"Blue Monday" is the fifth single by the English rock band New Order, released on 7 March 1983 as a 12-inch single through Factory Records. It also appears on select cassette and CD editions of their second studio album, Power, Corruption & Lies (1983). The track was written and produced by band members Gillian Gilbert, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, and Bernard Sumner.
"The Beach" (12-inch Version)
"Thieves Like Us" (7-inch Version)
Released: 7 March 1983
Recorded: 1982
Studio: Britannia Row, Islington
Genre: Eurodisco, Synth-pop, Alternative Dance, Hi-NRG, Dance-pop
Length:
- 12-inch version: 7:29
- 7-inch version: 4:09
Label: - Factory (12-inch version)
- Tonpress (7-inch version)
Songwriters: Gillian Gilbert, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner
Producer: New Order
"Blue Monday" is a eurodisco, synth-pop, and alternative dance track that drew inspiration from various artists' works. The 12-inch single was paired with an instrumental B-side version of the song titled "The Beach." The single’s distinctive packaging, designed by Peter Saville and Brett Wickens, featured a die-cut sleeve resembling a 5 1/4-inch floppy disk. Instead of traditional text, the cover showcased a coded pattern created by Saville, using colored blocks to represent the artist, song, and label information.
The original single achieved significant commercial success, reaching the top 10 in multiple countries. It peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart, where it remained in the top 75 for 38 weeks. Additionally, it spent 186 weeks on the UK Independent Singles Chart, continuing to sell for nearly four years until the release of Substance in 1987.
"Blue Monday" appeared on several compilations and achieved remarkable chart success. Its run on the UK Indie Chart was second only to Joy Division’s "Love Will Tear Us Apart," which spent 195 weeks, with the two runs overlapping. In New Zealand, "Blue Monday" peaked at number 2 and spent 74 weeks in the top 50 over three calendar years. The 1988 remix of the song reached number 3 on the UK chart, number 4 on the Australian chart, and topped the U.S. Dance Chart.
"Blue Monday" holds the title of the best-selling 12-inch single of all time. In the UK, it has sold 1.16 million copies across all formats, including the 1988 and 1995 re-releases. The original 1983 12-inch release accounted for the majority of these sales, with over 700,000 copies sold. The band remixed the song twice, in 1988 and 1995, with the 1988 remix reaching number 1 in New Zealand and making the top 10 in various other countries. The song has been covered by artists such as Orgy, Flunk, 808 State, the Enemy, and Health. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked it number 235 on their list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."
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