"Round & Round" by New Order

Song#:  3870

Date:  04/22/1989

Debut:  95

Peak:  64

Weeks:  9

Genre:  Synthpop, Techno

Pop Bits:  It had been three years since New Order had released a new studio album, but during that time a compilation titled Substance was released and it included the band's first US Top 40 entry, the #32 "True Faith." Then a one-off remix of one of their previous singles, "Blue Monday," got to #68. The band seemed poised for a bigger breakthrough and so they readied their fifth studio album Technique. Its first single, "Fine Time," would do well on the Dance chart (#2) and at Modern Rock (#3). However, it was unable to reach the Pop chart. This next single would fare better. It would become the band's third song to reach #1 on the Dance chart while peaking at #6 Modern Rock. This time the tune would cross over to Pop, but it couldn't climb into the top half of the chart. Regardless of that result, New Order had built up a sizable following in the US and that helped the album get to #32. By the end of the year it would be certified gold.

ReduxReview:  On paper, this is a band that I should have loved. They ticked a lot of boxes, yet for some reason I just never fully hooked into their tunes. Even when they attempted to be a bit more mainstream, as in this remixed single, my reaction was still kind of meh. I liked what I heard. The problem was that very little of it stuck in my head. I appreciate them more these days, but I'm still missing an overall connection to them. New Order had a habit of giving songs titles, yet not including the titles in the lyrics. This was one of them as was "True Faith" and "Blue Monday."

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) New Order's first single of the '90s was "World in Motion." It was a song written specifically to represent England's team in the 1990 FIFA World Cup football (soccer in US terms) competition, which was to be held in Italy that year. The tune featured some vocals from six team members and a rap by player John Barnes. The one-off single oddly became New Order's first and only to reach #1 in the UK.  2) Although the band struggled with internal issues and with their label going bankrupt, they rallied and released 1993's Republic. It's first single, "Regret," would end up being their best charting effort in the US reaching #28 (#1 Dance). The album would also be their best showing getting to #11. It would be a gold seller. Despite the band hitting new heights in popularity in both the US and UK, they decided to split. Eventually they would drift back together and in 2001 finally release their seventh album Get Ready (#6 UK/#41 US). After another album in 2005, the band would once again split. A few years later, they would once again reform. An album of leftover material would be issued out in 2013 followed by a new effort in 2015 titled Music Complete. It would reach #2 in the UK and #34 in the US. Although the band would never score a major hit on the US Pop chart, they did very well on the US Dance chart earning fourteen Top 10s including four #1s.

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