“Blue Monday” is a song by the English group New Order, released on March 7, 1983 as a single which became the biggest selling 12-inches vinyl of all time, and influenced decades of pop and dance music. It is one of my (Chris’s) favorites. The vinyl is packaged in a sleeved jacket that resembles an oversized floppy disc. We happily own one that was pressed in the 80’s. This post traces the origin of this song and showcases a few notable hits that adopted its sound. A following post will share versions of this song by other artists.
The song is set to a relentless, sequenced rhythm pattern (now instantly recognizable) and merges cold electronic textures with emotionally detached lyrics – the opening line is “How does it feel / To treat me like you do?”
Blue Monday has a minimalist structure, its own industrial logic – endless momentum that happens to allow restrained vocals and a bass-driven melody. Like Kraftwerk, drum machines stop pretending to be human drummers in this rock band and there is no chorus-driven catharsis. The hypnotic repetition and extended instrumental sections made it ideal for dance club play.
New Order emerged from Joy Division after its singer, Ian Curtis committed suicide in 1980, and when Gillian Gilbert joined later that year. Some of the elements of Blue Monday can be heard in “She’s Loss Control” from Joy Division’s debut album “Unknown Pleasures” (1978).
Blue Monday is influenced by Donna Summer’s 1979 hit “Our Love” produced by Giorgio Moroder. Listen to the segment starting at 1’10.
The song is also influenced by Klein & M.B.O.’s 1982 dance hit “Dirty Talk” from Italy. Listen to the segment starting at 4’50.
“Everythings Gone Green” is a direct predecessor of Blue Monday. It was released as a single in December 1981 and marked a stylistic turning point for the group, blending post-punk with emerging electronic and dance influences that defined their later sound.
“Ultraviolence” was released in New Order’s 1983 album “Power Corruption and Lies”. It is a contemporaneous creation. The band started making dance music for post-punk rockers.
Blue Monday has influenced many pop and dance hits since. Included below are two examples.
“Can’t Get You Out of My Head” (2002) by Kylie Minogue from almost 20 years later.
“Shut Up and Drive” (2007) by Rihanna. New Order received co-writing credits for this song.
Spotify is another way to enjoy the music. Although a subscription is required to listen to the full length of each tune, you can play a sample without a subscription.
Click ▶ to play
In our next post, we will share variants and versions of Blue Monday that have appeared over the years.
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