Every so often, I’ll find myself tapping out the stuttering opening beat of New Order’s iconic single “Blue Monday” because it’s been permanently lodged somewhere deep in my subconscious.

Released in 1983, “Blue Monday” went on to become the best-selling 12-inch single of all time (although Factory Records lost money on every copy due to the artwork’s complexity). However, the song was originally conceived as something of a joke, as something the band could play as an encore by just pressing a button. But as they worked on the song in the studio, it grew and evolved, leading New Order to experiment with new technology during the recording process. (In keeping with the song’s joke origins, Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris figured out how to use a sampler for the song by recording their own farts.)

But “Blue Monday” ultimately took on a life all its own thanks to Peter Hook’s iconic bass line, Gillian Gilbert’s sweeping synths, and Sumner’s LSD-influenced lyrics.