New Order’s Blue Monday: the best cover versions from 1983 to Wonder Woman ‘84
Covered by the likes of Orgy and thrillingly remade for the new Wonder Woman 1984 trailer, the New Order classic has had plenty of remakes over the years.
Like any classic song, Blue Monday by New Order lends itself to constant reinterpretation. The original itself has never just been one song in the New Order discography; released originally in 1983, Quincy Jones and John Potoker remixed it towards the end of the 1980s for the (rather inferior) Blue Monday ‘88 single. Owners of the original meanwhile will find an instrumental edit on the B-side known as The Beach, which as a child I remember finding on a cassette tape and presumed was some kind of extended intro to the version with vocals.
20 years after the ‘88 remix, American band Orgy covered it for a beloved industrial version, and now, after another 20 years, we hear a thrilling orchestral rework underpinning the recently released trailer to Wonder Woman 1984.
Listening to New Order’s classic riffs made epic as Diana Prince kicks various ass made me listen back to other reworkings of the original, the best of which you’ll find listed below.
The Taiwanese disco version
Frankie Kao – Ai Xiang Qing Gan Lan (1983)
You won’t believe when I say a Taiwanese TV personality covered Blue Monday under a new title with new lyrics in the same year as the original was released – but that’s exactly what happened in 1983, and we should be eternally grateful to YouTuber Contain Yr Brain for unearthing this absolute obscurity.
I know what you’re thinking: this Frankie Kao fella must have been some cool new wave type, an icon of the Taiwan alternative scene, but we’re basically talking a light entertainment star who tried his hand at family friendly disco on the side.
I would love to know how this cover came about; how had Frankie come across Blue Monday, or who introduced it to him, thinking it would be the ideal song to help this beloved TV star cross over into the music charts?
We may never know, but don’t let that stop you from enjoying his forgotten little disco bop.
The Industrial version
Orgy – New Monday (1988)
Released first on their album then as a single in 1999, Orgy’s remake paved the way for similarly hardcore versions of ‘80s songs by the likes of Dope and Marylin Manson.
The Chill Out version
Flunk – Blue Monday (2002)
This slowed down take was from that period when acoustic covers were all the rage. Remember Jose Gonzales doing Massive Attack’s Teardrop? Simpler times.
The Mashup version
Kylie Minogue – Can’t Get Blue Monday Out of My Head (2002)
At the 2002 Brit Awards, Kylie Minogue performed a mash-up version of her hit Can’t Get You Out of My Head with Blue Monday, as conceived and also produced by Stuart Crichton.
It was a cracking combination that soon made for a brilliant B-side, and Kylie’s managed to pull off the same trick this year by mixing her robo-pop number Slow with David Bowie’s Fashion to fantastic effect.
The Retro version
Nouvelle Vague – Blue Monday (2006)
The 2000s was also the decade we began to like ironic jazz or 1960s tinged classics of pop rock standards.
The Pop version
Rhianna – Shut Up and Drive (2007)
Yep, this Rhianna hit samples Blue Monday.
The Cinematic version
New Order – Blue Monday (Sebastian Böhm Remix, as seen in 2019 trailer for Wonder Woman 1984)
We know Hans Zimmer is scoring the superhero sequel Wonder Woman 1984, but this first trailer bangs with a Sebastian Böhm remix of Blue Monday.
Whichever marketing brain/creative agency came up with the idea deserves medal. It’s a mighty musical marvel that makes for one of the most stirring trailers in recent memory, showing how pathetic that trope of trotting out yet another bummed out cover as teaser soundtrack was getting.
(And yes, we know Atomic Blonde used the original Blue Monday for its opening sequence, but that’s the only part worth watching, all thanks to the godly talent of New Order.)
