when sales meant something) they gave us unforgetable TOTP appearances in Fine Time (technically 88 but who gives a fuck?) and Round & Round, possibly their best ever interview on Snub, throw in a magic performance on Big World Cafe and I got to see em for the first time at the NEC. You could even add that one of their greatest live performances happened this year READING 89 is wonderful.

I rest ma case m'lud.

1983 saw them release their best known and biggest selling single and their best album. They've never topped that year.

There's no such thing as straight disco.

If there's no straight disco, what is gay disco then? Can anyone enlighten us?

Surely their peak is the present as they have never dipped, maybe hit a few plateaus, but the power keeps increasing for me.

as we're supposed to pin it down to a particular year, it'd have to be 1984 for me, the year of TPK.

henke 7 wrote: As a rock band - 1981

As a pop band - 1989

To those of us who have been with the band since the beginning, it meant so much to hear them comeback in early 1981 with the Ceremony/IALP single, to pay tribute to Ian and give them time to write and record new material.

Procession/Everything's Gone Green indicated the two completely different sounds the band could master, and the extended 12" version of EGG is just sensational and pointed them in the direction of Temptation.

Although Movement has its critics, the guitar and bass on Dreams Never End are amongst the finest things the band has ever done - even if the vocals let the song down a lot. Chosen Time is IMHO fantastic.

Finally came Cries & Whispers and Mesh which are also quality songs.

Seing them live was also more of an experience - no "Come Ons" or "Whoops" or whistles. The Taras Schevchenko video represents what the band were then.

As for 1989 and Technique - superb, most consistent album and a wholly new sound. Not surpassed since, and I don't expect it ever will now.

Gave 81 the overall nod because it was just so brilliant to have them back creating music that meant so much and sounded different to every other band.

Well said. I agree with pretty much everything here. I had the live experience in mind as well as studio work, so I voted 1983. I also wanted to encompass Blue Monday. Great risk-taking sets, a fantastic and expanding catalogue, still playing songs from Movement (yay!) and prepared to surprise us with a work-in-progress.

|| | ||| 6217|| 8 || 3 wrote: Obviously it was 1987. That was the year when New Order finally found themselves nationally and globally acknowledged, with the help of Substance and True Faith video. Indeed the video summed up it all by the time: huge crowds at concerts, a collaboration with what's-his-name director, the lyrics. This video is a signature for New Order and always will be.

Besides True Faith the year saw 1967, Touched By The Hand Of God, re-recording of Confusion and Temptation, extensive touring, Wembley concert (is it right? or that was Glastonbury?). BLT 12" also could be included since it was released in the end of 1986.

Totally agree.

def. in the 80's but too much to think about, so i'll pass on this one. Nobody was making music like NO in this time period. I wouldn't base it on commercial sucess but artistic genius.

"Cries and Whispers is a great revelation because everyone thinks it's called Mesh. But it isn't. It was mislabelled in 1987 and nobody ever noticed" - Steve Morris.:) Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I've voted for 1989 but I think it was from 1987 to 1990. True Faith and substance were great and Technique was the best album. World in motion was their only UK number 1 chart it's not one of new order's best songs but it is one of the best football anthems of all time. TBTHOG (1988)is a great song and Vanishing Point (1989) is their most forgotten song.

83-85 .PC&L ,Thieves,Low Life.

89 for sure! Major WW tour after Technique (last major one I believe) and the descent began into 93. It was a hell of a ride, and I'm back on the new train!

1989, the year I really began to appreciate what Joy Division had become...

1989, baby! You got lurve technique.

I went for '82. Songs from Movement had evolved in a live context aided by Mr Albrecht's improved vocals and were free of Hannett's poor production. Killer embroyonic live versions of Power, Corruption and Lies numbers such as 586 and We All Stand. Increased use of delay effects and samples served up at many gigs including blinding gigs in Milan and Bologna. Interesting Peel session indicating their new direction.

Tough call between 1984 and 1985 for me. Going for '85 in the end as that year had pretty much everything including, as Tim said, some of NO's best live performances ever, a mixture of old and new in the sets, the release of Low-Life and the last time I saw them before Hyde Park this year. '84 had TPK, RFH, Decades, Lonesome Tonight and the summer tour so that's a damn close second.

Early to mid 80's can't really be any more specific than that. The sheer power, innovation and originality displayed on Factus 81/82, PCL and some of the one-off singles around that period blow evrything else out of the water. Post 87 they kinda lost something for me, their quirkiness for want of a better expression, and dare I say it their mystique, seemed to go with Technique.

1987 they came out with alotta good songs that year.. and it was before all those tensions within the band began.

I've voted 1981, but not for Movement, but for the mad live shows where they experimented with electro. The early performances of EGG and Temptation are their absolute artistic peak, there's a wild sheer inventiveness at work in those drugs fuelled brains. Other years have come close: 1983 because the evolution reached a heigth with Blue Monday, 1987 for True Faith and being part of a mature and very important scene with The Smiths, The Cure, Depeche Mode and others, like a 10 years period started with punk coming to a heigth... 1989 for Technique... but also 1998 for the fantastic comeback concerts, and I'd also say 2005 for releasing an album as good as WFTSC almost at 50 and adding Phil to the line up giving new life to the band... But nothing like that primal spark of fury and genius we see in the 1981 gigs...

I think they got one more mountain to climb and is all over

((((e))))

The Saviour wrote:

Spotnick wrote: What amazes me when people say it started to go downhill in 1989, well, they have reached their only #1 in career in 1990 ;)

...nah ! - it's not because of WIM, it's because of the rapping Gascoigne dude - it had to be the No.1...

you mean john barnes

...what did you expect from a continental european dude ?...

Peak- 1987

Sustained throughout 1988 (TBTHOG)

Fall begins with Fine Time. (apologies to all the Technique lovers)

Great stuff since, but before 1988 it seemed that everything was memorable and great.

(I love Brotherhood- it stands better in my collection than Technique does)

'89 - they produced, in my opinion, their best and most-consistent album. I enjoyed all of the singles, the artwork/logos, and they put on a great show to a sellout crowd in Mesa, AZ. True Faith and Blue Monday '88 were still getting plenty of airplay, along with Fine Time. The old classics still weren't too old at the time, and it felt like New Order was leading the way with Technique going into the '90's.

1002

One word says it all. Technique

1981-89 years were their best.

For me, the 1982 12" release of Temptation can't be topped. 7" version not too shabby, either.

I first saw them live in 1983 in Detroit at St. Andrew's Hall.