New Order - North London Poly 22 January 1982
NME - CRIES AND WHISPERS New Order North London Polytechnic NEW ORDER at the London Poly was sold out before it was announced: by Christmas most outlets were starting to turn people away. The straggle of fans desperately searching for touts outside the hall demonstrated how popular New Order have become. It would be easy to put their popularity down to the legacy of an inherited legend, but they've not so easily dismissable. That they have something valuable to offer in their own right was evident a long time ago from a Peel session recorded early last year, which sounded a lot more confident than their live appearance at the time. When they played Heaven in February, they were nervous and unformed, a condition catalysed by the heavy cloud of anticipation hanging over everyone, and the obvious scrutiny with which they were observed and assessed. At Walthamstow in early autumn, they sounded old and tired, almost jaded before they'd fully begun. Maybe they were disi...