"Elegia" is one of the most solemn, almost mortuary themes in the discography of New Order. The song was released in 1985 as the closing song "Low-Life", third album by the Manchester band.
The sad tone of the music had its reason for being: "Elegia" had been composed as a tribute to his former partner in Joy Division, Ian Curtis, which, as everyone knows by now, ended his life by hanging himself at home one day in 1980.
The version of «Elegia» that New Order finally included in "Low-Life" was much shorter than the original track, limited by the length of vinyl, which was the predominant format at that time. Well, today we have the option of listening to the song in its entirety since the one 12 ″ published by Slow To Speak has been included and which also includes "5-8-6" a song from "Power, Corruption & Lies" in its Peel Session version, and a song that the band also dedicated to Curtis and that appeared on their first LP, "The Him."
The 18-minute version of "Elegy" it had only appeared twice before, in a very strange five-disc edition of the compilation "Retro" and in the collector's edition of "Low Life" that was released on vinyl but can be found on Spotify.
Source - Mondosonoro
More information - The «New Order without Peter Hook» to the FIB