New Order formed in 1980 after the demise of Joy Division, following the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. Prior to his death, the members of Joy Division had agreed not to continue under the Joy Division name should any one member leave. In 1983 New Order released “Blue Monday” as a 12-inch single. Clocking in at 7:29 it made the top 10 in many countries. In New Zealand, it peaked at number 2 and spent 74 weeks (spread across three calendar years) in the top 50, while being the number one song in the 1983 year end top 100 and the number 8 song in the 1984 year end chart.