Something a bit different?

Seeing as most of us are heartily sick of endless Order compilations of stuff we've all bought several times before, how about this?

A one CD jobbie - between twelve and sixteen tracks - consisting of unreleased tracks, demos and alternative versions. Remixes will not be allowed, just stuff they've written and produced themselves. Do they have any of that sort of stuff in the vaults?

I'd love to hear rough versions of stuff like This Time Of Night or Sunrise or even some of the Technique stuff.

What say you?

Fair point but I see it as showing us lot where ideas for certain songs started rather than a 'scraping the bottom of the barrel for product' thing. Several other bands have done something like it during their productive lifetimes so there are precedents.

I'm aware that they collectively might not be totally happy with early versions or rough demos of tracks that made the grade eventually but I personally am curious to hear how certain songs started life, just so I can see how they ended up sounding different - or didn't!

There does seem to be a hope amongst some on here of a fantastic vault crammed full of demo versions and alternate mixes, but I can't really see that much would still be buried under what we already know about.

However, it was good to read in Shamberg's "Collection" sleeve notes that the Hurrah gig was taped by himself and a copy was given to the band. The fact that they probably taped over it is immaterial, but we can live in hope. I myself remember being flabbergasted when the full Elegia turned up, for instance.

I actually think a New Order 'demo' disc would be great. The Echo and the Bunnymen reissues had good alternate versions, and I mention that because they, like New Order, spent a good deal of time in the studio working on their craft. I bet there are some goodies locked away. You have to consider the market: all these dance remixes because New Order's hits were mostly the dance tracks. But with the post-punk revival, I think they themselves are reminded of their guitar work. A demo disc could be really hilarious actually. How about a really punked out 'Sunrise' or 'Perfect Kiss' with a sequencer going haywire? Things like that must exist somewhere on tape, unless the vaults have been cleared out over time.

They do exist, we know there are rehearsal tapes etc, every so often one finds its way out, and we know from a few leaks over the years that there are some self-produced demos out there.

They will never see official release though if Bernard has any say in quality control - just look at his release criteria for the live CD of Retro! (Though it is hard to believe it in its entirety, given the bum notes and shoddy vocals that do feature on that disc).

Old Blue wrote: There does seem to be a hope amongst some on here of a fantastic vault crammed full of demo versions and alternate mixes, but I can't really see that much would still be buried under what we already know about.

However, it was good to read in Shamberg's "Collection" sleeve notes that the Hurrah gig was taped by himself and a copy was given to the band. The fact that they probably taped over it is immaterial, but we can live in hope. I myself remember being flabbergasted when the full Elegia turned up, for instance.

it is time they gave us something special,i agree with ob,i nearly creamed when i first heard eligia in its full entirety,surely there must be something in the vaults that they could give us. i keep hearing about stuff in hooky's closet,would be nice to have a look in there! Just imagine,shoving your way past all those hawaian shirts to find a box of the original master tapes (if the sultan hasnt already been in there!)that would be fantastic!

Just think of all the money that we have spunked on useless compilations over the years,i've no doubt that nearly all no fans have just upgraded their old vids to dvd etc,so the band have had plentyof money out of us over the years.

The very thought of all the potential out there is just making me

Please Barney, throw us a bone!!

How about a speaking album, where Barney reads pieces of Steve's poetry, while Hooky belches the beats, Barney plays the bass, and Gillian poses on the cover which is a recreation of The Electric Ladybird cover while embracing Mark E. Smith?

Apologies to Gillian.