New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by vocalist and guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. New Order were formed in the demise of their previous post-punk band Joy Division, following the suicide of vocalist Ian Curtis. They were joined by Gillian Gilbert on keyboards later that year. Their integration of post-punk with electronic and dance music made them one of the most critically acclaimed and influential bands of the 1980s.
While the band's early years were shadowed by the legacy of Joy Division, their experience of the early 1980s New York club scene saw New Order incorporate dance rhythms and electronic instrumentation into their work, to critical praise. The band's 1983 hit "Blue Monday" became the best-selling 12-inch single of all time and a popular club track. In the 1980s, they released successful albums such as Power, Corruption & Lies (1983), Technique (1989) and the singles compilation Substance (1987). They disbanded in 1993 to work on individual projects, and reunited in 1998. In years since, the band has gone through various hiatuses and personnel changes, most prominently the departure of Hook in 2007. In 2011 the band reformed with a new line-up with Tom Chapman replacing Peter Hook as the bass player and Gillian Gilbert returning after her long break from the band. In this new quintet line-up they performed gigs all around the world until releasing their tenth studio album Music Complete in September 2015.
The group were the flagship band for Manchester-based independent record label Factory Records and its nightclub The Haçienda. Their distinctive album sleeves and "non-image" (the band rarely gave interviews and were known for performing short concert sets with no encores) reflected the label's aesthetic and their long-term collaboration with designer Peter Saville.
The classic line-up: Barney, Hooky, Stephen, Gillian
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