Many heroin users describe a glorious detachment that comes from the drug's high, and that feeling seems to be described in this song. When we asked New Order bass player Peter Hook about the meaning, however, he denied the drug connection. Said Hook: "'True Faith' features some of the best New Order lyrics in my opinion, but no, it is not about heroin, that is not something that any of our lyrics ever touched on. I think it's clear to see though that the lyrics do reflect being under some sort of influence." His bandmate Bernard Sumner has stated otherwise, however, telling Q magazine in 1999 that the song is about drug dependency, and that while he didn't do heroin, he wrote it from the perspective of a user. This is far from the first time Sumner and Hook haven't seen eye-to-eye - their relationship soured when Hook left the band in 2007 and Sumner decided to continue on without him in 2011.
The video, which is still frequently shown in the UK today, depicts a "good vs. evil" type fight in a surreal manner, starting with two costumed people smacking each others' faces in time with the drum beat. The clip was directed by Philippe Decouflé, a French dancer/choreographer (he also worked as a mime), who would later direct the Fine Young Cannibals video for "She Drives Me Crazy." The band was busy on tour, so their scenes were shot at a stop in Glastonbury while the rest of the footage was filmed in Paris.
New Order took on a grueling tour schedule at the end of 1986 that lasted about a year. During this time, they did very little recording, but they did make time to write and record "True Faith," which was released as a single in 1987 and featured as the only new song on their compilation album Substance
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