New Order Discography Tube Map Art Print

Why this New Order tube map art makes a gift fans keep

A discography gift for New Order fans who lose the thread somewhere after Technique, because this puts all twenty-one albums on one network, including the side projects. They own the records already. Ian Curtis appears at two stations, and the map carries on for another thirty-five years without him.

Giclée on 230gsm premium fine art paper, textured matte, archival and acid-free. Produced unframed or framed. Deeply researched and designed by me in East Sussex.

I plot these in CAD software. Every credited musician becomes a transit line, every album becomes a station, and anyone who appears only once gets a branch line of their own.

The stations run chronologically from Unknown Pleasures in 1979 to Music Complete in 2015, taking in Joy Division, New Order, Electronic, The Other Two, Marion, Bad Lieutenant and Freebass.

Most prints treat these as two bands. This one shows seven, and the same handful of people walking between them.

The side projects are where it gets interesting, because that is where the lines cross into other Manchester bands entirely. It rewards every closer look.

Contributing musicians on the map

Ian Curtis is credited on Unknown Pleasures and Closer and nowhere else. Bernard Sumner has the longest line on the print, running Joy Division, New Order, all three Electronic albums and Bad Lieutenant.

Peter Hook plays on both Joy Division albums, on New Order through to Lost Sirens, and on Freebass. Stephen Morris runs Joy Division, New Order and The Other Two.

Gillian Gilbert's line breaks and returns. She joined Movement in 1981, is on The Other Two records, drops off after Get Ready and comes back for Music Complete.

Johnny Marr plays on all three Electronic albums, which is the largest single crossover on the map. The first of them also brings in Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe of the Pet Shop Boys, and the second adds Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk.

Freebass is the strangest station of the lot. Peter Hook, Andy Rourke of The Smiths and Gary "Mani" Mounfield of the Stone Roses, three Manchester bassists in one band.

Get Ready pulls in Billy Corgan and Bobby Gillespie on guest vocals. Music Complete closes the map with Iggy Pop, Brandon Flowers and La Roux, plus a string section from the Manchester Camerata under Joe Duddell. Alex James of Blur plays bass on the Bad Lieutenant album.

Print Specifications:

Each one is a Giclée on 230gsm premium fine art paper with a textured matte finish, archival and acid-free, so the colours hold for years. Choose A2 or A1, unframed or framed, ready to hang in a hallway, living room or studio.

FAQ

Which bands are on the map?
Joy Division, New Order, Electronic, The Other Two, Marion, Bad Lieutenant and Freebass, twenty-one albums in all.

How many albums does Ian Curtis appear on?
Two. Unknown Pleasures and Closer, and his line stops there.

Is Johnny Marr on it?
Yes, across all three Electronic albums with Bernard Sumner.

What is Freebass?
A band of three Manchester bassists, Peter Hook, Andy Rourke and Mani, whose only album is a station on this map.

Does the map show line-ups changing?
Yes. Gillian Gilbert's line, in particular, breaks and rejoins, so you can see the gap as well as the return.

What are the framing options?
Unframed, or supplied framed and ready to hang.

Related Music Maps

Browse the full range of gifts for music fans at the Gifts for Music Fans collection and the Manchester Bands collection at mikebellmaps.com.

Johnny Marr and Andy Rourke both appear here, so the Johnny Marr Discography Map Art Print and the Smiths Discography Map Art Print are direct companion pieces.