NEW ORDER – LOW-LIFE LP – Nr MINT/EXC+ UK INDIE JOY DIVISION

New Order – Low-Life
(Factory Records  1985  FACT100)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – MPO Press – UK Pressing

Sleeve (with onion paper) in Very Good+ condition
– sleeve itself in great condition with just some wear along top edge – onion paper has a tear in top right corner & some discolouration staining in top right corner and top left corner on back
Inner Sleeve in Nr MINT condition

Vinyl in Nr MINT/Excellent+ condition
(there are some surface marks visible on the vinyl when held up to the light but they don’t affect the sound quality apart from some light pops/crackles)

New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980, currently comprising Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, Gillian Gilbert, Phil Cunningham and Tom Chapman. The band was formed in 1980 by Sumner (vocals, guitars, keyboards and synthesisers), Morris (drums, electronic drums, keyboards and synthesisers) and Peter Hook (bass, backing vocals, keyboards and electronic drums), who were the remaining members of post-punk group Joy Division following the suicide of vocalist Ian Curtis – with the addition of Gilbert (keyboards and guitars).

By combining post-punk with an increasing influence from electronic and dance music, New Order became one of the most critically acclaimed and influential bands of the 1980s. Though the band’s early years were shadowed by the legacy and basic sound of Joy Division, their experience of the early 1980s New York City club scene increased their knowledge of dance music and saw them incorporate elements of that style into their work. The band’s 1983 hit “Blue Monday”, the best-selling 12-inch single of all time, is one example of how their sound became increasingly uptempo and electronic.

New Order were the flagship band for Manchester-based independent record label Factory Records. Their unlabelled 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 of doing whatever the relevant parties wanted to do, including an aversion to including singles as album tracks until 1984. Because of the band’s dance-rock genre it has a complex discography, with many well-known songs not featured on studio albums or released in a variety of mixes. Throughout their career, the band’s records were art-directed by Mancunian designer Peter Saville.

The group disbanded in 1993 to work on individual projects, and reunited in 1998. In 2001, Cunningham (guitars, keyboards and synthesisers) replaced Gilbert, who took a sabbatical from the band because of family commitments. In 2007, Hook left the band over personal conflicts. After Hook’s departure, Sumner, Cunningham, and Morris worked on Bad Lieutenant and the band reunited in 2011 without Hook, with Gilbert returning and Chapman replacing Hook on bass. During the band’s career and in between lengthy breaks, band members have been involved in several solo projects, such as Sumner’s Electronic and Bad Lieutenant; Hook’s Monaco and Revenge and Gilbert and Morris’ The Other Two. Cunningham was previously a member of Marion and with Sumner, and Chapman was a member of Bad Lieutenant.

In September 2015, the band released their tenth studio album, Music Complete.

Low-Life is the third studio album by English rock band New Order. Released in May 1985 by Factory Records, Low-Life is considered to be among New Order’s strongest work, displaying the moment in which the band completed its transformation from post-punk hold-overs to dance rock pioneers. The album shows New Order’s increased incorporation of synthesizers and samplers, while still preserving the rock aspects of their earlier work.

The album’s artwork is the only New Order release to feature photographs of the band members on its cover. By default, drummer/keyboardist Stephen Morris is on the front cover, but it actually features four photographs inside the case and a semi-transparent piece of paper with the band’s name on. Owners can choose which band member is seen through the sleeve.

The original Factory release (Japan and UK) CD versions of this album are mastered with pre-emphasis.

The album was preceded by the release of the full-length version of “The Perfect Kiss” as a single (only an edited version appears on the album). John Robie’s remix of “Sub-culture” was also released as a 12″ single. Both of these extended versions eventually were included on 1987’s Substance.

The songs on this album formed the basis of New Order’s live concert video, Pumped Full of Drugs, filmed in Tokyo shortly before the album’s release.

The music video for “The Perfect Kiss” was directed by Jonathan Demme. The song “Elegia” was featured in the Academy Award-nominated short film More by Mark Osborne.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert; except where indicated.

Personnel

• Bernard Sumner – vocals, guitars, melodica, synthesizers and programming, percussion
• Peter Hook – 4 and 6-stringed bass, electronic percussion, backing vocals on “This Time of Night”
• Stephen Morris – drums, synthesizers and programming
• Gillian Gilbert – synthesizers and programming, guitars

Production

• New Order – production
• Michael Johnson – engineering
• Mark, Penny and Tim – tape operators