New Order – The Perfect Kiss

New Order's 9th single. Released on 20 May 1985 as 12" and on 04 November 1985 as 7".
It is the first New Order single to be included on a studio album at the same time.
The song has some famous musical elements, e.g. frogs croaking and, at the end of the track, some bleating of (synthesized) sheep.

The single peaked at #46 in the UK charts.

Lasting nearly 9 minutes, the 12" single version only appears on the original vinyl and cassette editions of Substance, while the CD and DAT omits 44 seconds of the climactic finale. The full version was eventually released unedited on the 2-disc "Collector's Edition" of Low-Life, marking its first appearance on CD, and was subsequently released again on CD, and for the first time on digital services, with the 2023 reissue of Substance.

The versions on the album Low-Life and several post-Substance compilations are a 4:48 edit, omitting the third verse (the one that mentions the song's title) and fading out before the climax. Most 7"s have on their a-side another version, further edited to down to 4:23 (without the percussion introduction, and with half-length post-chorus bridges), while the Factory UK 7" has a unique 3:51 edit which does not appear elsewhere. The version on the Total compilation is largely similar to the 4:23 standard 7-inch version, and has the same length, but omits the rhythm breakdown before the frogs in favor of a full length bridge after the second chorus, as found on the album version.

Jonathan Demme directed "The Perfect Kiss" video, set in the band's rehearsal room. It shows the band playing the song live from beginning to end. The video was allocated catalogue number Fac 321. There is no official video with the studio recording of the track.

The original UK release had embossed letters on the front ("perfect") and back cover ("kiss The") and four inner sleeves: black, blue, pink or yellow on one side and white with release information on the other side.
Pressed by either Lyntone (blue, pink or yellow inner) or MPO (black, blue, pink, yellow).