Song · New Order
“Fine Time” by New Order
From the album Technique (1989)
“Fine Time” by New Order appears on 11 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 1988 and 2024. It was first released in 1989 on the album Technique. Its best result is #9 on the WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1988. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #41 alternative song of 1989, #2,752 alternative song of all time and #138 of the '80s.
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"Fine Time" was the opening shot from Technique, New Order's fifth album, released as a single late in 1988 ahead of the record's arrival in 1989. All four members, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert, wrote it, and the band produced it themselves, writing it and recording part of it in Ibiza, and it leans hard into acid house.
It's a squelching, bleeping dance track with a wink, all rubbery synth bass and bubbling electronics, and the title came from nothing grander than Morris getting his car towed and having to remember to pay the fine. Critics loved it then and still do, and it reached No. 11 in the UK and the top 10 in Ireland, Finland and New Zealand.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 9 | WLIR / WDRE Long Island, NY | WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1988 | 100 |
| 1988 | 44 | John Peel (BBC Radio 1) | John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1988 | 50 |
| 1989 | 27 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1989 | 90 |
| 1989 | 31 | Live 105 San Francisco, CA | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1989 | 105 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 90 | Live 105 | Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) | 299 |
| 1991 | 165 | WOXY 97X | WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) | 500 |
| 1991 | 914 | CFNY 102.1 The Edge | CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) | 1002 |
| 2002 | 1211 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 349 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2022 | 486 | X96 | X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time | 500 |
| 2024 | 637 | KEXP | The Best Opening Tracks of All Time | 738 |
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