Blue Monday is 20 years old

Originally posted by james johnson I'm only 15 but I had my first kiss while listening toblue monday when I was 13.It's the best new order song

Ahhhhh, bless ;)

How does it feel ?

Although I haven't played the oirginal 12" for yonks now, the sight and sound of Hooky and co doing a Kylie Frankenstein's monster rendition of said song recently has put me off so much I don't think I'll ever play the record again....

Thanks a bunch, you fat old bastards.

Amazing song in its day.

But now it should die. :headoff: All good things must come to an end and this thing should now be burnt alive to stop it reappearing (soon) on Heart with Emma and that twat Johno.

i was replying to a message about new order mixes (subculture)..

so i wrote this about 'blue monday'..

is 'blue monday' disco?

wasn't it the discos that ushered in the success of 'blue monday? (at least here in the united states)..

and in the UK they may have played it on the radio a few times..so maybe thats how it gained its impact there..

isn't the purpose of releasing the single in a 12" format, meant to promote the music in a 'club' setting?

i think it would be fair to assess that the early mixes were much more influential in their success and impact in the club setting...

'blue monday' redefined the prototype of rock/electro dance hybrids...(along with many other groups that were coming out)...

by the time 'technique' was out, 'new orders' mixes were practically indistinguishable from other groups since they were employing the same remixers/producers and 'techniques' that other groups were using (no pun intended)...

thats why the early singles are so much more impressive, they didn't need the same hooks, they used inventive sounds, and retained the vision that the music had..

none of the latter singles held up to their earlier standard..

the irony in this, is that the 'sub-culture' remixes are actually perfect for discos/clubs...the vocals, the back-up singers, and the beat would probably be great dance tunes...

however, 'blue monday' has retained its place in the history of music, and especially dance music..

later

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The first time I listen Blue Monday, and I was eleven years old, it was a surprise. I didnt felt that sensation since I have heard the strabge kraftwerk songs. The drums were hipnotic, strong, you couldnt understand, and you couldnt ignore the expression. The voice and its melody were cold, like steel, like a slice. The sad guitar line,... It will always be singular, eternally new, its not for distraction, but for attention. To understand, not to only hear. Far away from only "music", it´s something else.

BM was one of those songs I only heard about once when it was released. I was 13 when it came out and was into Madness and Ska stuff. My mate's brother had BM and Confusion on 12" and when I went round his house it was a constant feed of these two. Although I liked BM at the time I really got into NO when Bizarre Love Triange came out - I was 16 and bought it without hearing it just cos the 12" cover was wierd, and it still rates as one of their best singles. Then TF and Substance arrived and I was hooked. I then spent the next year buying all the back catalogue stuff on 12" and the LPs and anything else I could find in record fairs (including a crap live disc from Tokyo of 'Do the Ostrich' which cost about £20) and got quite a collection (all in the loft now sadly!). Best concerts were The Roxy in Sheffied in '87 (I think) - first live performance of Touched by the hand of God I went to - and the GMEX gig with Happy Mondays and ACR.

Lets all look forward to the next 20 years, eh!

I first heard Blue Monday in early March 1983 when my favourite DJ, Dr Rock, played an advance copy on the ZM All-Nighter, a nationally syndicated New Zealand radio show.

I had actually first heard it when New Order played in Wellington in December of 1982 although it was more 586 than BM.

It seemed in another league to Temptation and I can still clearly recall the freshness of the sound and the killer intro seeming to sweep all other pretenders before it. It was unlike anything else I had heard, as the contemporary dance or electronic music of early 1983 just didn’t have the coherence or oomph of BM.

I taped it on the Friday night and took the tape to a punk party on the Saturday night: what a debut! It was played over and over, maybe 7 or 8 times and filled the dancefloor with happy punters who just couldn’t get enough.

Still an awesome track IMHO.

First of all, let me just say that I am happy to hear that there are so many others out there who love this song as much as I do! (well maybe not quite as much!!!) :) I was about 10 when the song came out, I never knew it existed or heard it that I can recall, until I was maybe 15 or 16 with a friend while listening to the old school type mixes on the weekends.. Never thought much about it, just knew I loved it and never heard it again... Then, about 10 years later, I heard it again on the radio, I had to know what it was, I called and sure enough, the DJ told me, although I was really surprised to hear it had once been a popular club song in the early 80's as I never heard it that much... well not long after I got my own copy and to say the least, I cannot count how many times I have listened to it since then, lets just put it this way, my fiance, not being a big dance music person anyway, hates it! But I think that there is just something about the song, I am not sure what, but it definately has meaning... thats all for now

Ahh..Blue Monday. I was 10 or 11 when I first heard it. Growing up in Florida USA, rollerskating was huge back then. It was playing in a skating rink in Lighthouse Point, FL when I first heard it. Back then, I was totally getting into the standards of the era: "Don't You Want Me", "Rockit", etc. All the electro classics were ringing in my ears because of a roller skating rink! Being a snotty little kid, I asked the DJ what it was. I searched it out at the local shop called Uncle Sam's, which was a very "alternative" shop for that era. They had the import 12" on Factory, which I bought and still own today. It was at least a year before Quest/WB reissued it Stateside. This record started my love for New Order and is the reason I think they are the greatest band ever in recorded history. You can be a snotty little kid, a hooligan, a geek, an urban dweller or a country hick and still find something in New Order that moves you to no limits.

One person asked in the thread "why it is so influential"? Well, long story short, this record spearheaded/enhanced/influenced hip hop, electro, synthpop, acid house, big beat, trance, top 40 pop, new wave, postpunk, etc. etc. There are few records in history that have done as much as Blue Monday. It is 20 years old and does not sound dated whatsoever. Anyone who has picked up a synthesizer, drum machine, or started DJing (like me) was influenced by this song. If they tell you otherwise, they are full of crap.

I was 30 when this came out! I'd been a JD fan, and had seen the fledgling New Order in Brighton - I wasn't particularly impressed. Blue Monday was a revelation, a great club track, and I've still got my original copy (but nothing to play it on anymore). I recently got back into New Order - after Get Ready and through all the remixes of the old stuff. Blue Monday was the last track I downloaded remixes of - I just thought it was of it's time, and didn't think it would work - how wrong can you be -there are some great remixes. Might be interesting to see which people think are the best, personally Rob Searle, or ZF, but I even like the Moby remix (has anybody heard the Gregorian chant remix - hilarious)

I didn't discover BM ti aorund 88/89. I didn't care for it then and to an extent, still don't care for it now. I've actually grown to love the beach more and think it's a much much more entertaining track that the original. It emphasizes on the Hookey's base and makes little tweaks in the arrangements that are for the better. I like the Beach's intro much more...the fast tempo beat just blasts you in the face and just let up. Don't get me wrong, Barney's lyrics are great ont the original, it's just that there are key changes in the beach especially at the end that makes a world of difference imho.

That being said, The Hardfloor mix wipes the floor with all of them imo. I could listen to it ALL DAY!!

Originally posted by Martin Fenner I was 30 when this came out! I'd been a JD fan, and had seen the fledgling New Order in Brighton - I wasn't particularly impressed. Blue Monday was a revelation, a great club track, and I've still got my original copy (but nothing to play it on anymore). I recently got back into New Order - after Get Ready and through all the remixes of the old stuff. Blue Monday was the last track I downloaded remixes of - I just thought it was of it's time, and didn't think it would work - how wrong can you be -there are some great remixes. Might be interesting to see which people think are the best, personally Rob Searle, or ZF, but I even like the Moby remix (has anybody heard the Gregorian chant remix - hilarious)

Brilliant Martin, just brilliant. I am so pleased with this post of yours because I have just found someone older than me posting on this website. 30 years old when BM came out makes you.... 50! Even the passing of time doesn't diminish the mental faculties. You're older than New Order and even I'm not that old. How do you take your Werthers?