Power, Corruption & Lies
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Power, Corruption & Lies was the breakthrough album by Manchester band New Order, released in May 1983. The album (the band's second), achieved more widespread popularity than any of the band's previous releases, including those of previous band Joy Division. The music is more electronic-based than previous albums, with heavy use of synthesizers.
Peter Saville's design for the album had a colour-based code to represent the band's name and the title of the album, but they were not actually written on it. The decoder for the code was featured prominently on the back cover of the album and can also be used for the Blue Monday and Confusion singles. Saville also used it on Section 25's album From the Hip, which is aligned stylistically with Power, Corruption & Lies and produced partly by New Order's Bernard Sumner.
The painting on the cover is made by French artist Henri Fantin-Latour. The art director Peter Saville intended to create a collsion between the overly romantic and classic image which made a stark contrast to the typography based on the modular, colour-coded alphabet he created solely for the band. It is also said that the owner of the painting (The National Heritage Trust) first refused Factory Records access to it. Tony Wilson, the head of the label, then called them up to ask who actually owned the painting and were given the answer that the Trust belonged to the people of Britain, at some point. Wilson then famously replied "Well, the People of Britain now wants it".
The US version of the album includes "Blue Monday", the biggest selling 12" of all time.
Track listing
(all songs written by New Order)
- "Age of Consent" – 5:16
- "We All Stand" – 5:14
- "The Village" – 4:37
- "5 8 6" – 7:31
- "Your Silent Face" – 6:00
- "Ultraviolence" – 4:52
- "Ecstasy" – 4:25
- "Leave Me Alone" – 4:40
Certain versions of the album, including the US release, feature "Blue Monday" after "5 8 6" and "The Beach" after "Leave Me Alone". Some copies list "Your Silent Face" and "Ecstasy" under their working titles, "KW1" (which stands for The Kraftwerk one), and "Only the Lonely", respectively. 'Ultraviolence' when debuted live was originally called 'Who Killed My Father?' and 'Leave Me Alone' as 'Only the Lonely'. The guitar line in the latter song was recycled from the melody played on the melodica on a previous release, 'Hurt'.
Personnel
- Bernard Sumner; Vocals, guitars, melodica, synthesizers & programming
- Peter Hook; 4 & 6 stringed bass, electronic percussion
- Stephen Morris; Drums, synthesizers & programming
- Gillian Gilbert: Synthesizers & programming, guitars
- New Order; Production
- Michael Johnson – Engineering
- Barry Sage and Mark Boyne – Assistants
Release details
- UK 12" – Factory Records (FACT 75)
- UK cassette – Factory Records (FACT 75C)
- US 12" – Factory Records/Rough Trade Records (FACTUS 12)
- UK CD (1993 re-release) – London Records (520 019-2)
Chart positions
- UK – #4