Get the Message

"Get the Message" is a song by Electronic, the English band formed by Bernard Sumner of New Order and ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. "Get the Message" was the second single from their 1991 debut album, Electronic, and was a commercial success around the world. It is an example of Marr and Sumner's original concept of mixing the synthesizers of New Order with the Smiths' guitar sound. Composition Marr composed the music then Sumner wrote the lyric as engineer Owen Morris played him the song every four bars. Marr was reluctant to layer multiple guitar parts as he was wary of treading ground, but Sumner convinced him otherwise. During recording, Primal Scream vocalist Denise Johnson added a vocal at the end of the song. She went on to provide additional vocals on a number of songs on Electronic's second album Raise the Pressure five years later. Artwork The first releases were packaged by Johnson/Panas (the moniker of Trevor Johnson), who also designed Electronic's then imminent first album Electronic. Each format bore a unique colour scheme, all versions featuring the artist and single name with a bold number "2" underneath, signifying its place in Electronic's discography. The only format which differed from this theme was the second British 12-inch release, designed by 3a (who also oversaw third single "Feel Every Beat"). Release "Get the Message" is the seventh track on the British version of Electronic and the eighth on most of the international editions. It later became the title track of the band's career-spanning compilation in 2006. The single was issued in the United Kingdom on 7-inch, 12-inch, CD and cassette by Factory Records on 15 April 1991 (and two weeks later as a second 12-inch comprising two additional remixes by DNA), and as a three-format maxi single and standard cassette by Warner Bros. Records in the United States.