New Order by Mat Osman

A couple of years back we did a gig in Thessalonika and after the show, trying to sleep back in the hotel, the sound of a beach party further down the coast was keeping me awake. It was far enough away that all you could hear (or feel) were vague undifferentiated thumps. Until… that kick drum pattern – Blue Monday, as iconic a sound as a Hendrix guitar riff – followed by the sound of a far-off gang of drunken Greeks cheering. How many other tracks can you tell, instantly, from simply the five seconds of bass drum?

I was a latecomer to New Order (no older siblings, see?) and Blue Monday was my way in. From there I worked back (Temptation, Ceremony) and bought everything new they did. Technique is still my favourite – it’s the perfect mix of light and dark to me – but there are tracks on every album that I love. These ten tracks are just my favourite at the moment, tomorrow it could be completely different set.

In no particular order:

The Perfect Kiss
Fine Time
Temptation
Dreams Never End
Your Silent Face
Bizarre Love Triangle
Ruined in a Day
586
Elegia
Blue Monday

MAT OSMAN IS A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE BAND SUEDE WHO RELEASE THEIR LATEST ALBUM ‘NIGHT THOUGHTS’ IN JANUARY 2016. MAT IS ALSO A PUBLISHED WRITER AND HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE GUARDIAN, THE INDEPENDENT AND THE OBSERVER AS WELL AS THE LONDON EDITOR FOR LE COOL.