The UK release.

Movement is the debut album by New Order, released on 13 November 1981 It is New Order's first album, and the only album before 1987 in which none of it's songs featured in Substance


After the suicide of Ian Curtis, and the singles Ceremony and In A Lonely Place. New Order decided to make some entirely new songs of their own, although some of them were played live in 1980, such as "Dreams Never End " and "Truth ".

It was unknown who would be vocalist at the time, since Ian Curtis was the original vocalist for Joy Division. In the end Bernard Sumner was the main vocalist, with Peter Hook singing Dreams Never End, and Doubts Even Here, as well as being backup.

The recording was interesting. Over a period of seven months, they recorded all the Movement songs in, as Sumner says, "in two big bits, and a whole lot of little bits." as well as Procession, Mesh, Cries and Whispers, and Everything's Gone Green."

Movement started the change from Joy Division to New Order. While most of the songs were still transitional and post-punk, there was a more active, less spacious change, especially "Senses", which plays funkier guitar, something that Joy Division almost never did since the band was called Warsaw.

The album sleeve (see above) is between a F and a L. The F stands for "Factory", the record company which produced Movement, and L is the Roman numeral for 50, which is the Faction number.


Movement was harshly recepted, due to it's "lack of forward momentum" after Ceremony. Allmusic gave it 4.5 stars saying in part of it's review: "Spurred on by producer Martin Hannett, despite his antagonistic relationship with the band (and perhaps, because of it), New Order produced a ghostly, brittle record, occasionally uptempo but never upbeat, with drum machines rattling and echoing over dark waves of synthesizers and Hook's basswork. A masterpiece in the career of any other post-punk band, Movement only paled in comparison to the band's later work."

Robert Christgau gave it a B+: For months I've sworn to concentrate on the lyrics and be done with this goddamn record, but it ain't gonna happen. The singing isn't literally inaudible, but it is literally unprojected, much less noticeable than the surrounding drum, guitar, and synthesizer rhythms/effects. Very atmospheric--the spaceship as sepulcher, with a beat. And as long as I literally don't have to hear their doomy doggerel, not a bad way to go. Pitchfork gave it a 9.3/10, Sputnikmusic gave it 4 stars, and Tiny Mix Tapes gave it 5 stars.

Band member Peter Hook later replied his own critisism on the album: "We were confused musically... Our songwriting wasn't coming together. I don't know how we pulled out of that one. I actually liked Movement, but I know why nobody else likes it. It was good for the first two-and-a-half minutes, then it dipped."

The future single "Temptation" will not only make the album popular, but largely raised up New Order altogether.


  1. Dreams Never End
  2. Truth
  3. Senses
  4. Chosen Time
  5. I.C.B
  6. The Him
  7. Doubts Even Here
  8. Denial

Bonus Disc, 2008 Collectors Edition

  1. Ceremony (September version)
  2. Temptation (7")
  3. In A Lonely Place
  4. Everything's Gone Green
  5. Cries and Whispers
  6. Hurt
  7. Mesh
  8. Ceremony (Original)
  9. Temptation (12")


Bernard Sumner: vocals, guitar, melodica, synthesizers and programming.

Peter Hook: Stringed Bass, vocals in Dreams Never End, and Doubts Even Here.

Gillan Gilbert: synthesizers, programming and speaking in Doubts Even Here.

Stephen Morris: drums, synthesizers and programming.

Martin Hannett: producer

Chris Nagle: engineering

"John": assistant producer

Mark Ellis: assistant producer
