Rising from the ashes of the legendary British post-punk band Joy Division, the enigmatic New Order triumphed over tragedy to emerge as one of the most influential and acclaimed bands of the 1980s.

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 their brilliant sophomore album 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.

New Order graced Jodrell Bank in 2013 for Live From Jodrell Bank, and we’re looking forward to welcoming them back beneath the iconic Lovell Telescope for what will be another outstanding headline show, closing our fourth edition of bluedot.