I was given this album by the Factory founder Alan Erasmus. I was working at BBC Radio Derby at the time. Alan would hand-deliver me loads of Factory stuff – he’d puff away on joints all the way down from Manchester in his car, stay for five minutes and head straight back.

The album cover, a painting by the French artist Henri Fantin-Latour, didn’t have the name of the band on it or a proper track listing. It also didn’t contain the recent hit single Blue Monday (still the best-selling 12-inch single) or a clear indication (the blessed days of vinyl) of which was side one or side two. I wanted to laugh and applaud at the same time. Bloody Factory records and Peter Saville.

Every Joy Division fan had been praying for New Order to be great, and this album exceeded all expectations: a wash of synthesiser glory rippling in and out, peppered with Bernard Sumner’s lyrical whimsy and Peter Hook’s bass never sounding better. It proved that electronic music didn’t have to be pretentiously cold.

I still get requests on shows for the two stand-out tracks, Age of Consent and the superb Your Silent Face, containing the line “You’ve caught me at a bad time, so why don’t you p*** off.” It was substance over style and by the time the soulful melancholia of Leave Me Alone finishes, you’re in no doubt that you’ve listened to one of the most influential albums ever.

— Every day this week you can claim a different free CD with The Times. For full details see Times Offers in times2 or www.timesonline.co.uk/classic

Explore Music

• CD Reviews

• Live Reviews

• Classical

Editor's choice

• The 100 Best Films of the Decade
• 70 facts you didn't know about Marvel
• The 50 Biggest Movies Of 2010