View source for Bizarre Love Triangle

{{Short description|1986 song by New Order}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{about|the song Bizarre Love Triangle|the film|A Bizarre Love Triangle}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Bizarre Love Triangle
| cover      = Blt_New_Order.jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[New Order (band)|New Order]]
| album      = [[Brotherhood (New Order album)|Brotherhood]]
| released   = {{start date|1986|11|3|df=y}}<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e1W6BQAAQBAJ&q=bizarre+love+triangle+5+november+1986&pg=PT318 |title=Substance: Inside New Order |first=Peter |last=Hook |date=6 October 2016 |publisher=Simon & Schuster UK |isbn=9781471132438 |access-date=19 July 2017 |via=Google Books}}</ref>
| recorded   =
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      =
* [[Synth-pop]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/bizarre-love-triangle-mt0002928296|title=Bizarre Love Triangle - New Order |first=Stacia |last=Proefrock |work=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/essential_guide_to_new_order | title=An Essential Guide to New Order | work=[[Exclaim!]] | date=8 September 2015 | access-date=11 April 2016 |last=Lindsay |first=Cam}}</ref>
* {{nowrap|[[alternative dance]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/arthur-baker-presents-dance-masters-shep-pettibone-the-classic-12-master-mixes-mw0003573291|author=Andy Kellman|title= Arthur Baker Presents Dance Masters: Shep Pettibone - The Classic 12" Master-Mixes|work=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref>}}
* {{nowrap|[[New wave music|new wave]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2016/09/scarlett-johanssons-band-sugar-for-sugar-covers-new-orders-bizarre-love-triangle-listen/|title=Scarlett Johansson's band Sugar for Sugar covers New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" -- listen|date=22 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cleveland.com/life-and-culture/erry-2018/08/efb48829707147/80-best-love-songs-of-the-1980.html|title=80 best love songs of the 1980s|date=31 August 2018|website=Cleveland}}</ref>}}
* [[disco]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/dreams-never-end-29084/|title=Dreams Never End|website=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]|date=1 January 2003|access-date=11 November 2023}}</ref>
| length     =
* 4:21 (album version)
* 3:43 (7-inch version)
* 6:43 (extended mix)
| label      = [[Factory Records|Factory]]
| writer     =
* [[Gillian Gilbert]]
* [[Peter Hook]]
* [[Stephen Morris (musician)|Stephen Morris]]
* [[Bernard Sumner]]<ref name="B">{{cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/new-order-bizarre-love-triangle-30th-anniversary-7565682/|date=November 5, 2016|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|title=10 Reasons Why New Order’s ‘Bizarre Love Triangle’ Is One of the Greatest Songs of All Time|author=Unterberger, Andrew}}</ref> 
| producer   = New Order
| prev_title = [[State of the Nation (New Order song)|State of the Nation]]
| prev_year  = 1986
| next_title = [[True Faith (song)|True Faith]]
| next_year  = 1987
| misc       = {{External music video|{{YouTube|tkOr12AQpnU|"Bizarre Love Triangle{{popdf}}”}}}}
}}

"'''Bizarre Love Triangle'''" is a song by English [[Rock music|rock]] band [[New Order (band)|New Order]], released as a single in November 1986 from their fourth studio album, ''[[Brotherhood (New Order album)|Brotherhood]]'' (1986), which reached the top five on the [[Hot Dance Club Songs|US Hot Dance Music/Club Play Singles]] chart,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/new-order-mn0000334193|title=New Order - Music Biography, Streaming Radio and Discography - AllMusic|first=Jason|last=Ankeny|work=AllMusic}}</ref> and {{abbr|No.|Number}} 5 on the Australian [[ARIA Charts]] in March 1987. It failed to enter the top 40 of both the [[UK Singles Chart]] and the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]; however, a new mix included on ''[[The Best of New Order]]'' was released in 1994 and charted at No. 98 on the Hot 100. In 2003, the song was ranked No. 204 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]''{{'}}s "[[List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]."<ref name="RS500">{{cite web |title=New Order, 'Bizarre Love Triangle' |date=11 December 2003 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-151127/new-order-bizarre-love-triangle-54750/ |publisher=Rolling Stone |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref>

==Releases==
The 12-inch version, remixed by [[Shep Pettibone]], also appears on the compilation ''[[Substance (New Order album)|Substance]]'' and a second remix by [[Stephen Hague]] features on their ''Best Of'' album. The original album version appears on the 2005 compilation ''[[Singles (New Order album)|Singles]]'', the 7-inch version appears on the 2016 reissue of this compilation. New Order's live versions since 1998 are based on the Shep Pettibone remix.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr04/articles/rogerlyons.htm |title=Recreating New Order's 'Blue Monday' Live |date=April 2004 |first=Tom |last=Flint |website=[[Sound on Sound]] |access-date=19 July 2017}}</ref>

The single mix features more electronics than the album version, with the [[Fairlight CMI]] music workstation used to provide sounds such as the [[orchestral hit]]s, and to sequence the song. All instruments except vocals and Peter Hook's melodic bass were sequenced (the song also prominently features synthesised bass and synth choir parts).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.keyboardmag.com/story.asp?storycode=10692 |title=New Order. New Album. Old School. All Good. |first=Stephen |last=Fortner |date=September 2005 |website=Keyboard |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051218235719/http://www.keyboardmag.com/story.asp?storycode=10692 |archive-date=18 December 2005}}</ref>

==Reception==
"Bizarre Love Triangle" has been critically acclaimed since its release.  In a 30th anniversary retrospective citing the song as one of the greatest of all time, ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' described it as a "synth-pop masterpiece" and "an incandescent jewel of mid-'80s computer love."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Unterberger |first1=Andrew |title=10 Reasons Why New Order's 'Bizarre Love Triangle' Is One of the Greatest Songs of All Time |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/new-order-bizarre-love-triangle-30th-anniversary-7565682/ |publisher=Billboard |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref>  ''[[NME]]'' praised the song as New Order's "finest pop moment" and credited its simplicity in comparison to previous singles such as "[[Blue Monday (New Order song)|Blue Monday]]".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Elan |first1=Priya |title=Why 'Bizarre Love Triangle' is New Order's finest pop moment |date=29 November 2017 |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/the-greatest-pop-songs-in-history-no5-new-order-bizarre-love-triangle-780056 |publisher=NME |access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref>  In 2004, the song was ranked No. 204 in ''[[Rolling Stone]]''{{'}}s list of "[[List of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time]]."<ref name="RS500"/> In 2013, ''[[Stereogum]]'' ranked the song No. 2 on their list of the 10 greatest New Order songs,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/1244332/the-10-best-new-order-songs/lists/|title=The 10 Best New Order Songs|first=Aaron|last=Lariviere|work=[[Stereogum]]|date=25 January 2013|access-date=1 April 2022}}</ref> and in 2021, ''[[The Guardian]]'' ranked the song No. 7 on their list of the 30 greatest New Order songs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/jan/07/new-order-30-greatest-tracks-ranked|title=New Order's 30 greatest tracks – ranked!|first=Alexis|last=Petridis|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=7 January 2021|access-date=1 April 2022}}</ref>

==Music video==
The [[music video]], which was released in November 1986, was directed by [[United States|American]] artists [[Robert Longo]] and [[Gretchen Bender]]. It prominently featured shots of a man and a woman in business suits flying through the air as though propelled by trampolines; this is based directly on Longo's "Men in the Cities" series of [[Lithography|lithographs]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kinoteca.net/Text/Bizarre.htm |first=Michael |last=Shamberg |author-link=Michael Shamberg |title=Bizarre Love Triangle |work=kinoteca.net |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060115071858/http://www.kinoteca.net/Text/Bizarre.htm |archive-date=15 January 2006}}</ref> The video has a black and white cut-scene where [[Jodi Long]] and [[E. Max Frye]] are arguing about [[reincarnation]], in which Long emphatically declares "I don't believe in reincarnation because I refuse to come back as a bug or as a rabbit!" Frye responds, "You know, you're a real 'up' person," before the song resumes.<ref>"Gretchen Bender, Tracking The Thrill", Page 62, "Music Video's",2013.</ref>

==Track listings==
{{track listing
| all_writing   = [[Gillian Gilbert]], [[Peter Hook]], [[Stephen Morris (musician)|Stephen Morris]], [[Bernard Sumner]]
| headline      = 7-inch: FAC 163 (UK)
| title1        = Bizarre Love Triangle
| note1         = Shep Pettibone Remix UK 7" Edit
| length1       = 3:43
| title2        = Bizarre Dub Triangle
| length2       = 3:23
}}
{{track listing
| headline      = 7-inch: Qwest 7-28421 (US) and 7-inch: FAC-26 (Canada)
| title1        = Bizarre Love Triangle
| note1         = Shep Pettibone Remix US 7" Edit
| length1       = 3:36
| title2        = Every Little Counts
| length2       = 4:29
}}
* Initial pressings (matrix FAC-26-A) were the UK 7-inch mix; later pressings (matrix FAC-26-A2) were the Canadian 7-inch mix
{{track listing
| headline        = 7-inch: FAC-163153 (Australia)

| title1          = Bizarre Love Triangle
| length1         = 3:36
| note1           = Shep Pettibone Remix US 7" Edit
| title2          = [[State of the Nation (New Order song)|State of the Nation]]
| length2         = 3:27
}}
{{track listing
| headline        = 12-inch: FAC 163 (UK)

| title1          = Bizarre Love Triangle
| length1         = 6:44
| note1           = Shep Pettibone Extended Remix 
| title2          = Bizarre Dub Triangle
| length2         = 7:02
}}
{{track listing
| headline        = 12-inch: Qwest 0-20546 (US)

| title1          = Bizarre Love Triangle
| length1         = 6:41
| note1           = Shep Pettibone Extended Remix 
| title2          = I Don't Care
| note2           = Actually "Bizarre Dub Triangle"
| length2         = 7:02
| title3          = [[State of the Nation (New Order song)|State of the Nation]]
| length3         = 6:31
| title4          = Bizarre Love Triangle
| length4         = 3:43
| note4           = Shep Pettibone Remix UK 7" Edit
}}
* US editions mis-credit "Bizarre Dub Triangle" as "I Don't Care", reputedly due to a record company person contacting New Order's Manager Rob Gretton to ask what to name the mix as, Gretton is claimed to have said "I don't care"<ref>{{cite web |url=http://neworder-recycle.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/recycle-13-bizarre-love-triangle.html |title=Recycle 13: Bizarre Love Triangle |date=5 September 2009 |work=neworder-recycle.blogspot |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006071852/http://neworder-recycle.blogspot.co.uk/2009/09/recycle-13-bizarre-love-triangle.html |archive-date=6 October 2014}}</ref>
{{track listing
| headline        = CD: Qwest 9 20546-2 (US) – released in 1994
| title1          = Bizarre Love Triangle
| note1           = album version
| length1         = 4:20
| title2          = Bizarre Love Triangle
| note2           = Extended Dance Mix
| length2         = 6:44
| title3          = I Don't Care
| note3           = actually "Bizarre Dub Triangle"
| length3         = 7:02
| title4          = [[State of the Nation (New Order song)|State of the Nation]]
| length4         = 6:31
| title5          = Bizarre Love Triangle
| note5           = single remix
| length5         = 3:43
}}

==Charts==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Chart (1986–1987)
! Peak<br />position
|-
|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|title=Australian Chart Book 1970-1992|year=1993 |publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, New South Wales, Australia|isbn=0-646-11917-6|pages=215}}</ref>
|align="center"|5
|-
{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|51|chartid=0796|song=Bizarre Love Triangle|access-date=25 December 2015|refname=can1986}}
|-
{{single chart|Ireland2|25|song=Bizarre Love Triangle|access-date=25 December 2015}}
|-
{{single chart|New Zealand|19|song=Bizarre Love Triangle|artist=New Order|access-date=25 December 2015}}
|-
{{single chart|UK|56|date=19861109|artist=New Odrder|song=Bizarre Love Triangle|access-date=25 December 2015}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboarddanceclubplay|4|artist=New Order|access-date=25 December 2015|note=remix—with "[[State of the Nation (New Order song)|State of the Nation]]"}}
|-
{{single chart|Billboarddancesales|8|artist=New Order|access-date=11 January 2023|note=remix—with "State of the Nation"}}
|}
{|class="wikitable"
! Chart (1994) <br> ([[Frente!]] cover)
! Peak<br />position
|-
{{single chart|Canadatopsingles|53|chartid=2508|song=Bizarre Love Triangle|access-date=25 December 2015|refname=can1994}}
|}
{|class="wikitable"
! Chart (1995)
! Peak<br />position
|-
{{single chart|Billboardhot100|98|artist=New Order|song=Bizarre Love Triangle|access-date=25 December 2015}}
|}
{{col-2}}

===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable"
! Chart (1987)
! Position
|-
|Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://i.imgur.com/sPdqqRt.jpg|title=Kent Music Report No 701 – 28 December 1987 > National Top 100 Singles for 1987|publisher=[[Kent Music Report]], via Imgur.com|access-date=11 December 2019}}</ref>
|align="center"|28
|}
{{col-end}}

==Cover versions and remixes==
* Australian band [[Frente!]] released an acoustic cover version of the song in 1994, re-imagining it as a folk ballad. Issued as part of the ''[[Lonely (Frente! EP)|Lonely]]'' EP in their home country, the cover peaked at No. 7 on the [[ARIA Charts|ARIA Singles Chart]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Frente%21&titel=Lonely&cat=s|title=Australian-charts.com – Frente! – Lonely|publisher=[[ARIA Charts|ARIA Top 50 Singles]]|access-date=17 November 2019}}</ref> and became a hit overseas, reaching No. 49 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/frente/chart-history/hot-100|title=Frente! Chart History (Hot 100)|magazine=Billboard|access-date=7 April 2018|archive-date=17 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517110125/https://www.billboard.com/music/frente/chart-history/hot-100|url-status=dead}}</ref> No. 53 in Canada,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.2505&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.2505.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.2505|title=Top RPM Singles: Issue 2505|magazine=[[RPM (magazine)|RPM]]|publisher=[[Library and Archives Canada]]|access-date=8 April 2018}}</ref> and No. 76 in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/32295/frente/|title=FRENTE Chart History|publisher=The Official UK Charts Company|access-date=7 April 2018}}</ref> In Australia, it came in at No. 63 on the 1994 year-end chart and was certified gold for shipments of over 35,000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://i.imgur.com/LHigR9p.jpg|title=The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles 1994|publisher=[[Australian Recording Industry Association]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151025122130/http://i.imgur.com/LHigR9p.jpg|archive-date=25 October 2015|access-date=17 November 2019}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{New Order}}
{{Frente!}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1986 songs]]
[[Category:1986 singles]]
[[Category:1994 singles]]
[[Category:New Order (band) songs]]
[[Category:Frente! songs]]
[[Category:Factory Records singles]]
[[Category:Qwest Records singles]]
[[Category:Songs written by Bernard Sumner]]
[[Category:Songs written by Peter Hook]]
[[Category:Songs written by Stephen Morris (musician)]]
[[Category:Songs written by Gillian Gilbert]]
[[Category:UK Independent Singles Chart number-one singles]]