How does it feel to treat me like you do?
When you've laid your hands upon me
And told me who you are
I thought I was mistaken
I thought I heard your words
Tell me, how do I feel
Tell me now, How do I feel
Those who came before me
Lived through their vocations
From the past until completion
They'll turn away no more
And I still find it so hard
To say what I need to say
But I'm quite sure that you'll tell me
Just how I should feel today
I see a ship in the harbor
I can and shall obey
But if it wasn't for your misfortune
I'd be a heavenly person today
And I thought I was mistaken
And I thought I heard you speak
Tell me how do I feel
Tell me now, how shall I feel
Now I stand here waiting...
I thought I told you to leave me
While I walked down to the beach
Tell me how does it feel
When your heart grows cold |
Original Artist
New Order
Live Statistics
Credits
Words and music by Stephen Morris, Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner and Gillian Gilbert.
(C) 1983 Be Music / Warner Chappell Ltd. London WTY 3FA
Official Versions
12" Version (7:29)
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1988 12" Version (7:10)
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1988 7" Version (4:07)
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1988 Alternate 7" Version (4:09)
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1988 Dub (7:21)
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1988 Video (?:??)
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88 Version Single Mix (4:10)
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Andrea Mix (8:26)
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Beach Buggy (4:14)
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Beach Buggy 12" Version (6:52)
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Brain Mix (5:24)
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Class X-1 Mix (7:39)
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DMC Mix (7:10)
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Edit (4:09)
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Hardfloor Dub (8:16)
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Hardfloor Mix ??? (8:34)
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Hardfloor Radio Edit (4:14)
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Hardfloor Remix (8:36)
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Hawtin Mix (8:02)
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Jam & Spoon Manuela Mix (7:29)
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Live 8 Aug 1998 (?:??)
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Live at Finsbury Park 2002 (7:21)
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Long Edit (5:05)
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Plutone Dub (4:46)
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Plutone Mix (6:29)
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Plutone Radio Edit (3:47)
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Richie Hawtin Mix (7:26)
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Rob Searle Remix (8:15)
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So Hot Mix (?:??)
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Starwash Mix (5:38)
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The Beach (7:19)
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Bands that covered this song
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3V
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Blowfly
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DJ Fuzz
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DJ Mingo
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DJ Pebbles
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Electroset
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Flipside
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Kylie Minogue
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Lord Horror with the Savoy Hitler Youth Band
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Orgy
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Peltone
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Wave In Head
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Notes
Highest UK Chart Position: 3 (1988)
Rising from the ashes of Punk and the controversially named Joy Division, New Order took the Manchester scene by storm in the mid 80s.
Their electronica sound with a disco beat exemplified in "Blue Monday" became a bigger hit than the band had ever imagined. Consequently not enough singles were made in the first pressing and no-one had factored in the economics of Peter Saville’s expensive sleeve design, modelled on a floppy disc. Saville and Tony Wilson were both co-founders of the band's label Factory Records, where creativity, not economics, was the main focus
Reports differ to how much the band lost per single, anything from 2p to £1 but it still stopped the band making any money from what became the biggest selling 12 inch single of all time. Although it sold half a million copies it didn't get a Gold disc as Factory Records were not BPI (British Phonographic Industry) members. To compensate, its head honcho Tony Wilson got some gold statuettes made up instead.
Released as a 12 inch single only, the track was destined for club DJ's and not the general record buying public. Despite no radio air-play or promotion the track sold in amazing quantities for such a format. Even more surprising since the band only had a small underground, indie following. Dave Haslam, resident DJ at Manchester's influencial Hacienda, also owned by Factory, says very few DJs were playing the track at first.
The track is widely regarded as a crucial link between Seventies disco and the Dance/House boom that took off at the end of the Eighties. Kick-starting the UK dance scene it also opened the door of dance music to a new audience. For these reasons it made #9 of Q magazine's Songs That Changed The World poll. In another poll, more than 40, 000 people voted for it in VH1's survey of records that pack the dance-floor and it is the infectious beat more than the lyrics which appeal to people.
"586" from Power, Corruption and Lies is regarded as the blueprint to "Blue Monday". Some experimentation with a Prophet 5 and DMX (synthesiser & drum machine) turned the track into its current state, despite the DMX losing everything which meant the band had to start programming all over again. Many believe the lyrics are an homage to the late Ian Curtis lead singer of Joy Division who killed himself in 1980, just before the release of their cult album Closer. But as vocalist Bernard Sumner reveals there was no major inspiration behind the words.
A proponent of 'electroclash' they were one of the few bands to credibly fuse punk and disco.
Their manager, the late Rob Gretton was a big fan of the new, black American dance sound in the days when disco's popularity had all but waned.
This inspiration of the New York disco clubs coupled with their industrial surroundings resulted in a sound would that in turn would influence Detroit DJ's and many other British groups.
The song got a new lease life at the 2003 BRITS when antipodean diva Kylie took the beat of the track and sung vocals to her current hit over the top.
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