regret, for those of you that were there...

if you were a new order fan when regret came out, what did you think of it at the time? were you particularily excited about the new album (more so than usual, i suppose)?

Yes. Glad to have them back and that it was a cracking tune.

I was 15 and it was the first NEW New Order release I bought as a fan.

I remember getting the CD Single, maybe this was April 1993, it had only been out in the US for a couple of days, came out Tuesday, got it on Friday - I played it at home over and over, couldn't decide if the Album Version or the NewOrder Mix was the best (I decided on the latter).

It made me so happy that a band I liked ('cuz I listened to techno, which doesn't chart in the States) was in the charts. Kids at school would ride me about the 'Regret' guitar riff cuz they knew I was a BIG fan and I remember being all gothed out, wearing black stockings and that white 'Republic' t-shirt. Yeah, '93 was the bomb BIGGETY!! First year I got some action, not that that's relevant, but I remember bringing my 'Regret' CD Single to that party. :)

I also remember the band looked old in the 'Regret' video and I wondered why because they were still under 40 at the time. Anyway, great song. Too bad my UK 12" was a shitty pressing and has static in the quiet parts of the 'Sabres' Slow n' Lo Mix'.

I was 8 years old when Regret came out. Wish I could say I remember it fresh on the radio, but I didn't uncover NO for another 7 years. By the way, I just posted a question about where the Regret video was shot - I'm booking a Rome hotel for the first time and might want to stay there......:p

gotta admit i didn't like it at first 'cause i was more into Electronic but after a while it grew on me, i used to really like Liar but i think Special's probably my favourite off of the album, once i played it to death i started purchasing their back-catalogue and now they're my favourite

I remember waiting in a line to actually get it with my brother. (The shop hadn't opened yet, is all) I was 13, mind you, and smitten with the band. I went home and the amount of time that I spent playing it nearly drove everyone else insane. Good grief. I remember that I'd written "New Order" and "Joy Division" and so forth on my textbook covers, and some of the teachers were somehow fretting about the names being facsist in nature.

That album really helped me make the transition from a pre-teen environment to the dreaded high school. I had so many awful things going on in my life that year with illness and people and whatnot that.. well, Regret and indeed Republic summed up me at that point in time to a tee.

Oh, the Summer of Regret. Gosh, reliving that in my mind right now just gave me goosebumps.

I couldn't believe it, I was so excited about seeing it on TOTP. I'd given up on them in 1989, had stopped collecting live tapes, and hadn't followed the music press, so I was astounded to hear this wonderful new tune that brought it all back. I even liked Republic for a while as well!

oldmonkey wrote: I even liked Republic for a while as well!

of course i was happy. i was a sophomore in college and i played republic over and over. yes, as tim wrote, i liked the album for a while, too. i was just happy to have some new new order to listen to!

What a spectacular comeback Regret was. An absolutely fantastic song coupled with a great video. Loved the Baywatch TOTP performance aswell. Sit's alongside AOC, Ceremony, YSF + Temptation as one of my top 5 Order tunes. Remember playing Republic to death at work weeks before it's release as i'd taped the songs together with a band interview which were broadcast on Mark Goodier's Radio 1 evening session. Thought highly of the album at the time, perhaps it was the sentimental side of me along with the sheer relief of them getting back together again that made it seem better than it ultimately was.

Joe Wylie played the Fire Island mix on her then evening show a month or so before the single came out and for a couple of weeks i thought that was the main mix

Then one night i put the radio on and the guitar version was on and i was very impressed.That first time i heard that mix i thought it was close to Ceremony in it's style and sound.Don't hear that now.

But yeah i played it to death when it came out and also taped the Mark Goodier show with the previews of Republic.

It doesnt' do so much for me these days but back then it was great

It was superb when it came out. I had taken stick from all my mates who said they were finished and had started to have doubts too. I think that added to the occasion of first hearing it on the radio. My local radio station made a big deal about it and started to play bits of old radio interviews they had collected from various scottish stations over the years. And they had some pretty good competitions as well (I think radio 1 had some decent prizes as well). It was a great time for me indeed. I had also stopped following the music press but bought NME again when the Rome pictures started to appear in it.

i loved it from the first moment it came out. i got it as soon as it came out here. i still have an oz chart with it in it. perhaps some time i'll post it. it was probably the lat time N O charted in oz. I still have found memories of republic, as it helped me get through a particular tough time in my life. perhaps i'll post that new order and me thing again as well sometime as well again as well.

I heard a tune on the radio in my car. There was something really familiar with that song. The song was midway through and no vocals heard yet, but I thought this really reminded me of New Order, -the distinctive bass sound I´ve grown to love. Then the vocals came in and that was the first time I heard Regret and didn´t really know if the single had been released yet/ and or wasn´t expecting to hear it until later. The song was a bit typical New Order at first but since then it has like many of their previous ones grown to be an complete classic. - Not a mere pop rock song, but a milestone in musical history. Best comeback single ever and their best song to date (or among the best 3)

I had great expectations for Our Lads at the time and i wasn't disappointed, not an inch ! As Barney did state it back then 'Regret' is a Classic NewOrder song and so is 'Republic' did he mention as well ! Furthermore, 'Regret' is a one true anthem and yes, a truly NewOrder Greatest. And, unlike most of the Fans, i don't underrate 'Republic' which was and still is a great Nuo. album, especially after a 3 years hiatus, Factory's collapse, loads of adversity to sum up and follow up of Milestone 'TECHNIQUE'. A great comeback !

the Fire Island mix was absolutely magic. Beautiful exquisite magic.

The gay clubs in the US took to it bigtime, and the intro was SO wonderful to hear....a classic classic classic club mix intro....

and that gorgeous piano sooooo long....marred only buy the fact that it faded instead of breaking down for dj's......a challenge for mixing in the club, but overcomable.

but the BEST PART.....the 'just wait till tomorrow...' stanza, which is the quintessential new order lyric....my friend Minh, a vietnamese queen, said "that's SO depressing"...(and he/she was a huge depeche mode fan)....made me realize the true value of the lyric.

ah memories.

(extra points for the SO ELUSIVE slo n low mix, which I still like to listen to alot)

John Dougherty, you basically summed it up, brother.

Everything you said about the Fire Island mix is right on!

Christopher Owens wrote:

oldmonkey wrote: I even liked Republic for a while as well!

Ditto surprise!

I was fit to explode when Regret was released... I got the 12" which had none of the single mixes and I hadn't heard it on the radio, so I was very confused to begin with... Shortly after, got the 7" and was blown away.

Regret is a sort of middling NO tune to me thou'... I liked Republic much more as a whole.

Then... when NOStory came on C4 and they said they may not record again I was sick to my stomach...

THANK GOD they carried on... although an 8 year wait for Get Ready was nearly a little too much to bear...

I still love the tune, but never been comfortable with..

"have a conversation on the telephone" Far too cheesey.

One line away from a faultless song

I also got the 12" first, previously the 12" would give you the true version of the song, but not this time.

Thought it was great, but when I heard the 7" version, I was also blown away.

Bought it on the day it came out - was very excited as it was the first release since "World In Motion" (back in 1990), apart from some of the solo stuff (Electronic, Other Two, Revenge).

The TOTP appearance (which I've just re-watched on the TOTP DVD I've just bought) was fun - especially seeing them all dressed up amongst the scantily clad women (on the telephone - ho, ho, ho! - "Have a conversation on the telephone"!).

And, of course, it meant they were playing Reading (although the last date for a while...) which (if memory serves me correctly) clashed with the showing of "New Order Story" on the tele (although that would later come out on video and, of course, recently on DVD).

Anyway, I still like Republic, although quite a few people on here would disagree with me - they probably like Movement, although that's not one of my favourites! :)

Heard it on Radio 1 the week before it came out (I think), just managed to get a tape on to record it before the first chorus and played the tape to death until I got to buy it... The rush of hearing something you'd been waiting for for so long and realising it was everything you'd hoped for (and more) was so special... Got the same thing the first time I heard Crystal and Krafty as well... Still think it's the most pure and perfect POP song they've done...

Snorri xxx

Barney Army wrote: I still love the tune, but never been comfortable with..

"have a conversation on the telephone" Far too cheesey.

One line away from a faultless song

i agree

fookin' great song! i got excited when i first heard it. THEY'RE BACK!

gosh, i went right away to record store and bought the import 12" & cd-s -- love the remixes (farley & heller mix). it has been 1 of my fav NU ORDER tracks ever. loved it to this day.

edit - sorry- gushed all over the last post. regret was so fantastic. in that it was New Order. believing that the 80 s chapter was gone. and that they were in top form. stylishly classic, slinky & confrontationaL.

Look at me . I'm not you. --easily much more than it probably was. --been running and living with the Joy Division, Revenge set like it was all hot off the press at the time. hearing Regret in the clubs ooO. was so fine.

not born in the UK has meant this melancholic affair with the best band on earth. changing gears between Glass' Hearts fail, Young hearts fail. Anytime, wearing down. on the run, underground' to feeling the admission of 'complete stranger now you are mine. ' - ' Just wait until tomorrow. guess that's what they all say.' was, is. great.

Nick King wrote: Bought it on the day it came out - "World In Motion" --The TOTP appearance (which I've just re-watched on the TOTP DVD I've just bought) was fun - especially seeing them all dressed up amongst the scantily clad women (on the telephone - ho, ho, ho! - "Have a conversation on the telephone"!).not one of my favourites! :)

that telephone section could've been in a differnt key or something. definitely. was just glad that new material didn't all end w/ World in Motion. and reMixes. those Peel (how he's missed) sessions will always be untouchable.

for some more memories of that period, have a look in BCD, in the my vault part 7 thread.

I dont think I agree that the telephone line is so cheesy....it is a bit odd, but:

he's just longing for normalcy, like a tv sitcom or something...the lyric helps to portray that clearly

and

the way it is sung truly adds to the hook effect of the chorus...memorable and sticks in your head.....

a perfect single.