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1981–1982 or "Factus 8" was released for the American market as a compilation of three of New Order's early singles. It contains "Procession" from September 1981, plus the 12" versions of "Everything's Gone Green" (released December 1981) and "Temptation" (released May 1982) and two of the b-sides, "Mesh" and "Hurt". A second b-side to "Everything's Gone Green", "Cries and Whispers" is omitted, as is New Order's first single "Ceremony" / "In a Lonely Place". The sleeve was designed by Peter Saville and uses a painting from his then-girlfriend Martha Ladly.
The EP—in particular its version of "Temptation"—signaled a critical turning point in the development of New Order as the group shifted from simply being the remnants of Joy Division after the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis to being a singular band in its own right. The EP is frequently viewed as a bridge from the group's Joy Division-like debut album, Movement, to the new electronic-based sound contained on its second album, Power, Corruption & Lies.
The Village Voice music critic Robert Christgau described the EP's version of "Temptation" as being "where Manchester's finest stop hearing ghosts and stake their claim to a danceable pop of unprecedented grimness and power," noting that it was "the first real song this sharp-cornered sound-and-groove band has ever come up with."
The EP also marks the band's break from producer Martin Hannett, who had produced Movement and both of Joy Division's studio albums. While Hannett produced "Everything's Gone Green", "Procession" and "Mesh", the other two songs on the EP were produced by New Order. Bernard Sumner remarked: "Martin's last track was "Everything's Gone Green" – fact he walked out halfway through the mix because Hooky and me asked him to turn the drums up".
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