Procession (New Order song)
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"Procession" is the second single by the British group New Order, released in September 1981 on 7" vinyl record. It is a double A side with "Everything's Gone Green". The single's Factory Records catalogue number is FAC 53.<ref name=":1" /> (Labelled as B Music)
Background and recordingEdit
Along with "Everything's Gone Green", "Procession" was recorded during a three day studio session with Martin Hannett in Strawberry Studios and Yellow Two Studios.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Bernard Sumner, at the request of Hannett, re-recorded his vocals at least fourty-three times. In retrospect for his book Substance: Inside New Order, Peter Hook wrote: "Procession was a good song and Barney was doing a good vocal. The only problem in the studio that night was Martin."<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref> Hannett would additionally request the backing vocals from Gillian Gilbert; Hook was against it, but was outvoted by the rest of the band.<ref name=":0" />
CompositionEdit
Though all of New Order's songs are credited as group compositions, Hook has stated that the lyricist of "Procession" is Stephen Morris:
"Procession" was a complete contrast to "Ceremony": Steve had written the lyrics and the vocal hook, and it sounded very poppy and immediate. It also helped us find a great use for that Yamaha amp we'd bought in America that cost us a fortune in import duty. It had a reverb spring in it, and when you shook it, it made a great noise. So we shook it like hell, recorded it and featured it in the song.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
AvailabilityEdit
The song does not appear on any of New Order's studio albums; it does, however, appear on the EP 1981–1982, the CD, cassette, and Digital Audio Tape releases of the 1987 singles compilation Substance (where it is erroneously listed as a B-side), the 2005 compilation Singles,<ref>Template:Citation</ref> and the 2008 Collector's Edition of the band's debut album Movement.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
ArtworkEdit
Similar to the album cover for Movement, the artwork is taken from a "Dinamo Futurista" magazine cover done by Italian futurist designer Fortunato Depero. Notably, the UK release's sleeve came in nine versions, all with different colours: black, blue, aqua, yellow, red, brown, orange, green and purple.<ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The second side of the single contains a shortened version of "Everything's Gone Green", the full-length version of which was later released as a 12" single on its own.
Although the original UK single does not indicate which is side A or B (the runoff matrix simply lists "SOFT" and "HARD" for each side), the French edition of the single actually has "Everything's Gone Green" labeled as the A-side track, and some Spanish and Portuguese pressings have reversed labels.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Track listingEdit
Chart positionsEdit
| Chart (1981) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart<ref name="chartstats">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
38 |
| UK Independent Singles Chart<ref name="cherryred.co.uk">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
1 |