22. New Order - Temptation (Factory)

Six weeks at number one from 29th May 1982

Nearly twenty years ago now, I subscribed to Last.fm, an application which measures the music you stream or listen to on devices, and produces facts and stats about your habits. It aims to stun and surprise you by revealing who your favourite artists are and who else you might enjoy, but can display the bottish habit of shooting bogies such as “If you enjoy listening to Paul McCartney, you may also like the work of John Lennon”.

Once every so often, though, it pulls up an unexpected theme you hadn’t noticed before; that could be that you have an overwhelming proclivity to listen to Joni Mitchell during Springtime, or that your nineteenth most listened to song of all time is an easy listening cover by an artist you otherwise don’t care about, or – in my case - that New Order are among your top twenty most listened to artists (currently resting at the number 12 spot).

The stats don’t lie. Year in, year out I dip into New Order’s catalogue and devour some of their tracks almost obsessively, but I do all this without feeling as if I can call myself “a fan”. Looking at the rest of my personal chart, I can see a stream of artists who at some point of my life I have felt a strong and possibly ill-advised connection to, particularly in my teens and twenties. They’ve all produced music I’ve loved, but have probably also had a combination of other factors which captured my imagination - strong lyrical themes, wit, intelligence or irony, a gripping visual aesthetic which stirred my excitement for their music, or a sense of something I could relate to or a version of somebody I wanted to be.

I don’t recall ever feeling this way about New Order. New Order have always just been there, pumping out wonderful records which have been, at different moments and sometimes all at the same time, moody, stylish, irresistibly danceable, boundary pushing and exquisite pop. Despite all this, though (and I accept there’s a chance I’m projecting here) who among us has really felt as if they know Bernard Sumner or Peter Hook, or even The Other Two? As teenagers, did we really read one of their interviews and want to follow them around the country until we more clearly understood the workings of their minds? Did their lyrics – in one or two cases, among the most atrocious ever written – make us think “Finally somebody has put a new spin on some of the events in my life”?

New Order never gave much away, but they also never gave the impression there was much going on behind the mystique either. All the beauty took place around them; those tastefully designed Factory Records sleeves and arthouse music videos created an image of sorts, but not one that stuck to a solid theme or was consistently, identifiably their own – if you asked Bernard Sumner to talk in depth about the meaning behind any of the artistic elements that accompanied them, you might get seven or eight words at best. If you really wanted the lowdown on that stuff, you had to ring the entryphone at Factory Records and philosophise with Tony Wilson.

“Temptation”, then, is fascinating for two reasons; firstly, it acts as the first solid, logical bridge between their old analogue past and their new experiments with electronics. If “Everything’s Gone Green” sounded shaky and tentative, “Temptation” seems more sure footed, in tune with the machinery rather than occasionally falling out-of-step with it. The original 1982 version (and not the 1987 remix which the group seem determined to make us believe is the definitive version) is too spindly for the dancefloor, but still sounds forward-thinking, like an early experiment in indie-dance.

Combined with that, though, is something that feels sharper and more honest, more knowable and believable, less arid than most of New Order’s work; Sumner’s voice strains and struggles, but the simplicity of the lyrics about the collapse of a relationship are close enough to Motown (The Temptations, even). “Up, down, turn around/ Please don't let me hit the ground/ Tonight I think I'll walk alone/ I'll find my soul as I go home” could actually be lines from a Northern Soul record, while the repeated begging of “Oh, it’s the last time/ I’ve never met anyone quite like you before” brings everything to the necessary climax.
You don’t need to ask yourself what this is about, or who it was written for, and nor do the group leave you in any doubt. “Temptation” is the sound of dragging a drunken friend home while in your early twenties, late at night – one who is ruminating obsessively on his latest collapsed relationship. He knows what he means, and you know what he means, but he feels he just has to keep on trying to find new, simpler ways of telling you, the pulse of his repetitive ideas getting more intense as the walk progresses. The length of the track works in its favour – it makes it a post-punk dancefloor monster, but it also allows the group to ramp up the angst slowly, realistically and gracefully. It doesn't conceal its emotions or intent behind a deadpan approach. 

“Temptation” isn’t as polished as a lot of their later work. It buzzes and grinds, and Sumner hasn’t made peace with his limited vocal range, and aims to stretch himself to places he can’t go. That also helps the track, though; groups can get away with sounding as if they’re over-reaching themselves if the song’s subject matter also seems like the middle of a life crisis, particularly one of a romantic kind. At the point of the split, who among us is not guilty of trying to convince ourselves that they have more to offer than the person walking away will ever know, over-claiming, reaching for high notes we know we can’t hit?

I’ve met many New Order fans who argue this is their greatest single. I get why. It’s probably the single that satisfies most of their fanbase – close enough to Joy Division’s sound to grab the original post-punk fanbase, but also moving towards the dancefloor just enough for the pop kids. True to New Order’s earthiness, but also ambitious enough to try and scale emotional peaks. They never really sounded like this before, and they haven’t quite since either, at least not on 45. It proved that if Joy Division were already legendary, New Order had the capacity to become something very special too.

Away From The Number One Spot

Regrettably, the 29th May chart is partially missing.

During the second week of this track’s spell at the top, though, Erazerhead enter at number 24 with the crunch and stomp of “Shellshock”, which (serendipity klaxon) obviously bears no relation to the eventual New Order song of the same name. It’s another example of how weirdly a lot of punk slipped towards the trashier, incompetent end of 70s glam at times, with fey, almost camp vocals here combining with a grinding metallic riff. “Hey! Hey! Hey!” they chant, because of course they do. It’s a bit of a ripper, this.




And as if to prove my point, Northern Ireland punk band Outcasts enter one space below with a cover of The Glitter Band’s “Angel Face”. It sounds like the work of some provincial glam band circa 1975 rather than a thorough punk upending, but it’s impossible to dislike. Somebody really needs to pull together a “punk bands sounding like brickies in eyeliner” Spotify playlist together soon (it would doubtless start with the stomp of Sham 69’s “If The Kids Are United” and go from there).




Lower down at number 29, we’re introduced to the hypnotic, rubbery post-punk girlie groove of “In Rhythm” by Bristolians Scream and Dance. This was their only effort to emerge on vinyl, and is becoming an increasingly collectible record.




In week three, Channel 3 have the highest new entry at number 17 with “I’ve Got A Gun” (I doubt it, lad) which is another breakneck thrash through imaginary violence. “Manslaughter can be fun” they assure us without sharing the full details, which if you’re making a claim like that should be quite important.




Zounds re-emerge at number 22 with the “La Vache Qui Rit” EP, which shows the anarchists showing a continued willingness to approach different ways of being a punk band. Lead track “Not Me” is a straightforward enough racket, but “Biafra” spins in a number of different directions, sounding almost close to pop music at times.




Meanwhile, Theatre of Hate’s “The Hop” makes a surprisingly dismal low entry at number 29, eventually having to settle for the indignity of a number 28 peak. The group were probably too busy falling to pieces to notice the single’s relative failure at the time, but it lacks the ambition of their previous number one indie single, persisting too hard with a hook which ultimately never impresses much, even if the track does end with some glorious guitar lines. A few more touches of that nature would have lifted it out of the mire.




The highest new entry in week four is an EP compilation entitled “Total Noise”, featuring The Business, Blitz, The Gonads and Dead Generation all giving us pieces of their minds. “Voice Of A Generation” by Blitz is a straightforward protest about youth poverty, a ragged, hoarse, chugging rocker which is only a few production tweaks away from being a popular anthem.




Conflict’s “The House That Man Built EP” at number 17 couldn’t be accused of the same thing, and is garbled, scattershot, furious and determined never to be accused of being a possible hit in another world. Take your pick.





In week five, The Partisans are the highest new entry at number 11 with “17 Years Of Hell”. “All my friends said that I’d fail or end up on the run” they complain. Get yourself some new mates, I’d say, that’s the kind of criticism you don’t even expect from your enemies.




In total contrast, Everything But The Girl debut at number 20 with a cover of Cole Porter’s “Night And Day”. Tracy Thorn and Ben Watt had released solo singles of their own on Cherry Red prior to this, but the romance between the labelmates led to their first and inevitable collaboration. “Night And Day” is simple, its bossa-nova guitar and Thorn’s reverb heavy vocals sounding as if it could have been a product of the 78rpm era. Humble but effective beginnings.




In at number 26, those old punk warhorses The Lurkers are back (this time on Clay Records) with “This Dirty Town”. There are no steps forward in evidence here; it’s The Lurkers being The Lurkers, still sounding like the Status Quo of punk’s first wave. It possibly sounded tired and dated at the time, but listening to it today is like getting a jolt from a car battery. They may have been minimal and they may have been simple, but they knew how to chuck out infectuous choruses by the dozen.




In week six, Paul Haig enters at number 21 with “Running Away”. His first solo effort away from Josef K, it sounds closer to The Associates than his previous band, only without the same sure-footedness or vocal acrobatics. It’s hypnotic in its own way, but its relative lack of adventure must have surprised the band’s fans.




Meanwhile, Royal Leamington Spa’s famous anarchopunks The Varukers enter at 22 with “I Don’t Wanna Be A Victim”. I currently live in Leamington, so please indulge me a bit here – the town’s musical history is an odd one, featuring recordings (and photo shoots) for The Specials and Felt; odd, as the centre of town’s spires, regency architecture and Midlands dourness make it seem incredibly like a Felt single in solid, inhabitable form, but absolutely nothing like a ghost town. For that matter, it doesn’t seem like a haven for anarcho punk either, but there are still gigs of that nature going on here to this day, so what do I know?


The Varukers sound like bloody angry people who might just possibly live immediately south of the The Grand Union Canal, though, trying to navigate their way home in peace past the cluster of Sydenham council estates. It’s different south of the river here too, you know (though these things are all relative).




Finally, Dislocation Dance enter at 27 with “Rosemary”, a New Wave groove on the Buzzcocks New Hormones label which managed to get honoured with a major label release on the continent. It manages to be bright, laidback, cool and slightly jagged all at the same time, and they manage to resolve that conflict without sounding like a bunch of tricksy clever dicks. No mean feat.

The full charts are available on the UKMix Forums. 

Number Ones in the National Charts

Madness: House Of Fun (Stiff)

Adam Ant: Goody Two Shoes (CBS)

Charlene: I've Never Been To Me (Motown)

Captain Sensible: Happy Talk (A&M)