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Item- The History of New Order And Factory Records

© Marianne Moro

Item is a two DVD collection that spans the career of New Order, one of the most heard and "not seen" bands of the past 20 years. That is, if you go strictly by their record packaging and most of their videos.(Ironically, their best video "The Perfect Kiss" is the one of the few that features the band in all their glory, simply performing the song.)Unless you are a staunch fan, you might not remember more than the name, not even the scant song titles. But play a few bars of any well-known song or a clip from one of the videos and you'll place it immediately.

Formed by the remaining members of Joy Division after Ian Curtis' suicide, New Order released their first album, Movement in 1981.Now fronted by vocalist Bernard Sumner, with Peter Hook on bass and Stephen Morris on drums, the band added keyboardist Gillian Gilbert, and forged a distinctive rock electronic sound that still remained true to the artistic integrity of Joy Division and their early punk roots. . Under the direction of Tony Wilson's Factory Records and art guru Peter Saville, the band transcended mere "rock group" status and achieved a 1980s version of the Velvet Underground, with ambiguous album packaging, stylized videos and a cool but precise stage presence. Unlike the Velvet Underground, New Order's members were pure musicians who were separate from the artistic packaging and any accompanying "scene" that it spawned. The band members did co-own the trendy Hacienda nightclub in Manchester, which served as the focal point for the film 24 Hour Party People.

New Order:A Collection features 29 New Order videos, including such groundbreaking MTV clips as "Bizarre Love Triangle" and "True Faith." Everyone remembers "Bizarre Love Triangle's" video collage, pioneering and image heavy for 1987, now stands as the precursor to everything from Madonna's "Ray of Light." to more experimental indie films. "Confusion" tracks the New York disco of the early '80s with its slice of life street scenes. Each New Order video is a miniature art film, helmed by different directors "True Faith" with it's surrealistically attired characters running up and down staircases and engaging in mock fights. The exception to this is the Kathyrn Bigelow directed video for "Touched By The Hand of God", a spoof of hair band videos that were so popular at the time.

The documentary New Order Story covers the band's long and productive career. Interviews with key players are interspersed with a game show motif where band members answer questions about their careers. Of course Tony Wilson is the obligatory bad guy here, as all rock n roll managers/impresarios, though the battles don't seem quite as bitter as other celebrated cases of band versus manager. After Wilson's involvement with the band faded, Quincy Jones signed them to his Qwest label, and the band had several hits, including "Regret" and "World In Motion", and played at the esteemed Montreux Jazz Festival.

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