Blue Monday

“Blue Monday” is the 1983 hit song from English rock band New Order and their second studio album “Power, Corruption & Lies”, which was released in the same year. The track was written and produced by all members of “New Order”: Gillian Gilbert, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Bernard Summer. The song has been widely praised by fans and critics alike and has been ranked by Acclaimed Music as the 38th most acclaimed song of all time. The song has been remixed by the group twice – once in 1988 and again in 1995.

“Blue Monday” is a synth-pop early 80’s track that defined the band’s sound in an instant. New Order had stated that the song has many musical influences, such as Donna Summer, Sylvester and Klein + M.B.O. The title of the song is also a reference to an illustration by author Kurt Vonnegut.

The original music video was released in 1983 and featured military clips with false colour and computer-generated graphics. However, the version uploaded to the official New Order YouTube was the 1988 version of the music video, which features sketches by photographer William Wegman and some clips of his dog; as well as hand-drawn animation by Robert Breer. Since its upload to YouTube in October 2013, the video has 7.7 million views and almost 70 thousand likes.

Release Date: 7th March 1983

Songwriter/s: Gillian Gilbert, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris & Bernard Summer

Producer: New Order

Label/s: Factory (12-inch) & Tonpress (7-inch)

Music Video Release Date: 1988

Music Video Director: n/a

Chart Rankings & Certifications: After it was released, “Blue Monday” charted at #7 in Australia, #4 in Austria, #7 in Belgium, #38 in France, #4 in Ireland, #3 in the Netherlands, #2 in New Zealand, #5 in Poland, #10 in Switzerland, #1 on the UK Indie chart, #9 on the UK Singles chart, #5 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart and #2 on the West Germany chart. “Blue Monday” is certified Gold in Canada and New Zealand, as well as Platinum in the UK.

The lyrics to “Blue Monday” can be read here: LINK