Last summer New Order filmed a fascinating documentary for the Swedish National Television programme Hitlåtens Historia on the story of Blue Monday. It’s an eye opener for sure. Their recent split into two New Orders (effectively), is documented well here with unexpected compliments from unexpected characters, and predictable “no comments” from others. That these people once made music together confounds me. There is so much hate between them. Strangely, Peter Hook comes out of this one krispy kreem clean. It’s 28 minutes, and although there is some borrowed footage from things we’ve seen before (primarily NewOrderStory), the sequence where they laundry list the influences for Blue Monday is mind blowing.It’s always been a bummer to see my favorite band all sort of not really liking each other; none of them would deny they did it for the money. They’ve justifiably earned their fair share, what with losses for the first 10+ years of being Joy Division, and New Order trying to break into the U.S. market. With a rumored new EP on the way from Barney, Steve, and Gillian, plus a Brotherhood and Low-life tour from Peter Hook and the Light, I’m crossing my fingers for some reconciliation, but this time, I think the break up will take. In short, we’ll always have the first 10 years of New Order, and the pure magic of Joy Division.
You can find the documentary HERE.
