{"id":65,"date":"2026-01-15T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/?p=65"},"modified":"2026-01-14T17:50:37","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T22:50:37","slug":"fact-or-fiction-new-orders-1983-song-blue-monday-is-the-best-selling-12-inch-single-in-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/fact-or-fiction-new-orders-1983-song-blue-monday-is-the-best-selling-12-inch-single-in-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Fact or Fiction? New Order\u2019s 1983 Song \u201cBlue Monday\u201d Is the Best-Selling 12-Inch Single in History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The music industry is full of persistent myths and urban legends, from behind-the-scenes details of recordings to sales records\u2014including the popularity of English band New Order\u2019s 1983 hit \u201cBlue Monday,\u201d<\/a> said to be the best-selling 12-inch single of all time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Typically, sales numbers are easily verifiable, and rumors about them can be debunked. But at the time, New Order\u2019s label, Factory Records, was not part of the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), meaning there is no clear record of exactly how many copies of “Blue Monday” were sold. However, Official Charts<\/a><\/em> does claim that the single will “rack up 700,000 sales on the format to become the biggest selling 12-inch of all time.”

Record or not, “Blue Monday” was undeniably a hit. It spent an impressive 186 weeks\u2014or just over 3 \u00bd years\u2014on the UK Independent Singles Chart and has sold over 1 million copies in the UK alone across all formats, including re-releases in 1988 and 1995. Over 700,000 of those sales are from the original 1983 release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The high sales numbers can be attributed to the fact that it\u2019s a great song, of course, but there are a few other factors that may have contributed to its success. Most notably, the song was available exclusively as a 12-inch for a few years\u2014it wasn’t released as a 7-inch, as most other singles are, until 1988, five years after its original release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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