Temptation (New Order song)

"Temptation"
12" cover sleeve
Single by New Order
B-side"Hurt"
Released10 May 1982
Recorded1981–1982
StudioAdvision Studios, London
Genre
Length5:21 (7")
8:47 (12")
7:00 (1987 version)
4:08 (1998 version)
LabelFactory – FAC 63
Songwriters
ProducerNew Order
New Order singles chronology
"Everything's Gone Green"
(1981)		 "Temptation"
(1982)		 "Blue Monday"
(1983)
Music Video
"Temptation" on YouTube

"Temptation" is a song by the English band New Order. It was released as their fourth overall single on 10 May 1982 through Factory Records, backed by the B-side "Hurt". The band began recording the song as an instrumental in 1981, with frontman Bernard Sumner developing its lyrics as improvisations during live shows. Him and bassist Peter Hook later finished it during a 1982 studio session, handling the song's recording and refining parts originally conceived live. Marking a departure from the band's sound as part of Joy Division, "Temptation" features heavy influence from dance music and uplifting lyrics about the aftermath of a breakup.

Released as the last of a string of stand-alone singles early in the band's career, "Temptation" reached number 29 on the UK Singles Chart and topped the UK Independent Singles Chart. It received positive reviews from music critics upon release, and has since become acclaimed through retrospective reviews.

Background and recording

New Order was formed in 1980 by the three remaining members of English band Joy Division after frontman Ian Curtis committed suicide, as they had agreed to stop using the name if any member left or died.[5] They began recording demos during the summer of 1980,[6] and made their debut as a live act in July.[7] According to bassist Peter Hook, "Temptation" was originally recorded as an instrumental in 1981 due to there being no pre-written lyrics for it.[8] The band began playing early versions with improvised lyrics at their live shows during September 1981, notably performing a 10-minute long rendition during a concert on 19 November 1981.[9][8] When they first started playing the song, vocalist Bernard Sumner would come up with lyrics while drunk, with Hook noting that he originally sang "I've got a cock like the MI."[8] New Order performed as a trio during this period, having yet to recruit keyboardist Gillian Gilbert, and there was uncertainty regarding if Sumner would be the band's permanent vocalist.[9]

New Order went to Admission Studios in London in 1982 to finish "Temptation", where Sumner and Hook handled the recording and overdubbing. The keyboards and drum machines were recorded first, with acoustic instruments being layered over until the two were satisfied with the song structure and amount of melodies.[8] Sumner recorded his final vocals while under the effects of "a mild dose of LSD",[10] reusing the best lyrics from his improvised performances and further refining them.[8] The song's "Ooh" vocals originated from a technique Sumner developed that he called "dah dee deeing", where he would "hum, whistle, and scat-sing" over the backing track to come up with melodies for vocal lines.[8] While Sumner was recording, Hook and manager Rob Gretton[8] shoved a snowball down his shirt, resulting in the "startled yelp" audible on the 12" version's intro.[10] The B-side to the "Temptation" single, "Hurt" (originally titled "Cramp"), was finished in the same session and was the band's first song to be fully programmed with sequencers.[8]

Unlike New Order's previous output, "Temptation" was self-produced by them, as their previous producer, Martin Hannett, stormed off while mixing "Everything's Gone Green" after being asked to make the drums louder.[11] While producing it, the band used their previous experience working on "Everything's Gone Green" and "Truth" as a base to move forward;[8] Hook later wrote in a note to engineer Peter Woolliscroft that the song was "our first attempt at producing all show & no go."[12] Its production incorporated dance elements that later became prevalent in their sound,[11][13] originally inspired by a trip they took New York City in 1981 that encouraged drummer Stephen Morris to teach himself drum programming.[14]

Composition

Giorgio Moroder (pictured in 1979) was an influence on New Order when creating "Temptation".

"Temptation" is noted for moving away from the sound of Joy Division, being comparatively more upbeat and optimistic to their previously bleak output.[10][15] Hook later stated in his memoir Substance: Inside New Order that the band's love of Italian music producer Giorgio Moroder heavily influenced the song, particularly his solo album E=MC² (1979).[8] AllMusic's Bill Janovitz noted Moroder's influence in Gilbert's keyboards, which he believes influenced Morris' drum rhythms to resemble those from "mid- to late-'70s disco and underground New York dance music."[15]

"Temptation" opens with a fade-in where Sumner can be heard singing the song's phonetic hook. Hook plays a bassline throughout that emphasises being melodic rather than providing a bottom register, with synthesiser textures and varied drumming being provided by Gilbert and Morris, respectively.[15] The lyrics, co-written by all members of New Order,[8] detail an uplifting and triumphant feeling following a romantic breakup.[15] Sumner sings the chant of "Up, down, turn around, please don’t let me hit the ground" with a fun delivery,[16] while the song's coda[15] (referred to by the band as the "eyes drop")[8] is a singalong chorus about a lover's eye color, who Sumner finds distinct from anyone he has previously met.[15]

Release

"Temptation" was released as a single on 10 May 1982 through Factory Records, with "Hurt" being its B-side. The 7" version plays at 33⅓ rpm to accommodate its length of around five and a half minutes. Both versions bear the same catalogue number "FAC 63" despite these differences.[17] The 12" versions of both "Temptation" and "Hurt" appear on New Order's compilation EP 1981–1982, released a few months after the single itself.[18] Neither version mentioned the band's name on the sleeve; instead, the song title and catalogue number FAC 63 were embossed into the cover.[17] Nearly twenty years after the single's release, Morris admitted to the band that he was unhappy with "Temptation" due to how the snare drum was panned to one side, which he previously kept a secret despite hating it.[8]

Critical reception

The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau described the original version of "Temptation" as being "where Manchester's finest stop hearing ghosts and stake their claim to a danceable pop of unprecedented grimness and power," noting it as "the first real song this sharp-cornered sound-and-groove band has ever come up with."[19]

Retrospective reviews

In a list for The Guardian, Alexis Petridis named "Temptation" as New Order's second best song, writing that "the song itself – ramshackle but danceable, gleefully poppy, falsetto vocals – [was] evidence that New Order had hit on a new, distinct identity. You can understand why the band chose to re-record it more slickly in 1987, but the original’s cack-handed exuberance is part of its charm."[20] In a retrospective review of every single featured on the compilation album Substance 1987, Steve Speller of Dig! praised "Temptation" as the band's "first truly great pop song."[21] Rolling Stone's Rob Shefffield placed it twentieth on a list of the 200 best songs of the 1980s, opining that the song "sent [New Order] on their way to defining 1980s club sounds," also preferring the original 1982 mix over the band's "tinker[ed]" with versions from later years.[16]

Temptation '87

A re-recorded version of the song (titled "Temptation '87 on the 2023 reissue)[22] was created for the compilation album Substance 1987.[21] The original recording of the song is available on the third CD of the 2023 expanded reissue.[23]

Music video

In 2006, the song was interpreted in a video titled The Temptation of Victoria by filmmaker Michael Shamberg, who had previously directed a number of music videos for New Order.[24] The video features Victoria Bergsman of Swedish band The Concretes, who portrays a young woman in Paris who steals a vinyl copy of the song's original 12-inch release from a vintage record shop (the now defunct Bimbo Tower), along with a bouquet from a flower shop. She returns to her apartment and begins dancing to the record, causing the video to switch from black and white into color.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Gillian Gilbert, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner.

7": FAC 63 (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Temptation"5:21
2."Hurt"4:47
12": FAC 63 (UK)
No.TitleLength
1."Temptation"8:47
2."Hurt"8:13

Charts

Chart (1982) Peak
position
UK Singles Chart[25] 29
UK Independent Singles Chart[26] 1
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play[27] 68

Personnel

Credits adapted from Apple Music.[28][29]

  • Bernard Sumner – synthesiser, guitar, vocals, programming, keyboards
  • Peter Hook – bass guitar, programming, synthesiser, keyboards, production
  • Gillian Gilbert – synthesiser, programming, guitar, keyboards
  • Stephen Morris – drums. programming, synthesiser, keyboards
  • Peter Woolliscroft – engineer
  • Michael Johnson – engineer ("Temptation '87")

References

  1. ↑ Kellman, Andy. "Various Artists – The Indie Scene 1982: The Story of British Independent Music". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  2. ↑ Hsu, Hua (5 May 2006). "Better Than Prozac". Slate. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
  3. ↑ Molanphy, Chris (12 May 2023). "Champagne Supernova Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
  4. ↑ "ASCAP entry". ascap.com. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  5. ↑ Savage, Jon (July 1994). "Joy Division: Someone Take These Dreams Away". Mojo.
  6. ↑ York, Alan (30 July 2024). "New Order's Debut Gig: 'The Surprise on People's Faces Was Priceless'". Dig!. Archived from the original on 5 May 2025. Retrieved 10 July 2026
  7. ↑ Flowers 1995, p. 44.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Hook, Peter (2007). Substance: Inside New Order. Simon & Schuster. pp. 75, 85–87, 89.
  9. 1 2 Greene, Andy (28 January 2016). "Flashback: New Order Play a 10-Minute 'Temptation' in 1981". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 28 June 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 Kessler, Ted (22 November 2002). "We've had it large". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  11. 1 2 Nolan, David (2007). Bernard Sumner – Confusion (1st ed.). Church Stretton: Independent Music Press. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-9552822-6-3.
  12. ↑ Warner Chappell Music Ltd. (1990). New Order Music 1981-89.
  13. ↑ Fagel, Marc (5 March 2020). "Uncharted: "New Order 1981-82" The EP". CultureSonar. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  14. ↑ Reynolds 2005, p. 275.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Janovitz, Bill, Temptation - New Order, AllMusic, retrieved 10 July 2026
  16. 1 2 Sheffield, Rob (23 November 2023). "New Order, 'Temptation'". Rolling Stone Australia. Retrieved 10 July 2026.
  17. 1 2 "Factory Records: FAC 63 NEW ORDER Temptation". factoryrecords.org. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  18. ↑ "Factory Records: FACTUS 8 NEW ORDER 1981-1982". factoryrecords.org. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  19. ↑ "Robert Christgau, Consumer Guide Review: New Order – 1981–1982". robertchristgau.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  20. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (7 January 2021). "New Order's 30 greatest tracks – ranked!". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  21. 1 2 Edwards, Tom; York, Alan (9 November 2023). "'Substance 1987': Behind The New Order 12" Singles That Changed The World". Dig!. Archived from the original on 9 October 2024. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
  22. ↑ "Substance '87 (2LP)". New Order - Official Store. Archived from the original on 12 May 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
  23. ↑ "New Order's 'Substance 1987' Is Even More Essential on Re-issue » PopMatters". www.popmatters.com. 16 November 2023. Archived from the original on 11 July 2025. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  24. ↑ "The Temptation of Victoria". Tribeca Film Festival. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  25. ↑ "The Official Charts Company: New Order". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
  26. ↑ "Indie Hits "N"". Cherry Red Records. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
  27. ↑ "New Order: Billboard singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 23 November 2010.
  28. ↑ Temptation (2019 Remaster) - Single by New Order on Apple Music, 10 May 1982, retrieved 10 July 2026
  29. ↑ Temptation by New Order on Apple Music, 17 August 1987, retrieved 10 July 2026

Sources

  • Reynolds, Simon (2005). Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-303672-6.
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