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Song · New Order

“Bizarre Love Triangle” by New Order

From the album Brotherhood (1986)

“Bizarre Love Triangle” by New Order appears on 92 radio countdowns from 27 stations between 1986 and 2026. It was first released in 1986 on the album Brotherhood. Its best result is #1 on the Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991), and it was voted number one on three countdowns in total. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #7 alternative song of 1986, #25 alternative song of all time and #17 of the '80s.

92countdowns
27stations
#1best position
3#1 finishes
14top 10 finishes
1986–2026years charted

Watch

New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle (Official Music Video) [HD]

Video from YouTube (New Order). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

New Order lifted "Bizarre Love Triangle" off Brotherhood, their fourth studio album, and Factory Records put it out as a single in November 1986. It's synth-pop cut for the dance floor and the bedroom mirror at once: a machine pulse racing ahead, drums snapping, and Bernard Sumner, who wrote the words, sounding lost and wide open in the middle of all that shine.

It caught on first where people moved, climbing to No. 4 on Billboard's Dance/Disco Club Play chart in the US and No. 5 on Australia's Kent Music Report. The singles charts in Britain and America never let it into their top 40, a snub that has aged badly. A fresh mix on The Best of New Order finally nudged it onto the Hot 100 at 98 in 1994, and in 2003 Rolling Stone ranked it No. 204 among the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In the band's run of singles it sits between "State of the Nation" and "True Faith".

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1986 23 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1986 107
1986 54 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1986 90
1986 1 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1986 10
1987 39 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1987 107

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 8 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s 200
1988 72 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) 496
1988 17 Live 105 Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) 501
1988 7 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of All-Time (1988) 200
1989 15 91X 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) 191
1989 120 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1989 7 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) 500
1989 67 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1989) 100
1990 2 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) 299
1990 21 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1990) 100
1991 1 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) 302
1991 43 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1991 7 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1991 24 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1991) 100
1992 21 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1992 5 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) 299
1994 11 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 2 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 10 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 29 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 1 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1996 32 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 16 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 18 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1998 37 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1998 60 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1998) 100
1999 2 Channel 104.9 Channel 104.9 Top 101 Songs of the '80s (February 1999) 104
1999 108 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 315 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 8 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 64 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 214 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 53 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 43 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 22 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 92 The Buzz The Buzz Top 99 Songs of All-Time (1999) 99
2000 39 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 43 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 40 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 37 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 1402 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2001 53 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 50 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 37 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 10 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 22 91X 91X Top 91 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 91
2003 59 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 37 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 57 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 37 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 798 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2005 68 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 37 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 841 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 25 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 70s & 80s 96
2006 139 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 56 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 57 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2006 44 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Resurrection Songs (December 2006) 107
2007 422 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 634 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 237 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 408 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 82 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 407 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 474 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2010 406 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 406 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2012 205 WYEP WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown 500
2012 782 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 405 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 407 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 674 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2018 185 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2019 96 KEXP KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time 627
2020 322 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2020 419 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2021 63 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2022 1027 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 603
2022 55 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 167 KEXP KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) 491
2023 47 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 22 91X 91X Top 91 Songs of The Last 40 Years 91
2023 339 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 710 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2025 739 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800
2026 230 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s 498
2026 528 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Also listed as: Bizzare Love Triangle.

Charting alongside it in 1986

Best songs of 1986 →
  1. 1PanicThe Smiths
  2. 2AskThe Smiths
  3. 3Bigmouth Strikes AgainThe Smiths
  4. 4SledgehammerPeter Gabriel
  5. 5Wild Wild LifeTalking Heads
  6. 6Don't Get Me WrongThe Pretenders

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