New Order “Blue Monday” 1983. Factory Records/Qwest. Best-selling 12″ single of all time, b/w “The Beach,” which is an instrumental remix of “Blue Monday.” Our copy does not have the original floppy disk styled sleeve (that artwork was die-cut with silver and Factory Records lost money on its production) so I did a quick screen shot of what the cover should look like. “Blue Monday” hit the charts several times in the UK: first at #12 in early ‘83, then again later in ‘83 at #9. In 1988 Quincy Jones and John Potoker remixed it as “Blue Monday 88″ and this time it reached #3 and hit #1 on the US dance charts (and #68 on the singles chart). In ‘95 the song was remixed again and it went to #17 in the UK, and yet another reissue in 2006 sent it to #73. It’s really not surprising that “Blue Monday” has had such enduring success. The beat is hypnotic and addictive and the track is long enough, without being too repetitive, to get a really good groove on the dance floor. The vocals and lyrics are chilly and aloof, an invitation for even the most reticent dancer to get out there and and do the industrial fist-pump, stomp dance, which is what we did  at alternative dance clubs in the late 80′s when goth, industrial and heavy synth pop were the musical staples.

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 still I 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 should I feel
Now I stand here waiting
I thought I told you to leave me when I walked down to the beach
Tell me how does it feel, when your heart grows cold, grows cold, cold