NEW ORDER, the icons that changed pop music forever, have announced rare Australian dates for 2020, bringing their timeless live show to fans at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on Wednesday 11 March and Melbourne’s Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Saturday 14 March.
NEW ORDER | 2020 TOUR DATES
SYDNEY
Wednesday 11 March – Hordern Pavilion (All Ages)
With special guests Confidence Man
MELBOURNE
Saturday 14 March – Sidney Myer Music Bowl (All Ages)
With special guests Cut Copy and Confidence Man
Over a career spanning four decades, New Order cemented themselves as one of the world’s most vital bands. Combining guitar-heavy post-punk with masterful use of synths, their seminal music has held them amongst the “most successful and innovative dance acts of all time” (Pitchfork).
Formed by members of Joy Division after the death of singer Ian Curtis in 1980, New Order crafted a distinct, cutting-edge electronic sound that was apparent from the release of their first single, ‘Ceremony’. The next forty years have seen the band combine sensitive and often dark lyrical content with melodic and celebratory electronic production. Their expansive repertoire of acclaimed albums and adored hits include the quintessential tracks ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’, ‘Regret’, ‘Crystal, ‘Plastic’, ‘True Faith’, and ‘Blue Monday’, the latter a thumping dance anthem that became the best-selling 12-inch of all time and currently exceeds 150 million streams on Spotify.
New Order’s acclaimed live show has been described as transformative – even hypnotic – featuring jaw-dropping lighting displays and immersive visuals. Nostalgic but never sentimental, their set combines new material with reimagined old favourites, and features a tribute to the enduring legacy of Joy Division, with a setlist that often includes ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ in its encore.
Most recently the band released ‘∑(No,12k,Lg,17Mif) New Order + Liam Gillick: So it goes..’, a live album recorded with a 12-piece synth orchestra. The innovative and thoroughly contemporary record was widely praised for its artistic vision and complexity. The band remains incredibly prolific, collaborating with Iggy Pop, Brandon Flowers and La Roux, and sampled by Rhianna and Kylie Minogue. Nominated for a Grammy and Mercury Prize, with a slew of NME Awards under their belt, New Order has headlined world-class festivals including Reading, Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Glastonbury.
Last in Australia in 2016 performing with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, their four sold out Sydney Opera House performances reached “euphoric heights” according to The Guardian.
Beloved dance quartet CUT COPY bring their pulsing hits to the Melbourne show. The Grammy-nominated, ARIA Award-winners broke through in 2008 with their acclaimed album IN GHOST COLOURS and hit single ‘Lights & Music’, and have remained one of the country’s most vital electronic acts in the decade since. Refining and expanding their rousing sound in recent years has seen Cut Copy sell out shows worldwide and appear on the line-ups at Coachella, Lollapalooza, Primavera and Pitchfork, and tour with the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Daft Punk, Bloc Party and The Presets.
Appearing in both cities are Australian dance-pop prodigies CONFIDENCE MAN. Kitschy and clever, they broke through with hits like ‘Bubblegum’ and ‘Boyfriend (repeat)’ from their 2018 debut album CONFIDENT MUSIC FOR CONFIDENT PEOPLE. Their irrepressible live show winks at the posturing of electro-snobs and has invited crowds at festivals such as Glastonbury, Groovin The Moo, Primavera, Splendour in the Grass and Golden Plains to thoroughly lose their cool and surrender to their irresistible party theatrics.
New Order secured their place in the pages of music history long ago, and they remain as peerless and essential now as they were then.