Blue Monday / The Beach

A paradigm-shifting release that bridged the gap between post-punk melancholy and underground club culture, 'Blue Monday' became the best-selling 12-inch single of all time. Its pioneering use of the Oberheim DMX drum machine and Moog synthesizers was partly inspired by the Italo-disco and Hi-NRG tracks the band absorbed in New York. The iconic die-cut sleeve designed by Peter Saville famously cost so much to produce that the label initially lost money on every copy sold.