When singer Ian Curtis took his own life in may of 1980, the three other members of Joy Division (Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris) & their manager Rob Gretton decided to keep doing music and named themselves New Order. Asking Gillian Gilbert, girlfriend of Morris, to join on keyboards & guitar, they started to expand from the "classic" post-punk sound of Joy Division to include more synths in their music.
After a few years of constant touring and releasing a few records, 1983 was the year New Order really took off. They released "Blue Monday", an electronic music anthem so danceable that it became one of the best selling 12" records of all time. Since then, New Order released countless albums & singles and are considered true pioneers of new wave and dance rock.
They're still going strong today, even if bassist Peter Hook left the band in 2007 to focus on his own project, The Light. They're introduced into Cleveland's Rock'n'Roll Hall Of Fame in 2026.