1963 (song)

"1963"
Single by New Order
from the album The Best of New Order
Released	9 January 1995
Format	Vinyl record (12" and 7"), CD
Recorded	1987
Genre	Alternative rock, synthpop
Length	5:05
Label	London
Writer(s)	Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Gillian Gilbert, Stephen Hague[1]
Producer(s)	Stephen Hague, New Order
New Order singles chronology
"True Faith-94" (1994) "1963" (1995) "Blue Monday-95" (1995) Alternative cover UK Disc 1 cover

"1963" is a track by English rock group New Order. It was originally released as a B-side to "True Faith" in 1987 and appeared on the Substance compilation of the same year. It was then released as a single in January 1995, in a radio mix by Arthur Baker.

"1963"'s B-sides were all remixes of the title track or songs previously released.

Lyrics

In New Order Music 1981–89, the band's lyricist Bernard Sumner writes a tongue-in-cheek account of the song's lyrics that relate it to the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy. Sumner theorises that Kennedy arranged for Lee Harvey Oswald to shoot his wife so that "J.F. could do one with M. Monroe". Monroe commits suicide when Oswald hits the wrong target (in reality, Marilyn Monroe died in 1962, over a year before the assassination took place) and Oswald is later shot by his boss for "doing such a bad job and causing his hit-man business to go bust."^[2]

The producer Stephen Hague has referred to the song as "the only song about domestic violence that you can dance to."^[3]

Versions

The original 1987 version ended in a fade-out while repeating the last line of the outro, "I will always feel free". The "94 album mix", also included on the international edition of (The Best of) New Order as "1963-94", had all new orchestration and is similar in structure to the original version, except that the outro is removed and replaced with a repeat of the final bridge and chorus, faded out. The 1995 Arthur Baker remix restores the original outro, and, instead of fading out, has a cold ending after four repeats of the last line.

Music video

The video for the single's release, featuring the "95 Arthur Baker Radio remix", was directed by Gina Birch and produced by Michael H. Shamberg.^[4] It depicts British comic actress Jane Horrocks waking up in a box in the countryside and hitch-hiking to the city. Jane's suitcase becomes bigger in each camera take.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Gillian Gilbert, Stephen Hague, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner; except where indicated. 

CD #1: NUOCD6 (UK & Europe)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"1963" (95 Arthur Baker Radio Remix) (Remixed by Arthur Baker)	4:04
2.	"1963" (94 album version)	3:47
3.	"1963" (Lionrock Full Throttle Mix) (Remixed by Justin Robertson)	7:50
4.	"1963" (Joe T. Vanelli Dubby Mix) (Remixed by Joe T. Vanelli)	7:13

CD #2: NUCDP6 (UK & Europe) – limited edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"1963" (95 Arthur Baker Remix) (Remixed by Arthur Baker)		5:05
2.	"Let's Go" (A new 'vocal' version of "Let's Go" produced in 1994 by Bernard Sumner and Arthur Baker)	Gilbert, Hook, Morris, Sumner	3:56
3.	"Spooky" (Nightstripper Mix) (Remixed by Tony Garcia and Peter Daou)		7:03
4.	"True Faith" (87 Shep Pettibone Remix) (Remixed by Shep Pettibone)		9:02

7": NUO 6 / Cassette: NUOMC 6 (UK & Europe)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"1963" (95 Arthur Baker Radio Remix) (Remixed by Arthur Baker)	4:04
2.	"1963" (94 album version)	3:47

12": NUOX6 (UK & Europe)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"1963" (Joe T. Vanelli Dubby Mix) (Remixed by Joe T. Vanelli)	7:13
2.	"1963" (Joe T. Vanelli Light Mix) (Remixed by Joe T. Vanelli)	8:59
3.	"1963" (Lionrock Full Throttle Mix) (Remixed by Justin Robertson)	7:50
4.	"1963" (Lionrock M6 Sunday Morning Mix) (Remixed by Justin Robertson)	6:25

Chart positions

Chart (1995)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart[5]	21
Irish Singles Chart[6]	29
Australian ARIA Singles Chart[7]	206

References

1. Ascap entry Archived January 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
2. New Order Music 1981-89. London: Warner Chappell Music. 1990. ISBN 978-0-86359-768-8.
3. Buskin, Richard (March 2005). "Classic Tracks: New Order 'New Faith'". Sound on Sound. Archived from the original on 2014-04-02. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
4. "Michael H Shamberg Filmography". Galerie Arnaud Lefebvre. Archived from the original on 2013-07-10. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
5. "Chart Stats - New Order". chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 2012-08-28. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
6. "The Irish Charts". IRMA. Archived from the original on 2010-02-01. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
7. "Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry (submitted to [e-mail]), received 2015-07-15". imgur.com. Retrieved 2015-07-16.

See also

• John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories