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Their electronica sound with a disco beat exemplified in "Blue Monday" became a bigger hit than the band had ever imagined. Consequently not enough singles were made in the first pressing and no-one had factored in the economics of Peter Saville’s expensive sleeve design, modelled on a floppy disc. Saville and Tony Wilson were both co-founders of the band's label Factory Records, where creativity, not economics, was the main focus
Reports differ to how much the band lost per single, anything from 2p to £1 but it still stopped the band making any money from what became the biggest selling 12 inch single of all time. Although it sold half a million copies it didn't get a Gold disc as Factory Records were not BPI (British Phonographic Industry) members. To compensate, its head honcho Tony Wilson got some gold statuettes made up instead.
Released as a 12 inch single only, the track was destined for club DJ's and not the general record buying public. Despite no radio air-play or promotion the track sold in amazing quantities for such a format. Even more surprising since the band only had a small underground, indie following. Dave Haslam, resident DJ at Manchester's influencial Hacienda, also owned by Factory, says very few DJs were playing the track at first.
The track is widely regarded as a crucial link between Seventies disco and the Dance/House boom that took off at the end of the Eighties. Kick-starting the UK dance scene it also opened the door of dance music to a new audience. For these reasons it made #9 of Q magazine's Songs That Changed The World poll. In another poll, more than 40, 000 people voted for it in VH1's survey of records that pack the dance-floor and it is the infectious beat more than the lyrics which appeal to people.
"586" from Power, Corruption and Lies is regarded as the blueprint to "Blue Monday". Some experimentation with a Prophet 5 and DMX (synthesiser & drum machine) turned the track into its current state, despite the DMX losing everything which meant the band had to start programming all over again. Many believe the lyrics are an homage to the late Ian Curtis lead singer of Joy Division who killed himself in 1980, just before the release of their cult album Closer. But as vocalist Bernard Sumner reveals there was no major inspiration behind the words.
A proponent of 'electroclash' they were one of the few bands to credibly fuse punk and disco. Their manager, the late Rob Gretton was a big fan of the new, black American dance sound in the days when disco's popularity had all but waned. This inspiration of the New York disco clubs coupled with their industrial surroundings resulted in a sound would that in turn would influence Detroit DJ's and many other British groups.
The song got a new lease life at the 2003 BRITS when antipodean diva Kylie took the beat of the track and sung vocals to her current hit over the top.