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What is it about this record that so fascinates me?
Is it its ubiquity?
Is it its timelessness?
Is it its sampleablity?
Let's face it, sample Blue Monday and you're guaranteed, maybe not a sure-fire hit, but at the very least a high recognition factor. That has to account for something.
Is it the totally unmistakable drum beat intro?
Is it the tune's ability to cross boundaries?
There are countless other reasons why I'm so into this record, not least the fact that it is a perfect, complete package of sound and design. I've yet to see a better record sleeve, thanks Peter Saville and Brett Wickens! This is where 12" vinyl comes into its own, I still buy it in preference over CDs. Those shitty little j cards you find in CD singles just can't compete with the visual and tactile impact of a 12"s sleeve. Legend has it that Factory Records lost money on every original copy they sold because of the high production costs. But hey! creativity overtaking commercialism.
It's well known that on its release, Blue Monday was only available on 12" format and it sold in truck loads. Around 3 million copies. The best selling 12" single ever. And it lived in that futuristic sleeve, appropriated from the design of a floppy disk for a sequencer. It was so clear that the recorded contents were at home in that slickness. The perfect synthesis of synthetic sound and design.
Funny how the floppy disk is on its way out, superseded by technology with greater memory. Meanwhile, Blue Monday is poised to outlive the technology that Saville and Wickens' design eulogised. Blue Monday's ability to be memorable, like new digital technology's memory itself, is extended as the tune finds new company with:
Kylie - "Can't Get Blue Monday Out Of My Head" (2002)
Electric Six - "Danger High Voltage," Soulchild 12" Blitz Mix" (2002)
Detroit Grand Pubahs - "Sandwiches" a capella, 2manydjs - "As heard On Radio Soulwax Part 2" (2002)
The Buggles - "Video Killed The Radio Star", Edith, Radio 1(2004)
Spektrum - "Kinda New", Tiefschwarz vocal mix (2004)
Llistening to Blue Monday on CD is just not the same, it becomes homeless, not just because of the absence of its sleeve but also the absence of its b-side, "The Beach"
It's like the classicness of the tune is magnified in its ability to sustain my adulation across two sides of vinyl, the labels (yes the strength of design runs right through) and the sleeve. I can't think of any other 12's I own where the b-side is played in a more even proportion.
Whenever I see a copy of Blue Monday in a charity shop or at a bootsale, I have to buy it. I can't bear the thought that it might otherwise get thrown out. End up in a landfill site somewhere. Criminal. Currently I have 8 copies of the Fac 73 version. But this is nothing compared to Erol Alkan's 14 copies. A fact which acted as a catalyst for this very work.
I bought my fourth copy from an amiable guy at a car boot sale. I think it cost 50p. He was interested in my excitement at the fact that the sleeve was slightly different to my other copies. It was devoid of the die cut sections. Another surprise was in store. On playing it I noticed the first two beats were missing.
I even love the tune when a bit's not there.
And when a bit of the sleeve that's not supposed to be there, is there. Likewise. But let's be straight, it's best when the sleeve has been die cut ! Witness the re-issues!
Blue Monday Owners Club is about participation, it's about an interest and/or passion for the same thing.
Maybe you don't own a copy of the record! Are you still looking? Not interested? Tempted now that you're reading this ?
It's not too late to join Blue Monday Owners Club. Search hard for a copy at car boot sales, or in charity shops, and get in touch.