In a move that once might have seemed unthinkable, New Order — a flagship act of the iconic Factory Records imprint — has signed to the equally legendary Mute label, long home to contemporaries Depeche Mode and Erasure, as the group continues to work on its new album.

The ongoing rioting in London struck a potentially devastating blow to the U.K.’s independent record labels last night when a 200,000-square-foot Sony DADC warehouse went up in flames, destroying countless records and CDs distributed by the PIAS Group on behalf of scores of indie labels including such famed imprints as Beggars Banquet, 4AD, Mute and Rough Trade.