Rising from the ashes of the legendary British post-punk band Joy Division, New Order triumphed over tragedy to emerge as one of Britain’s most influential and acclaimed bands. When Joy Division’s Ian Curtis tragically took his own life, the remaining trio, Bernard Sumner (guitarist), Peter Hook (bassist) and Stephen Morris (drummer) immediately disbanded, but re-formed the same year as New Order, with the addition of Gillian Gilbert (keyboardist and guitarist) and Sumner reluctantly taking over as vocalist.

While their debut album Movement (1981) was shadowed by the legacy of Joy Division, going forward the band began to combine their original post-punk sound with influences from New York’s club scene. The result was Power, Corruption & Lies (1983), released with Manchester-based label Factory Records. From this album came the single “Blue Monday”, which has since become the best-selling 12-inch single of all time, moving over three million copies worldwide.

Throughout the late 80s New Order remained as popular as ever, releasing a string of albums such as Low-Life (1985), Brotherhood (1986) Substance (1987) and Technique (1989). Between several brief hiatuses and line-up alterations, Republic (1993) Get Ready (2001) and Waiting for the Sirens’ Call (2005) were all released, before Peter Hook’s departure in 2007.

In 2015, the band released their critically acclaimed tenth studio album Music Complete. The record stormed the album charts, coming in at Number 2, and features guest vocals from Iggy Pop, Brandon Flowers and Elly Jackson of La Roux. The album’s title seems to shine a hue on New Order’s new manifesto: new line-up, newly eclectic sound, reinvigorated in their fourth decade as a unit.