Trivia / Technique

• Creative Differences: Peter Hook joked that the album was "an epic power struggle between the sequencers and me. I was resisting it valiantly, because I still wanted us to be a rock band."
• Creator Backlash: In a 2023 interview with the Irish Times, Gillian Gilbert stated that Bernard Sumner views the album as "unfinished," which is reflected in its lack of representation in New Order's setlists after their hiatus in the '90s.
• Executive Meddling: Tony Wilson chose "Round & Round" as the second single over the wishes of New Order, who wanted "Vanishing Point" instead. The song was a Take That! against Tony Wilson, ironically. After Factory went bust and New Order signed onto London Records sans Wilson, they stuck "Vanishing Point" on (the best of) NewOrder anyway (alongside a remix of "Round & Round").
• Magnum Opus Dissonance: Fans and critics agreed for decades that this is the band's best album, but the band didn't play any of its songs live for a long time after the early 90's. Peter Hook however has performed it live with his band the Light along with Republic in recent years, and New Order themselves brought back band-favorite "Vanishing Point" in 2017.
• No Export for You: As a result of the John Denver lawsuit and its consequent early deletion, the single release of "Run 2" never made it outside of the UK.
• Rarely Performed Song: Although this album is a fan-favorite, the band dropped its songs from their setlist after their 1994-1998 hiatus. "Vanishing Point" reappeared in their setlists starting in 2017, but that was it. In a 2023 interview with the Irish Times, Gillian Gilbert claimed that the album's lack of on-stage representation is due to Bernard Sumner considering it "unfinished."
• Screwed by the Lawyers: The lawsuit that John Denver's publishing company filed over "Run 2" killed the single's commercial momentum as a result of Factory's choice to delete it, and this is likely the reason that that version of the song was left off of most compilations in favor of the album mix, even after the band settled out of court and gave Denver a writing credit. The lawsuit also shot down any chance of "Run 2" receiving a CD single release, giving it the somewhat dubious distinction of being New Order's last single without a release on the format.
• Similarly Named Works: Despite sharing a title and release year, the "Run" on this album has no relation to "Run" by Tin Machine.
• Troubled Production: Wanting a change in working environment from London's gloominess, the band opted to record their fifth album on the island of Ibiza, during its burgeoning acid house scene. Before long, the band plunged headfirst into the ecstasy-fueled party atmosphere and ultimately left the island after three months with only two drum tracks recorded. The sessions reconvened in more sober settings at Peter Gabriel's Real World studios in Box, although their experiences heavily influenced their songwriting, incorporating Balearic beats into their Alternative Dance sound. The result was New Order's most successful and acclaimed studio album to date, perfectly capturing the "Second Summer of Love" and saving their label, Factory Records, from bankruptcy for the time being.
• Vacation, Dear Boy: Possibly the reason the band chose to record the album in Ibiza.
• What Could Have Been:
  • The band wanted to release "Vanishing Point" as the first single, but Factory went with "Fine Time". Following that, the band wanted to release "Vanishing Point" as the second single, but Tony Wilson again overruled the band and chose "Round and Round" (ironically a diss track against Wilson) instead. The band would later put "Vanishing Point" on their 1994 Greatest Hits Album.
  • Manager Rob Gretton proposed crediting the album as "Peter Saville's New Order" after the album cover designer as an homage to The Velvet Underground & Nico, for which Andy Warhol acted as both the producer and cover artist. According to Saville, the suggestion "went down like a lead balloon with the band."

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