The second single lifted from Technique.
Round & Round is a magnificent offering. It was much adored by Tony Wilson who pushed hard for it be issued as a 45 when the band were asking for it to be Vanishing Point. Legend has it that Wilson struck a bet with Rob Gretton, the manager of New Order, that it would be at least a Top 5 hit in the charts, and if not he would resign as chair of Factory Records. It only reached #21 and to his word, he did resign, albeit for a day. And in typical Factory behaviour, the event was deemed significant enough for it be given its own catalogue number, FAC253.*
The single did take the piss somewhat in respect of formats in the UK, with two different 12″ releases, one 7″ release and 2x CD singles, all with variations in the sleeves and some offering different b-sides. I bought the standard 12″ with the catalogue number FAC263:-
mp3 : New Order – Round & Round (12″)
mp3 : New Order – Best & Marsh (12″)
The single has a different mix from the album version; the b-side was the theme tune to a television show in which legendary footballers George Best and Rodney Marsh talked nostalgically about the good old glory days.
I’ll feature the music via the other formats, beginning with FAC263/7:-
mp3 : New Order – Round & Round (7″)
mp3 : New Order – Best & Marsh (7″)
FAC263r was the remix single.
mp3 : New Order – Round & Round (Club Mix)
mp3 : New Order – Round & Round (Detroit Mix)
FACD 263 was the CD single. It contained the 7″ and 12″ mixes of the single, the 7″ Best & Marsh and this:-
mp3 : New Order – Vanishing Point (Instrumental Making Out Mix)
This came from an otherwise unreleased soundtrack work that Steven and Gillian had done for a BBC drama series called Making Out, one of whose stars was Keith Allen to who we will return later in this series. It’s a fantastic variation on one of the stand-out tracks from Technique (and the one the band were keen to issue as a 45).
FACD 263r was a 3″ CD single that featured the club, Detroit and 12″ mixes of the single.
Oh and for completeness sake, here’s the LP version.
mp3 : New Order – Round & Round
And a lousy remix that was made for the release of The Best of New Order by London Records in 1994:-
mp3 : New Order – Round & Round 94
Just wish that I had danced to Round & Round in a club back in 89/90.
JC
*yup, I also think it is bizarre, but I suppose typically Factory, that the resignation of the chairman (FAC 253) comes in the catalogue in advance of FAC 263, which was the number given to Round and Round….all New Order singles did have a ‘3’ at the end
FAC 33 NEW ORDER Ceremony
FAC 53 NEW ORDER Procession
FAC 63 NEW ORDER Temptation
FAC 73 NEW ORDER Blue Monday
FAC 93 NEW ORDER Confusion
FAC 103 NEW ORDER Thieves Like Us
FAC 123 NEW ORDER The Perfect Kiss
FAC 133 NEW ORDER Subculture
FAC 143 NEW ORDER Shellshock
FAC 153 NEW ORDER State of the Nation
FAC 163 NEW ORDER Bizarre Love Triangle
FAC 183 NEW ORDER True Faith
FAC 193 NEW ORDER Touched by the Hand of God
FAC 223 NEW ORDER Fine Time
FAC 263 NEW ORDER Round & Round
(more to come)
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 
For me, Round & Round is the stand out track on Technique – Vanishing Point is a very close second. The aggressive Bass & Drums are countered by some synth wizardry. I’ve always wondered if Round & Round actually dates back to around the time of the Brotherhood sessions. It wouldn’t have been out of place on that album.
Nearly on a par with BLT, brilliant stuff.
I was also a big fan of Round & Round. I bought the 7″ and two of the 12″s but didn’t know there was a third (I’d have probably bought that too, knowing me!)
Margi Clarke was also in Making Out. I remember watching the show with my mum and loving Margi’s character.
Such a good song. As is Vanishing Point.
Got the standard 12” of this one. Not my favorite but in my top 3 of their singles. This marks my last New Order purchase. Looking forward to the rest of this series to see if I feel the same way about the band’s ‘90s output and beyond.
One of the stand out tracks from the wonderful Technique album. Round And round and Run are the ones for me.
I have a FAC263 version, according to Discogs “probably a promo only but not listed as such”, it has the club mix and the original 12″ mix on the a-side, and the Detroit mix on the b-side. Very comprehensive. And great too, for that matter.
My mistake Robster…don’t know why I typed there were 3 x 12” versions of this. I did a bundle of these posts together and must have gotten my notes mixed up.
I’ve amended the post.