The Other Two reimagine a Bloc Party track

Out since 9 October, it arrived with video and audio clips on New Order's official channel, credited to two of the Manchester band's members working as The Other Two.

Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert, as The Other Two, released a reimagining of Bloc Party's 'Now We Can't Be Friends' on 9 October 2026. New Order's official account announced the track on 8 October, posting video and audio clips via the band's verified X account.

The post credited Stephen and Gillian as The Other Two from New Order, placing the release within the Manchester band's public frame even though it appeared under the Other Two name. New Order are the English band from Manchester that formed from Joy Division after Ian Curtis's death in 1980. Bloc Party are the English indie band fronted by Kele Okereke; the recast song is theirs.

From Joy Division to a new arrangement

The path from Joy Division to New Order is the founding fact of the Manchester group's story. When Curtis died in 1980 the remaining members continued under the new name; Morris and Gilbert have been part of that line, and as The Other Two they have maintained a separate stream of recordings alongside the main band. A reimagining of a Bloc Party track sits in that second channel: the same musicians, a different billing, a song that did not begin with them.

Reimagining a track is a craft decision rather than a tribute slogan. It implies a change of arrangement, weight and texture — a second writing of the parts without erasing the original. Those familiar with Bloc Party's version will hear it through another set of hands; those hearing it here first will take Okereke's writing as filtered by players whose catalogue stretches back through New Order. For an audience that lives with these records day by day, that kind of cross-era hand-off is part of how the music keeps moving.

Anniversaries, compilations and this release

The announcement arrived amid a stretch of New Order activity that has included anniversaries and compilations. The official account remains the place the band publishes such news, and leading with video and audio clips gave an immediate sense of the reworking ahead of the release date. Nothing in the post suggested a full Other Two album, a New Order campaign built around the song, or a run of gigs tied to it.

With the track now out, the reimagining stands on its own terms. The announcement did not say whether further Other Two work will follow. It established the credit line and the date. Bloc Party's original remains the source recording; Morris and Gilbert's version is the new object in the catalogue. Between the end of Joy Division in 1980, the long life of New Order, and an indie song taken up by two of that band's members, the release is a small, exact meeting of eras — announced with clips on 8 October, and in listeners' hands from the 9th.