The New Order (band)

Infobox musical artist
Name = The New Order


Img_capt =
Background = group_or_band
Alias = Ron Asheton's New Order
Origin = flagicon|USA Los Angeles, California, United States
Genre = Hard rock Proto-Punk
Years_active = 1975—1976
Label = Fun Records Isadora Revenge New Rose Vivid Sound Corporation (limited edition Japanese import)
Associated_acts = The Stooges Destroy All Monsters MC5 New Race The Amboy Dukes The Rockets Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers
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Current_members = Ron Asheton-(lead guitar) Jeff Spry-(vocals, 1975) Ray Gunn-(guitar, 1976) K.J. Knight-(1st drummer) Jimmy Recca-(bass) Dennis "Machine Gun" Thompson-(drums) Dave Gilbert-(vocals, 1976) Scott Thurston-(keyboards, 1975)

The New Order was an American Hard rock and Proto-Punk band based in Los Angeles, existing briefly from early 1975 to October 1976.

After The Stooges imploded in 1974, former Stooges lead guitarist Ron Asheton, forged a new band; ultimately acquiring MC5 drummer Dennis "Machine Gun" Thompson, a brief (but talented) Stooges bass player, Jimmy Recca and also former Stooges and future Iggy Pop keyboardist, Scott Thurston- who would later go on to play in The Motels, The Cult and has been a long-standing member of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers for over seventeen years.

This was at the same time that Iggy Pop was rehearsing with former The Doors keyboardist, Ray Manzarek. Ray and many underground rock fans had their eye on Iggy Pop to possibly become the heir to the confrontational, dark rock throne vacated by the death of Jim Morrison, which in some ways, Iggy actually did. Ray's early line-up also featured, (on drums and bass), the Los Angeles based brothers, Hunt Sales and Tony Sales, both Detroit natives who would later play with Iggy Pop on the albums: "Kill City", "Lust For Life" and "TV Eye Live 1977" and much later (1988-1992) with David Bowie in Tin Machine. Early on, both Ray's project and Ron's project, ironically, shared rehearsal space at a house owned by Ray.

The New Order recorded demos two times in Los Angeles: #1 in 1975 and #2 in 1976, each with a different lead singer.Both recordings were later released as a single vinyl album on the French label, Fun Records/Isadora, in 1977.

The album's lo-fi quality was the result of it being produced from inferior cassette copies, (originating from Ron Asheton), instead of the original master tapes.

The vinyl album was distributed in Europe by RCA Records and was later reissued with different cover art on vinyl as "Declaration Of War" on Fun Records/Isadora in 1987, (with one bonus track) and was later put to CD, in the same configuration, in 1991.

In 1989, "Victim of Circumstance" was released on vinyl and CD on French label Revenge Records. This release highlighted eight previously unheard practice room 4-track recordings, with side one of the original vinyl release presented as four bonus tracks on the CD version.

This configuration was recently re-released on April 29, 2008, as a limited edition CD on the Japanese import label, Vivid Sound Corporation. This new release has the same title and track listing as "Victim of Circumstance", but has the same cover art as the original 1977 vinyl release- although the "New Order" logo's font has been revamped and changed.

Vivid Sound Corporation also re-released the second and third live albums by the related Ron Asheton/Dennis Thompson band, New Race.

On the original vinyl release, each side utilized a different lead singer. Side #1 was Jeff Spry and side #2 was Dave Gilbert.

Some years after leaving the band, (due to jail time incurred from a drinking/quaalude related DUI and failure to perform community service), singer Jeff Spry and his guitar playing brother, Joe Spry, formed the New Wave band, Felony, which had a much played 1983 hit song ("The Fanatic") on the influential Los Angeles radio station, KROQ. This song was also featured on the soundtrack to the famous 1980's Nicolas Cage movie, "Valley Girl".

On Sunday, March 8th of 1992, Jeff Spry tragically shot himself, taking his own life, leaving behind an ex-wife and a daughter. His real name was Jeffrey Scott Spirelli.

After Jeff Spry was incarcerated, The New Order's first short-lived drummer, K.J. Knight, recommended a new singer, Dave Gilbert, as K.J. and Gilbert had both been veterans of the 1971/1972 incarnations of Ted Nugent's Amboy Dukes.

After keyboardist Scott Thurston left, his sonic void was filled by second guitarist, Ray Gunn, yet another Detroit veteran, who was recommended by Dennis Thompson.

Following The New Order's split in the fall of 1976, Dave Gilbert immediately joined The Rockets, the band formed in 1972, that evolved out of the famous Mitch Ryder and The Detroit Wheels. The Rockets made six albums, on three major labels, between 1977 to 1983.

Dave Gilbert died in 2001, at age 49, from fatal liver damage, after a lifetime struggle with drinking and drug addictions. His afflictions were to be the demise of both The New Order and The Rockets, as well as his termination from The Amboy Dukes.

Leading up to the making of The New Order's demos, long time Blue Öyster Cult/The Dictators and future The Clash producer, Sandy Pearlman, was talked about to produce the band, but ultimately, this was not to be. The back cover of the "Declaration Of War" CD/LP also bears the inscription: "This album is dedicated to the CULT", furthering the Blue Öyster Cult ties that were also shared with Radio Birdman. The New Order shares stylistic, attitude, and some sonic similarities with the early New York City Proto-Punk band, The Dictators; during the era with Jeff Spry on vocals- but much less so, during the Dave Gilbert era.

A projected collaboration with '60s & '70s Rock impresario, Kim Fowley (Svengali to The Runaways and co-creator of the '60s classic novelty hit, "Alley Oop", among many other things), was also talked about, but never came to fruition.

The New Order had at least one classic, the song "Rock 'n' Roll Soldiers", later covered by the Australian Radio Birdman offshoot band, The Hitmen and two decades later, covered by the modern Swedish Proto-Punk/Hard Rock band, The Hellacopters.

One of the lyrics from the song, "Rock 'n' Roll Soldiers", is the infamous battle-cry "The War Against The Jive" and is used as the heading to the liner-notes (penned by Rolling Stone Magazine's David Fricke) of Radio Birdman's 2001 Sub Pop Records CD release, "The Essential Radio Birdman (1974 - 1978)".

The exact heading is - "Total Victory: Radio Birdman's War Against The Jive".

Later on, after the similar bitter ending of Radio Birdman, the two groups (Radio Birdman and The New Order), would merge and become New Race, featuring Ron Asheton and Dennis "Machine Gun" Thompson, with Radio Birdman's lead singer Rob Younger, lead guitarist Deniz Tek and bass player Warwick Gilbert.

This band started and ended in 1981, with no studio material recorded, but three excellent live albums released, with two of the three first released on Revenge Records, then re-released recently on Vivid Sound Corporation.

www.myspace.com/ronashetonsneworder