Video 5 8 6
| "Video 5 8 6" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by New Order | ||||
| B-side | "As You Said" | |||
| Released | 22 September 1997 | |||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 22:23 | |||
| Label | Touch | |||
| Producer(s) | New Order | |||
| New Order singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
"Video 5 8 6", originally titled "Prime 5 8 6",[4][5] is an electronic instrumental piece and twenty-fourth single written and produced in 1982 by the British group New Order.[6] In December 1982, the track was initially released in two sections in Touch Music's first cassette magazine, Feature Mist.[4][6][7] Touch re-released the entire track as a CD single in 1997.[4][7]
Composed primarily by Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris, "Prime 5 8 6"/"Video 5 8 6" was an early version of "5 8 6" (from Power, Corruption & Lies), which contained rhythm elements that would later surface on "Ultraviolence" and the 1983 hit "Blue Monday".[4] After Factory Records' Tony Wilson asked New Order for twenty minutes of "pap", it was first played in public during the opening of The Haçienda on 21 May 1982.[4]
On release it reached #86 on the main British singles chart[8] and #19 on the British indie chart. Bassist Peter Hook has said the key to the title "5 8 6" can be found in another of the group's songs, "Ecstasy"; 5, 8 then 6 is the song's bar structure.
A video was released for the song called Primitive 586 on the FACT 56, IKON 3 VHS and BETA tape 'A Factory Video', the footage is mostly primitive 80s computer graphics.
Legacy
Dave Simpson of The Guardian, including "Video 5 8 6" in a list of ten of New Order's best tracks, called it a "motorik electronic odyssey" and added: "Eventually released as a CD single in 1997, this combination of endlessly repetitive groove and electro bassline is as hypnotic as anything they recorded."[9]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Video 5-8-6" (Performed by New Order) | 22:25 |
| 2. | "As You Said" (Performed by Joy Division - only included on 12" versions TONE 7.1) | 2:01 |
Chart positions
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[8] | 86 |
| UK Indie Singles | 19 |
References
- ^ Simpson, Dave (6 August 2014). "New Order: 10 of the best". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (7 January 2021). "New Order's 30 greatest tracks – ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
- ^ Bush, John. "Review: Video 586 – New Order". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Johnson, Mark. An Ideal For Living: An History of Joy Division. London: Bobcat Books, 1984. Pg. 103.
- ^ Flowers, Claude. New Order + Joy Division: Dreams Never End. London: Omnibus Press, 1995. Pg. 51.
- ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 December 2009. Retrieved 10 July 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 8 June 2011. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b "UK Chartlog". zobbel.de. Retrieved 22 June 2010.
- ^ Simpson, Dave (6 August 2014). "New Order: 10 of the best". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 May 2025.