Blue Monday (New Order song)#Releases

New Order was formed in 1980 by the former members of Joy Division, which split after the death of their singer, Ian Curtis.{{cite web |last=Ankeny |first=Jason |title=New Order: Biography |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/new-order-mn0000334193/biography |access-date=20 July 2013 |website=AllMusic}} They later recruited Gillian Gilbert as keyboardist and second guitarist,{{cite magazine |last=Rambali |first=Paul |title=A Rare Glimpse into a Private World |date=July 1983 |magazine=The Face |page=30}} and began to explore new musical technology such as synthesisers.{{Cite web |date=15 April 2022 |title=The machine that helped New Order invent 'Blue Monday' |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-machine-helped-new-order-invent-blue-monday/ |access-date=15 March 2023 |website=Far Out |language=en-UK}}{{Unreliable source?|reason='Far Out' is an unreliable source per WP:NOTRSMUSIC.|date=May 2025}}

File:Oberheim_DMX.jpg drum machine was used to create the rhythm and synchronise the sequences.]]

New Order wrote "Blue Monday" in their rehearsal room in Cheetham Hill, Manchester.{{cite web |last=Nicolson |first=Barry |date=2015 |title=New Order — How we wrote 'Blue Monday' |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/new-order-how-we-wrote-blue-monday-762505 |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107063925/https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/new-order-how-we-wrote-blue-monday-762505 |archivedate=7 January 2017 |access-date=31 August 2016 |website=NME}} It started as a response to their audience's disappointment that they never played encores. It would allow the band to return to the stage, press a button and the track would play by itself as an encore while the band was off stage. The band however found it difficult to synchronize all the elements properly and improvising on the drafts it evolved into a song.{{cite web|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/new-order-blue-monday-revolutionised-music/ |title=How New Order's 'Blue Monday' changed the musical landscape |author=Dasgupta, Pubali |date=7 March 2021 |publisher= Far Out Magazine }}{{Unreliable source?|reason='Far Out' is an unreliable source per WP:NOTRSMUSIC.|date=May 2025}}

The synth bassline was performed on a Moog Source and sequenced on a sequencer built by the singer, Bernard Sumner.{{cite web |author=Flint, Tom |date=April 2004 |title=Recreating New Order's 'Blue Monday' Live |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/recreating-new-orders-blue-monday-live |access-date=18 August 2020 |work=Sound on Sound}} An Oberheim DMX drum machine was used for rhythm. The kick drum was recorded playing through a studio monitor to capture the room's natural reverb.{{Cite web |last=Murray |first=Andy |date=13 October 2014 |title=Bernard Sumner talks to Northern Soul |url=https://www.northernsoul.me.uk/bernard-sumner/ |access-date=12 March 2023 |website=Northern Soul |language=en-GB}} New Order bought an early sampler, the Emulator 1, and sampled choir sounds from Kraftwerk's "Uranium".{{Cite web |last=Horton |first=Matthew |date=30 July 2018 |title=How New Order's 'Blue Monday' Changed Music Forever |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/how-blue-monday-changed-music-forever-771764 |website=NME}}{{Cite web |last=Leatham |first=Thomas |date=21 November 2022 |title=How Kurt Vonnegut, Fats Domino and flatulence inspired New Order's 'Blue Monday' |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/kurt-vonnegut-flatulence-new-order-blue-monday/ |access-date=8 May 2023 |website=Far Out |language=en-US}}{{Unreliable source?|reason='Far Out' is an unreliable source per WP:NOTRSMUSIC.|date=May 2025}} Sumner and the drummer, Stephen Morris, learnt how to use the sampler by spending hours recording their flatulence.{{Unreliable source?|reason='Far Out' is an unreliable source per WP:NOTRSMUSIC.|date=May 2025}}

New Order worked before the advent of MIDI, and so enlisted the engineer Martin Usher to design a circuit to synchronise the synthesisers and drum machine. Usher introduced them to the DMX drum machine, which had outputs that could be sent to the other instruments.{{Unreliable source?|reason='Far Out' is an unreliable source per WP:NOTRSMUSIC.|date=May 2025}} The sequence was programmed using binary code. Gilbert wrote the sequence out by hand on a long roll of paper, and accidentally added an extra rest, throwing the sequence slightly out of time; the band liked the effect and kept it in the song.{{Cite web |title=The story behind New Order's Blue Monday - the UK's biggest-selling 12-inch single |url=https://www.musicweek.com/talent/read/the-story-behind-new-order-s-blue-monday-the-uk-s-biggest-selling-12-inch-single/087537 |access-date=12 March 2023 |website=Music Week |language=en}} New Order also reused some elements from their 1982 composition "Video 5 8 6".{{cite encyclopedia |title=Blue Monday |encyclopedia=Songlexikon - The Encyclopedia of Songs |publisher=Zentrum für Populäre Kultur und Musik, University of Freiburg, University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf |url=http://www.songlexikon.de/songs/bluemonday |access-date=12 November 2015 |last=Hall |first=Marko M. |date=October 2013 |editor1-last=Fischer |editor1-first=Dr. Dr. Michael |editor2-last=Hörner |editor2-first=Prof. Dr. Fernand |editor3-last=Jost |editor3-first=PD Dr. Christofer}}

The bassist, Peter Hook, cited Kraftwerk, Giorgio Moroder and Sparks as influences, and said the song was "stolen" from the Donna Summer song "Our Love".{{Cite web |last=Heylin |first=Clinton |date=2 July 2015 |title=The great rock'n'roll swindle – 10 classic stolen pop songs from Saint Louis Blues to Blue Monday |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jul/02/the-great-rocknroll-swindle-10-classic-stolen-pop-songs-bob-dylan-elvis-new-order |access-date=11 June 2018 |website=The Guardian |language=en}} Sumner cited Kraftwerk along with Cabaret Voltaire, the Human League and OMD,{{cite web|url=https://www.electronicbeats.net/max-dax-interviews-bernard-sumner/|title=Max Dax interviews Bernard Sumner|last=Dax|first=Max|date=2 September 2012|website=Electronic Beats|access-date=20 May 2025}} and said that parts were taken from "Dirty Talk" by Klein + MBO and "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" by Sylvester. Gilbert said Hook's bassline came from a film soundtrack by Ennio Morricone, a theme from For a Few Dollars More (1965).{{Cite web |title=This is how Ennio Morricone inspired New Order's iconic song 'Blue Monday' |date=7 July 2020 |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/new-order-peter-hook-ennio-morricone-blue-monday/}}{{Unreliable source?|reason='Far Out' is an unreliable source per WP:NOTRSMUSIC.|date=May 2025}}

{{listen

|filename = New Order - Blue Monday.ogg

|title = "Blue Monday"

|description=A 30-second sample of the song, displaying its upbeat electronic drums and synth bass line as well as Bernard Sumner's deadpan vocals.

|format = Ogg

}}

"Blue Monday" has been labelled a "synth-pop classic"{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/what-to-listen-to/top-50-dance-songs/ |title=50 songs to make you dance |date=7 February 2016 |newspaper=The Telegraph |access-date=27 January 2018}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/style/depeche-mode-rules.html |title=Return of the '80s! Synth-Pop Bands Stage a Middle-Aged Comeback |last=Williams |first=Alex |date=11 October 2017 |website=The New York Times |access-date=27 January 2018}} and described as cementing the group's movement from post-punk to alternative dance.{{cite web|author= John Bush |url= https://www.allmusic.com/song/blue-monday-mt0000440181 |title= Blue Monday review at Allmusic |work= AllMusic |access-date= 12 September 2012}} "Still the best-selling 12" single of all time, "Blue Monday" cemented New Order's transition from post-punk to alternative dance with vivid sequencers" It has been noted as an example of the hi-NRG style of club music,Hoskyns, Barney (May 1985). [https://books.google.com/books?id=9ugCQfxwym0C&dq=blue+monday+electropop&pg=PA41 "What is Bronski Beat?"] Spin. via Google Books. and the 2004 edition of The Rolling Stone Album Guide called it "the ultimate in flawlessly programmed, LSD-driven, push-button dance-pop".{{cite book |chapter=New Order |last=Gross |first=Joe |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor1-link=Nathan Brackett |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |editor2-link=Christian Hoard |publisher=Simon & Schuster |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/582 582–83]}}

The song begins with a semiquaver kick drum, followed by a sequenced melody.{{cite web|last1=Simpson|first1=Dave|title=How we made: New Order's Gillian Gilbert and designer Peter Saville on Blue Monday|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/feb/11/how-we-made-blue-monday|website=The Guardian|access-date=23 August 2017|date=11 February 2013}} "Blue Monday" does not feature a standard verse-chorus structure. After a lengthy introduction, the first and second verses are contiguous and are separated from the third verse only by a brief series of sound effects. A short breakdown follows the third verse, which leads to an extended outro.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}}

"Blue Monday" was described by the BBC Radio 2 "Sold on Song" feature as "a crucial link between Seventies disco and the dance/house boom that took off at the end of the Eighties."{{cite web |author=BBC Radio 2 website |date=April 2005 |title=Sold on Song - "Blue Monday" |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/soldonsong/songlibrary/indepth/bluemonday.shtml |access-date=12 August 2012}} Synth-pop had been a major force in British popular music for several years, but "Blue Monday", with encouragement by the band's manager Rob Gretton, was a dance record that also exhibited influences from the New York club scene.

The 1983 edition artwork is designed to resemble a {{Frac|5|1|4}} inch floppy disk. The sleeve does not display either the group name or song title in plain English anywhere; the only text on the sleeve is "FAC SEVENTY THREE" on the spine. Instead the legend "FAC 73 BLUE MONDAY AND THE BEACH NEW ORDER" is represented in code by a series of coloured blocks. The key enabling this to be deciphered was printed on the back sleeve of the album, Power, Corruption & Lies.{{cite web |url= http://www.uponpaper.com/features/deciphered-peter-saville/ |title= Deciphered: Peter Saville |author= Paul Hetherington |work= Upon Paper |publisher= Uponpaper.com |location= London |date= October 2012 |access-date= 24 July 2013 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://archive.today/20130216234810/http://www.uponpaper.com/features/deciphered-peter-saville/ |archive-date= 16 February 2013 |df= dmy-all }} "Blue Monday" and Power, Corruption & Lies are two of four Factory releases from this time period to employ the colour code, the others being "Confusion" by New Order and From the Hip by Section 25.

The single's original sleeve, created by Factory designer Peter Saville and Brett Wickens, was die-cut with a silver inner sleeve. It cost so much to produce that Factory Records actually lost money on each copy sold. Matthew Robertson's Factory Records: The Complete Graphic Album{{cite book|author= Matthew Robertson |title= Factory Records: The Complete Graphic Album |year= 2007 |publisher= Chronicle Books |location= San Francisco |isbn= 978-0-8118-5642-3 |page= 224}} notes that "[d]ue to the use of die-cutting and specified colours, the production cost of this sleeve was so high that the single sold at a loss." Tony Wilson noted that it lost 5p per sleeve "due to our strange accounting system"; Saville noted that nobody expected "Blue Monday" to be a commercially successful record at all, so nobody expected the cost to be an issue." In Shadowplayers: The Rise and Fall of Factory Records, Saville states "I am so bored with this story. We didn't even know how many of these expensive covers were ever made anyway."{{cite book|author= James Nice |title= Shadowplayers: The Rise and Fall of Factory Records |year= 2011 |publisher= Aurum Press |isbn= 978-1-84513-634-5 |page=210 |url= http://aurumpress.co.uk/shadowplayers}}

Robertson also noted that "later reissues had subtle changes to limit the cost" (the diecut areas being replaced with printed silver ink).24 Hour Party People DVD, director's commentary, [http://testpressing.wordpress.com/2011/07/10/design-tony-wilson-peter-saville-in-conversation/ Wilson interviews Saville] Saville commented in 2013 that the printers "banged out a cheaper version. I don't know how many thousands were sold [the original] way, or whether Factory were charged the full price for something they didn't get, which would be very Factory."{{cite news |last1=Simpson |first1=Dave |title=How we made: New Order's Gillian Gilbert and designer Peter Saville on Blue Monday |url= https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/feb/11/how-we-made-blue-monday |access-date=27 September 2015 |work=The Guardian}} Peter Saville Associates charged Factory £538.20 for the sleeve design.{{cite web|url=http://factoryrecords.org/cerysmatic/peter-saville-associates-stationery.php|title=Peter Saville Associates stationery|work=Cerysmatic Factory|access-date=10 June 2017}} The artwork was so late that Saville sent it straight to the printer, unreviewed by either the band or the label.{{cite web |url= http://the-talks.com/interviews/peter-saville/ |title= Peter Saville: "I never had to answer to anyone" |work= The Talks |date= 22 May 2013 |access-date= 20 July 2013 |quote= New Order didn’t approve it, they rarely saw it. More often than not they would go directly from me; "Blue Monday" for example went directly from me to the printer.}} The 1988 and 1995 versions were packaged in conventional sleeves.

A music video for a shortened version of the original was created in 1983, featuring military clips with false colour, simple computer-generated graphics such as colour blocks and geometric lines, digitised video of band members at very low resolution and framerate, a brief amount of footage taken from the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and a short appearance of the 1982 video game Zaxxon. The colour blocks were created using Peter Saville's colour-coded alphabet.{{cite web |url= http://video.aol.com/video-detail/peter-savilles-alphabet/227493012 |title= Peter Saville's Alphabet – AOL Video |website= Video.aol.com |access-date= 19 January 2011}}

The music video for "Blue Monday '88" appears on the Substance video collection (released as a companion to the album of the same name). The video features sketches by photographer William Wegman and his Weimaraner dog named Fay Ray doing balancing acts intercut with hand-drawn animation by Robert Breer. The band members are shown standing around doing various tasks, such as walking a wooden plank over a floor that is painted blue, holding wire-mesh constructed art and milk crates over their faces, being hit by tennis balls, and standing still while they flip through various flip books (tying into the hand-drawn animation sequences).{{cite web|url=http://www.eai.org/eai/tape.jsp?itemID=4159 |title=Blue Monday by William Wegman and Robert Breer with New Order |work=Electronic Arts Intermix |access-date=24 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128075245/http://www.eai.org/eai/tape.jsp?itemID=4159 |archive-date=28 November 2007 }}

In September 2012, New Order headlined a festival at Portmeirion in North Wales and festival organisers recruited the support of the local Brythoniaid Male Voice Choir to produce a cover version and accompanying video.{{cite video |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa4JWzEPJe8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/wa4JWzEPJe8 |archive-date=22 December 2021 |url-status=live|title= Festival No.6 presents the Brythoniaid Male Voice Choir - 'Blue Monday' |via= YouTube |date= 16 August 2012 |access-date= 12 September 2012}}{{cbignore}}

In the decades since its release, "Blue Monday" has been commonly cited as one of the greatest songs of all time.{{Cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2014/02/the-top-500-songs-of-all-time-according-to-nme/|title=The Top 500 Songs of All Time, according to NME|date=11 February 2014 }}{{Cite magazine|url=https://entertainment.time.com/2011/10/24/the-all-time-100-songs/slide/blue-monday-new-order/|title=All-TIME 100 Songs|magazine=Time |date=21 October 2011 |last1=Wolk |first1=Douglas }} In 2015, LA Weekly ranked it number 12 in their list of "The 20 Best Dance Music Tracks in History".{{cite web|first=Andy|last=Hermann|url=https://www.laweekly.com/the-20-best-dance-music-tracks-in-history/|title=The 20 Best Dance Music Tracks in History|work=LA Weekly|date=11 November 2015|access-date=13 April 2025}} In 2020, Slant Magazine ranked it number 27 in their list of "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time".{{cite magazine|author=Slant Staff|title=The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/100-greatest-dance-songs/|magazine=Slant Magazine|date=15 June 2020|accessdate=10 April 2025}} In 2022, "Blue Monday" was included in the list "The story of NME in 70 (mostly) seminal songs", at number 21. Mark Beaumont wrote that with this song, "Britain's formative alternative dance culture found its way" in the mainstream and "stayed there until the acid house explosion obliterated clubland".{{cite web |first=Mark |last=Beaumont |url=https://www.nme.com/features/music-features/story-of-nme-in-70-seminal-songs-3176759 |title=The Story of NME in 70 (mostly) Seminal Songs |publisher=NME |date=7 March 2022 |access-date=7 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307110139/https://www.nme.com/features/music-features/story-of-nme-in-70-seminal-songs-3176759 |archive-date=7 March 2022 |url-status=dead}} In 2021 and 2022, Rolling Stone included it at numbers 235 and 18 in its lists of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" and "200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time".{{Cite magazine |date=15 September 2021 |title=The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |access-date=18 July 2022}}{{cite magazine|first1=Jon|last1=Dolan|first2=Julyssa|last2=Lopez|first3=Michaelangelo|last3=Matos|first4=Claire|last4=Shaffer|title=200 Greatest Dance Songs of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/200-greatest-dance-songs-of-all-time-1372888|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=22 July 2022|accessdate=6 April 2025}} In 2025, Billboard magazine ranked it number 15 in their "The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time".{{cite magazine|first1=Andrea|last1=Domanick|first2=Andrew|last2=Unterberger|first3=Elias|last3=Leight|first4=Eric|last4=Renner Brown|first5=Jason|last5=Lipshutz|first6=Joe|last6=Lynch|first7=Kat|last7=Bein|first8=Katie|last8=Bein|first9=Krystal|last9=Rodriguez|first10=Lily|last10=Moayeri|first11=Melinda|last11=Newman|first12=Thomas|last12=Smith|first13=Zei|last13=McCarthy|url=https://www.billboard.com/lists/best-dance-songs-all-time/|title=The 100 Best Dance Songs of All Time: Staff List|magazine=Billboard|date=28 March 2025|access-date=6 April 2025}}

Following its release, "Blue Monday" influenced hi-NRG-producer Bobby Orlando, the Detroit techno scene and the synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. In 2002, Kylie Minogue performed a mashup of "Blue Monday" and her hit single "Can't Get You Out of My Head" entitled "Can't Get Blue Monday Out of My Head" at the Brit Awards. In 2007, "Blue Monday" was interpolated for the main riff of Rihanna's song "Shut Up and Drive", with the four members of New Order receiving a co-writing credit for the song.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/mar/07/forty-years-of-new-order-blue-monday-inspirations |title=Forty years of New Order's Blue Monday: who inspired it and who it inspired |author=Petridis, Alexis |date=7 March 2023 |work=The Guardian }}

{{Infobox song

| name = Blue Monday 1988

| cover = Blue_Monday_1988_Cover_Art.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = New Order

| album =

| B-side = Beach Buggy

| released = 25 April 1988

| recorded = 1982

| studio =

| length = * 4:57 (7-inch)

• 7:10 (12-inch)

| label = Factory

| writer = {{hlist|Gillian Gilbert|Peter Hook|Stephen Morris|Bernard Sumner}}

| producer = {{hlist|New Order|Quincy Jones}}

| prev_title = Touched by the Hand of God

| prev_year = 1987

| next_title = Fine Time

| next_year = 1988

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|9GMjH1nR0ds|"Blue Monday 88"}}}}

}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Blue Monday-95

| cover = BlueMonday 95 Blauer.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = New Order

| album = The Rest of New Order

| released = 24 July 1995

| recorded =

| studio =

| length = 8:35

| label = London

| writer = {{hlist|Gillian Gilbert|Peter Hook|Stephen Morris|Bernard Sumner}}

| producer = New Order

| prev_title = 1963

| prev_year = 1995

| next_title = Video 5 8 6

| next_year = 1997

}}

"Blue Monday" has been a hit several times in the UK. In 1983, it charted twice, initially reaching number 12 on the UK singles chart, then re-entering the chart later in the year and climbing to number 9, helped by the fact that neither side of the single (the B-side "The Beach" was an instrumental re-working of "Blue Monday", whose lyrics include the line "I thought I told you to leave me when I walked down to the beach") was featured on the UK version of the group's subsequent album, Power, Corruption & Lies. Despite selling well it was not eligible for an official gold disc because Factory Records was not a member of the British Phonographic Industry association. According to the Official Charts Company, its total sales stand at 1.16 million in the United Kingdom alone, and "Blue Monday" came 69th in the all-time UK best-selling singles chart published in November 2012.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2012/nov/04/uk-million-selling-singles-full-list|title=UK's million-selling singles: the full list|author=Ami Sedghi|date=4 November 2012|access-date=4 November 2012|newspaper=Guardian}} As of March 2023 total consumed units across all formats have reached 2 million units sold in United Kingdom.{{cite news|url=https://www.musicweek.com/talent/read/the-story-behind-new-order-s-blue-monday-the-uk-s-biggest-selling-12-inch-single/087537|title=The story behind New Order's Blue Monday - the UK's biggest-selling 12-inch single|author=Andre Paine|date=7 March 2023|access-date=11 August 2023|publisher=Music Week}}

New Order appeared on the BBC's Top of the Pops, on 31 March 1983,{{cite web|url= https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0730611/ |title= "Top of the Pops" Episode dated 31 March 1983 (TV Episode 1983) |work= IMDb |date= 31 March 1983 |access-date= 24 July 2013}} to promote the song. New Order insisted on performing "Blue Monday" live. The performance was dogged by technical problems, and was unrepresentative of the recording. In the words of Morris, "Blue Monday was never the easiest song to perform, anyway, and everything went wrong. The synthesisers went awry. It sounded awful."{{cite web|url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/2006/jul/29/popandrock3 |title= You woke up on a Thursday and it smelled like a Top of the Pops day|author= Dave Simpson, Dorian Lynskey |work= The Guardian |date= 29 July 2006 |access-date= 24 July 2013}}

In 1985, "Blue Monday" and "Thieves Like Us" were released in Poland as a 7" single in a different sleeve by Tonpress under license from Factory Records and sold over 50,000 copies and reached number 5 on the year-end single chart.Andrzej Buda Historia rocka, popu i hip-hopu wedlu krytykow, Wydawnictwo Niezalezne: 33, 2006, {{ISBN|978-83-915272-8-3}}

In the mid-80s, New Order accepted {{Currency|200000|US|linked=no}} to use "Blue Monday" in a commercial for the soft drink Sunkist, with new lyrics: "How does it feel / When a new day has begun? / When you're drinking in the sunshine/ Sunkist is the one".{{Cite web |date=29 January 2022 |title=When New Order re-wrote Blue Monday for Sunkist drink advert |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/new-order-blue-monday-sunkist-advertisement/ |access-date=23 September 2022 |website=faroutmagazine.co.uk |language=en-US}}{{Unreliable source?|reason='Far Out' is an unreliable source per WP:NOTRSMUSIC.|date=May 2025}}

In 1988, "Blue Monday" was remixed by Quincy Jones and John Potoker as "Blue Monday 1988". Jones was the owner of Qwest Records, New Order's record label in the United States. The single reached number 3 on the British chart, number 4 on the Australian chart, and topped the dance chart in the United States.

A 1995 reissue, with a mix by Hardfloor as the lead track, also made the UK top 20. The song has sold 1.21 million copies in the UK as of October 2015.{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/quiz-who-sold-more__11079/|title=Quiz: Who sold more?|last=Myers|first=Justin|date=24 October 2015|publisher=Official Charts Company|access-date=25 October 2015}}

The single was not originally on Power, Corruption & Lies, but was included on the Gap Records Australia/New Zealand cassette version (though listed only on the cassette itself, not on the card), and the 1983 Qwest Records US CD version.

In 2008, Collector's Editions of all New Order's 1980s albums were released, with remastered versions of the original 12" "Blue Monday" and its B-side "The Beach" appearing on the Collector's Edition of Power, Corruption & Lies. Meanwhile, two versions of "Blue Monday '88" appear on the Collector's Edition of 1986's Brotherhood.

• 1987: Substance 1987 – Original 12" version
• 1994: The Best of New Order – 1988 7" version
• 1995: The Rest of New Order – Hardfloor Mix [note: some versions come with a disc of "Blue Monday" remixes]
• 2002: International – Original 12" version
• 2002: Retro – Original 12" version and Jam and Spoon Manuela Mix
• 2005: Singles – Original 12" version [note: this version omits the opening seconds] and 1988 7" version
• 2011: Total - Original 12" version
• 2016: Singles (2016 re-release) - Original 12" version and 1988 7" version[http://www.superdeluxeedition.com/news/new-order-updated-and-improved-singles-compilation-on-the-way New Order / Updated and improved Singles compilation on the way June 23, 2016 by Paul Sinclair] superdeluxeedition.com

Compilation appearances include

• 1996 The Best...Album in the World...Ever! - New edited version of 12" mix (runs at 6:45 length)
• 2001 Mixmag B!g Tunes - Original 12" version
• 2002 Electric Dreams - Original 12" version{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}
• 2008 Anthems II 1991-2009 - 1988 7" mix (mixed into "Chime" by Orbital)
• 2011 Arkives - Plastikman Remix
• 2021 NOW Yearbook 1983 - Original 12" version[https://superdeluxeedition.com/news/now-yearbook-83-new-compilation-revisits-the-year-it-all-started/ Now Yearbook ’83: new compilation revisits the year it all started – SuperDeluxeEdition May 25, 2021 by Paul Sinclair] superdeluxeedition.com

All tracks written by Gillian Gilbert, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner.

Blue Monday

{{Track listing

| headline = 12": FAC73 (UK) (1983)

| title1 = Blue Monday

| length1 = 7:29

| title2 = The Beach

| length2 = 7:19

}}

Blue Monday 1988

{{Track listing

| headline = 7": FAC73-7 (UK)

| title1 = Blue Monday 1988

| length1 = 4:09

| title2 = Beach Buggy

| length2 = 4:18

}}

Blue Monday 1988

{{Track listing

| headline = 12": FAC73R (UK)

| title1 = Blue Monday 1988

| length1 = 7:09

| title2 = Beach Buggy

| length2 = 6:52

}}

Blue Monday-95

{{Track listing

| headline = 7": NUO 7 (UK)

| title1 = Blue Monday-95 (Hardfloor Radio Edit)

| length1 = 4:16

| title2 = Blue Monday (Original Radio Edit)

| note2 = actually "Blue Monday 1988 (7-inch)"

| length2 = 4:09

}}

Personnel adapted from Song Exploder and Sound on Sound.{{Cite AV media |people=New Order |title=Song Exploder – New Order |url= https://songexploder.net/new-order |date= 3 May 2023 |type=Podcast}}{{cite web |author=Flint, Tom |date=April 2004 |title=Recreating New Order's 'Blue Monday' Live |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/recreating-new-orders-blue-monday-live |access-date=18 August 2020 |work=Sound on Sound}}

New Order

• Bernard Sumner – vocals, Moog Source, programming, vocoder
• Peter Hook – 6-string bass
• Stephen Morris – keyboards, programming
• Gillian Gilbert – keyboards, programming

Technical

• New Order – production
• Michael Johnson – engineering
• Barry Sage and Mark Boyne – assistants

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=single|artist=New Order|title=Blue Monday|award=Gold|relyear=1983|certyear=1989|access-date=26 September 2019}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=single|artist=New Order|title=Blue Monday|award=Gold|relyear=1983|certyear=2024|access-date=29 July 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|source=oldchart|type=single|artist=New Order|title=Blue Monday|award=Gold|relyear=1983|certyear=1985|id=3150|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607201705/https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/singles?chart=3150|archive-date=2019-06-07|access-date=7 June 2019}}

{{Certification Table Entry |region=Spain|type=single|award=Gold|certyear=2024|artist=New Order|title=Blue Monday|accessdate=29 January 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=New Order|title=Blue Monday|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=2008|certyear=2023|access-date=3 March 2023|id=12535-2204-1}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Blue Monday

| cover = Bluemonday.PNG

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Orgy

| album = Candyass

| released = 14 December 1998

| recorded =

| studio =

| genre = * Industrial rock

• nu metal{{cite magazine|magazine=Metal Hammer|last=Hill|first=Stephen|url=http://teamrock.com/feature/2017-07-04/the-top-40-nu-metal-songs-of-all-time|title=The Top 40 nu-metal songs of all time|date=4 July 2017|access-date=5 July 2017}}

| length = 4:25

| label = * Warner Bros.

• Reprise
• Elementree

| writer = * Gillian Gilbert

• Peter Hook
• Stephen Morris
• Bernard Sumner

| producer = * Josh Abraham

• Orgy

| prev_title = Stitches

| prev_year = 1998

| next_title = Fiction (Dreams in Digital)

| next_year = 2000

}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Blue Monday / Stitches

| cover =

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Orgy

| album =

| released = 9 February 1999

| recorded =

| studio =

| genre =

| length = 48:04

| label = * Warner Bros.

• Reprise
• Elementree

| writer = * Gillian Gilbert

• Peter Hook
• Stephen Morris
• Bernard Sumner

| producer = * Josh Abraham

• Orgy

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title =

| next_year =

}}

"Blue Monday" was covered by American alternative metal band Orgy.Brusca, p. 544. It was released on 14 December 1998. Internationally, the song was a hit,Bessman, p. 25. appearing on music charts worldwide.{{cn|date=May 2025}}

In an interview with Billboard guitarist Amir Derakh said that upon working on the song they "wanted to do the original 'Blue Monday' justice" and had expected more criticism. He went on to say that they felt lucky to have covered it and that they felt it could have been something that they had written.Hay, p. 84. The fact that their first major hit was a cover of the 1980s electronica/dance song did not bother the band.

Their first official single release featured various versions of "Blue Monday" and upon the success of the song the band decided to include their previous single "Stitches" on the second release. With the label's support this release was an enhanced CD that featured the music video for "Blue Monday" on 9 February 1999, which was in QuickTime format. "Blue Monday" has been made into several dance remixes, some which were produced to appeal to the underground dance club scene, and was even advertised under "Club Mix" 2000, a popular dance compilation series.Billboard (4 March 2000), p. 102.

The music video for "Blue Monday" also appeared on several music television stations, and the song was also released on vinyl.{{cite web|title= Orgy - Blue Monday (Vinyl) at Discogs |date= 31 August 1999 |url= http://www.discogs.com/Orgy-Blue-Monday/release/875151 |publisher= Discogs |access-date= 21 October 2010}}

The song appeared on modern rock radio stations,Hay, p. 13. and was a hit on MTV; it appeared on MTV's alternative music programs 120 Minutes and TRL, in which it debuted at number eight on 22 February 1999.Jackman, p. 128. The song was perceived as the band's gateway to success, allowing them to tour in Ozzfest.Bessman, p. 75. and in the Family Values Tour and led to the rerelease of the song "Stitches". The song appeared in Spin magazine's "Hits of the Year" for 1999.Kenneally (January 2000), p. 102. "Blue Monday" is also said to have helped pave the way for the cyberpunk trend, as best exemplified in the popularity of the 1999 science fiction film The Matrix, which appeared soon afterwards.Richardson, p. 69. In an interview of Joel Gallen in Los Angeles magazine, the music supervisors were discussing the use of Orgy's "Blue Monday" for a football scene in the film Not Another Teen Movie (2001), among others.Melton, p. 35. Stating that the song "had energy", they eventually selected it for the movie,Melton, p. 36. and it appeared in the soundtrack as well.Udo.

"Blue Monday" charted internationally, some of which included CMJ{{'}}s "Commercial Alternative Cuts"CMJ New Music Report, p. 21. and Billboard{{'}}s Alternative, Pop, and Dance song charts as well as others. It also appeared in TimeHadden, et al., p. 3. and NewsweekStrousse, et al., p. 7. in 2000 as featured song clips.

{{Music ratings

|rev1= AllMusic (Blue Monday (single))

|rev1Score= {{Rating|2.5|5}}{{cite web|title= Blue Monday (Single)|url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-monday-single-mw0000231019 |work= AllMusic |access-date= 20 October 2010}}

|rev2= AllMusic (Blue Monday / Stitches)

|rev2Score= {{Rating|2.5|5}}

}}

Orgy's "Blue Monday" has been called the "aggro-fied-for-the-1990s" version of New Order's song,Kenneally (March 1999), p. 46. and it is considered to be part of a resurgence of new wave covers by hard rock bands, along with Dope's cover of Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)".Clover, p. 201. Many critics attribute the success of the album Candyass to "Blue Monday", and some anticipated that Orgy would become a one-hit wonder, believing that it would be difficult for the band to follow up with another hit song. Many critics believed it to be their best song.Whitburn, p. 103. While the New Order song is viewed positively by the author of the comic book series Blue Monday, Chynna Clugston, in an interview she expresses dislike for the misconception that she borrowed the title for her book from Orgy's cover version rather than the original.Shirley, p. 220.

In a January 2000 Spin interview, Buckcherry's vocalist Josh Todd and guitarist Keith Nelson did not speak highly of the song, likening its sound to a Nine Inch Nails rip-off and calling the sound "mechanical".

{{Track listing

| headline = Blue Monday (single)

| extra_column = Mix

| title1 = Blue Monday

| extra1 = Radio Edit

| length1 = 3:48

| title2 = Blue Monday

| extra2 = Album Version

| length2 = 4:26

| title3 = Blue Monday

| extra3 = Club 69

| length3 = 8:45

| title4 = Blue Monday

| extra4 = Club 69 Dub

| length4 = 8:14

| title5 = Blue Monday

| extra5 = Optical Vocal

| length5 = 6:33

}}

Information on Blue Monday (single).

{{Track listing

| headline = Blue Monday/Stitches

| extra_column = Mix

| title1 = Blue Monday

| extra1 = Single

| length1 = 4:29

| title2 = Blue Monday

| extra2 = Optical Vocal

| length2 = 6:40

| title3 = Stitches

| extra3 = Green Velvet

| length3 = 6:13

| title4 = Blue Monday

| extra4 = Club 69

| length4 = 8:43

| title5 = Blue Monday

| extra5 = Club 69 Dub

| length5 = 8:13

| title6 = Blue Monday

| extra6 = Optical Instrumental

| length6 = 6:41

| title7 = Blue Monday

| extra7 = DJ Dan Remix

| length7 = 9:32

}}

:Information on "Blue Monday" and "Stitches".{{cite web|title= Blue Monday/Stitches |work= AllMusic |url= https://www.allmusic.com/album/blue-monday-stitches-mw0000231019 |access-date= 20 October 2010}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Blue Monday

| cover = Flunk Blue Monday single.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Flunk

| album = Blue Monday

| released = * 8 April 2002 {{small|(Norway)}}

• 3 June 2002 {{small|(UK and various)}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| genre = Electronic

| length =

| label = * Beatservice

• {{small|BS053 (CD)}}

| writer = * Gillian Gilbert

• Peter Hook
• Stephen Morris
• Bernard Sumner

| producer =

| prev_title = 2002

| prev_year = Miss World

| next_title = On My Balcony

| next_year = 2004

}}

Flunk covered the song and released it as a single in 2002. In this version, Flunk slows down "Blue Monday", making it a popular hit for Flunk,{{cite web|url= http://www.flunkmusic.com/bio_english.html |title= Flunk |website= Flunkmusic.com |access-date= 12 September 2012}} based in part on the song's wide recognition. The lyrics become the focus for this version rather than the danceable beat (which was emphasized in the original version).{{citation needed|date=March 2012}} The single received generally positive reviews by electronic music critics, but Mallory O'Donnell of Stylus Magazine commented that Flunk "only showed the paucity of melody" of the original New Order song.{{cite magazine |url= http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/staff_top_10/top-ten-reasons-why-bizarre-love-triangle-blue-monday.htm |title= Top Ten Reasons Why "Bizarre Love Triangle" > "Blue Monday" - Staff Top 10 |magazine= Stylus Magazine |access-date= 12 September 2012 |archive-date= 24 September 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150924120706/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/staff_top_10/top-ten-reasons-why-bizarre-love-triangle-blue-monday.htm |url-status= dead }} The song was subsequently remixed, with at least 7 remixes along with the original version available. The original release was on the 2002 EP titled Blue Monday.

• Walking Tall (2004)
• Nancy Drew (2007)
• Wonder Woman 1984 (2020)

1. "Blue Monday"
2. "Eight Days a Freak"
3. "Blue Monday" (Howard Maple Mess Up Mix)

{{Clear}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin|35em}}

• {{cite magazine|last=Bessman|first=Jim|title=Orgy Expands on Elemtree's 'Vapor'|magazine=Billboard|date=23 September 2000 |volume=112|issue=39|page=138|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc|issn=0006-2510}}
• {{cite magazine|magazine=Billboard|title=Billboard|date=4 March 2000|volume=112|issue=10|page=132|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc|issn= 0006-2510}}
• {{cite book|last=Brusca|first=Donny|title=BPM List 2006: Main Edition|year=2006|publisher=Lulu.com|isbn=978-1-84728-860-8|page=700}}{{self-published source|date=February 2020}}
• {{cite magazine|last=Clover|first=Joshua|title=Jukebox Culture|magazine=Spin|date=November 2000|volume=16|issue=11|page=224 |publisher=SPIN Media LLC|issn=0886-3032}}
• {{cite magazine|title=Commercial Alternative Cuts|magazine=CMJ New Music Report|date=8 February 1999|volume=57|issue=604|pages= 60|publisher=CMJ Network, Inc|issn=0890-0795}}
• {{cite magazine|last=Hadden|first=Briton|display-authors=et al.|magazine=Time|year=2000|volume=155|title=Time|publisher=Time Inc|issn=0040-781X|oclc=1767509}}
• {{cite magazine|last=Hay|first=Carla|title=Elemtree's Orgy Hits with '80s cover|magazine=Billboard|date=6 February 1999 |volume=111|issue=6|page=84|publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc|issn=0006-2510}}
• {{cite book|last=Jackman|first=Ian|title=TRL: The Ultimate Fan Guide|year=2000|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=0-7434-1850-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/trlultimatefangu00jack_0/page/144 144]|url=https://archive.org/details/trlultimatefangu00jack_0/page/144}}
• {{cite magazine|last=Kenneally|first=Tim|title=Just can't get enough: Orgy are, like, totally awesome 80's|magazine=Spin |date= March 1999|volume=15|issue=3|page=164|publisher=SPIN Media LLC|issn=0886-3032}}
• {{cite magazine|last=Kenneally|first=Tim|title=Buckcherry's Jukebox Jury|magazine=Spin|date=January 2000|volume=16|issue=1 |page=144|publisher=SPIN Media LLC|issn=0886-3032}}
• {{cite magazine|last=Melton|first=Mary|title=Burden of Spoof|magazine=Los Angeles|date=December 2001|volume=46|issue=12|page= 192|publisher=Emmis Communications|issn=1522-9149}}
• {{cite magazine|last=Richardson|title=Orgy|magazine=CMJ New Music Monthly|date=November 2000|issue=87|pages=112|publisher=CMJ Network, Inc|issn=1074-6978}}
• {{cite book|last=Shirley|first=Ian|title=Can Rock & Roll Save the World?: An Illustrated History of Music and Comics|year=2005|publisher=SAF Publishing Ltd|isbn=0-946719-80-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/canrockrollsavew0000shir/page/256 256]|url=https://archive.org/details/canrockrollsavew0000shir/page/256}}
• {{cite magazine|last=Strousse|first=Jean|magazine=Newsweek |title=Newsweek |year=2000|volume=135|issue=10–17|publisher=Newsweek, Inc |issn=0028-9604|oclc=1760328|display-authors=etal}}
• {{cite book|last=Udo|first=Tommy|title=Brave Nu World|year=2002|publisher=Sanctuary|isbn=978-1-86074-415-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/bravenuworld00tomm/page/255 255]|url=https://archive.org/details/bravenuworld00tomm/page/255}}
• {{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Joel Whitburn's Rock Tracks: Mainstream Rock 1981–2002: Modern Rock, 1988–2002: Bonus Section! Classic Rock Tracks, 1964–1980|year=2003|publisher=Record Research|isbn=0-89820-153-5|page=335}}

{{Refend}}

• [http://www.niagara.edu/neworder/ New Order discography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060623135022/http://www.niagara.edu/neworder/ |date=23 June 2006 }} (includes images of sleeve)
• [https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/feb/11/how-we-made-blue-monday How we made: New Order's Gillian Gilbert and designer Peter Saville on Blue Monday]
• {{discogs master|type=single|3297}}
• Official Lyric {{YouTube|c1GxjzHm5us}}
• {{YouTube|P-FRgsmMtAQ|Blue Monday deconstructed}} - analysis of the song's samples, instrumentation, and recording techniques

{{Use British English|date=August 2010}}

{{New Order}}

{{Orgy}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Monday (New Order Song)}}

Category:1982 songs

Category:1983 singles

Category:1985 singles

Category:1988 singles

Category:1995 singles

Category:1998 singles

Category:1999 singles

Category:New Order (band) songs

Category:Orgy (band) songs

Category:Hi-NRG songs

Category:Music videos directed by Gregory Dark

Category:Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time

Category:Song recordings produced by Josh Abraham

Category:Songs written by Bernard Sumner

Category:Songs written by Gillian Gilbert

Category:Songs written by Peter Hook

Category:Songs written by Stephen Morris (musician)

Category:Factory Records singles

Category:London Records singles

Category:Warner Records singles

Category:Reprise Records singles

Category:UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles

Category:Number-one singles in New Zealand

Category:Eurodisco songs