A Higher Order

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The soundtracks continue to win new adherents, too. "There's a sense of discovery for young bands, because Joy Division isn't that well-known commercially," says Sumner. Adds guitarist Phil Cunningham, a recent addition to the New Order lineup: "Everyone's got to have a starting point, and if you're looking for something that's emotionally driven, why not look back to Joy Division and New Order?"

Reformed as New Order in the weeks after Curtis' death, with guitarist Sumner at the mic, the band refused fans' calls to rerecord or play Joy Division tunes. "It would have been too painful; it reminded you of Ian too much," explains Sumner. He adds that the group needed to prove it could make it on its own living merits: "I didn't fancy being an Ian Curtis impersonator, really." That was never a danger. The 1983 song Blue Monday proved a smash hit with clubgoers — becoming the biggest-selling 12-in. single ever — and New Order further anchored themselves in the club scene as shareholders of Manchester's famous Hacienda club. Radio-friendly dance hits sent the band's appeal global.

"It's all right having a really great interesting past, but you have to think about the future and the present," Sumner says. "You must make sure you're still saying something." The musical vibrancy of Sirens' Call offers proof that New Order have a lot left to express. The upbeat Krafty, the more melancholic Who's Joe? and Hey Now What You Doing, the guitar-driven neo-punk Working Overtime and the pop masterpiece title track show New Order at the top of their game, using bright instrumentation and probing lyrics to make music that is emotionally and physically moving.

Meanwhile, since ending a five-year hiatus in 1998 — which feuding band members at the time suspected would be permanent — New Order finally discovered the courage to confront its painful origins. "We were so glad to be back together, it just felt the time was right to start playing Joy Division songs again," says Sumner. "Also, it was the best way we could think of remembering Ian. It was almost like bringing him back to life — or as much as we could." Yet another reason for fans to be cheerful.