New Order - Ceremony - 1st Issue Ex+ (Joy Division)

	£		46
	$		61

The first New Order release following the death of Ian Curtis and Joy Division. This was the last song ever written by Joy DIvision. Poignantly the dead wax of side B reads How We Wish We Were Here With You Now. This is the original issue - side A wax reads "Watching Love Grow Forever" - and is more like Joy Division in sound and arrangement, than the later re-recorded release (see below for full explanation) which was included on Substance etc.

Personally this is by far my favourite version of this song.

Artist/Title:          New Order - Ceremony

Label:                  Factory

Cat. no:                FAC. 33

Year:                    1987

1st Press:            Yes

Matrix:                  A1/B1

Cover/Inner:        VG+ (It's fairly flimsy and has some creasing around the edges)

Vinyl:                        Ex+ (very clear and crisp)

Tracklisting:

A1

Ceremony

A2

Everything's Gone Green

A3

Temptation

B1

Blue Monday

B2

Confusion

B3

Thieves Like Us

C1

The Perfect Kiss

C2

Subculture

C3

Shellshock

D1

State Of The Nation

D2

Bizarre Love Triangle

D3

True Faith

Extracts from Wiki etc. about this band/record:

Ceremony is a song written by Ian Curtis, vocalist in the band Joy Division. After Curtis' suicide Joy Division reformed as New Order and they released Ceremony as their first single. New Order released the song as a single twice, first in March 1981 and then a different recording featuring new member Gillian Gilbert in September 1981. At a Q&A with Peter Hook in London in 2007 it was confirmed that Ceremony was the final song ever to be written by Joy Division.

March 1981 version - (this version)

In March 1981, the first version of "Ceremony" was released on Factory Records (FAC 33). Martin Hannett (Joy Division's producer) produced the record. Peter Saville designed the sleeve graphics. The 12" sleeve was typography on a green background.

September 1981 version

In September 1981, "Ceremony" was re-recorded. Gillian Gilbert played guitar on the recording, just before she formally joined the group. Martin Hannett produced the record. The single was re-issued as a 12" only in September 1981 with the same catalogue number (FAC 33). The sleeve was changed to a light cream with a vertical blue stripe, though with the same motif and typography as the original 12" single. After supply of the re-designed sleeve ran out, copies of the originally-designed sleeve were re-used. Accordingly, the two versions of the song were packaged indiscriminately in the original sleeve. However, the run-groove notation (phrases pressed onto the vinyl) differ according to the version. The original says "Watching love grow forever". The re-recording says "This is why events unnerve me". Both phrases are excerpts from the words in "Ceremony".

There are significant differences in the recordings. The original is approximately 4:34 in length while the re-recording is 4:23. The original has a much more "Joy Division" sound, with throbbing bass, distorted guitar, spacey vocals, and solid drums also contributing a wash of cymbals.

In the re-recording the bass is diminished, cymbals restrained, and the vocals are "drier". The guitar has a sound typical of that used on the album Movement. Drum hits in the opening verse are dramatically panned in the mix. There is a greater contrast between verse and chorus, with only the latter sections reaching some of the emotional pitch of the original.

If you have any questions about this listing do please email me.

All the records I am selling come from my personal collection and have all been played at least once – so none are graded as mint. I have tried to grade them as subjectively and honestly as possible according to common record collector definitions. I haven’t played all of them all the way through (there are hundreds!) so the gradings may be based on a visual assessment and my memory of how they play. I am not an expert at grading. If you feel that the listing is inaccurate please contact me as soon as possible. I will refund the buying price (excl. p+p) through Paypal, provided the record is returned in the same condition and within 7 days of me sending it out (14 days for International). All records are sent in card mailers with stiffeners.

Payment in full by PayPal only. If full payment is not received within 7 days of the auction closing then I reserve the right to re-list. Any problems do please email me.

If you choose recorded delivery (+£1 in UK, +£4.50 everywhere else) then I will give a full refund up to £30 if the item is lost or damaged  in the post - if you choose standard delivery then it’s at your own risk. For anything with a sale price over £30 I recommend adding insurance – add £2.50 to the recorded price anywhere. If you want to use any other postage options – e.g faster delivery or surface mail etc. let me know.

I aim to dispatch within 48 hours of receiving payment but sometimes this may stretch up to an absolute max of 7 days.

Please take a look at my other items which I'm regularly adding to – each additional record only £1 extra p+p UK, £2 everywhere else. If intending to bid on multiple items please email me to let me know. For practical reasons I can only hold items for multiple dispatch for up to 14 days from the sale date, after which open orders must be paid for, or I may re-list them.

more records here