2004 04 25 Tim Burgess on Power, Corruption and Lies, The Observer

 https://www.theguardian.com/observer/omm/reviews/story/0,13875,1197444,00.html

Age of adolesence 

NEW ORDER Power, Corruption and Lies

(London, £9.99)  ***** 

Charlatans singer Tim Burgess on how New Order shaped his life 

Although it may be a post-punk record and I already owned Never Mind the Bollocks and Stranglers and Clash albums by the time it came out in 1983, this was the true soundtrack to my adolescence.

It is my favourite New Order album (although Technique comes close) not least because it was the first I bought and it turned me on to their earlier work with Joy Division. I felt as if I knew more about them than any of my friends, and that can be what makes records matter at a tender age.

'Age of Consent', reminds me of Siouxsie and the Banshees - it's a bit of a nod to 'Hong Kong Garden'. I always thought 'The Village' was a homage to Ian Curtis with its lines like 'Their love died three years ago'. 'Leave Me Alone' was the song I learnt to play bass from, as a 15-year-old - though I was hardly a child prodigy. And Bernard Sumner may not think of himself as a great singer, but hearing him give me confidence that I could do the job too. I like the naivety of his lyrics as well; it's all a bit birds and the bees.

New Order drew me into what was happening around Manchester at the time with The Haçienda and all that scene. And 20 years on, this is a record that's still with me. I dug it out the other night and I must have been rambling on drunkenly to my wife about how great it is because when we woke up, the record was lying in bed beside us.