Joy Division
Encyclopedia
Joy Division were an English rock
band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis
(vocals and occasional guitar), Bernard Sumner
(guitar and keyboards), Peter Hook
(bass guitar and backing vocals) and Stephen Morris (drums and percussion).
Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock
influences to develop a sound and style that pioneered the post-punk
movement of the late 1970s. According to music critic Jon Savage
, the band "were not punk but were directly inspired by its energy". Their self-released 1978 debut EP
, An Ideal for Living
, caught the attention of the Manchester television personality Tony Wilson
. Joy Division's debut album, Unknown Pleasures
, was released in 1979 on Wilson's independent record label
, Factory Records
, and drew critical acclaim from the British press. Despite the band's growing success, vocalist Ian Curtis was beset with depression and personal difficulties, including a dissolving marriage and his diagnosis of epilepsy
. Curtis found it increasingly difficult to perform at live concerts, and often had seizure
s during performances.
On the eve of the band's first American tour in May 1980, Curtis, overwhelmed with depression, committed suicide. Joy Division's posthumously released second album, Closer
(1980), and the single "Love Will Tear Us Apart
" became the band's highest charting releases. After the death of Curtis, the remaining members continued as New Order
, achieving critical and commercial success.
show at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall
. The following day Hook borrowed £35 from his mother to buy his first bass guitar. Sumner later said that he felt that the Pistols "destroyed the myth of being a pop star, of a musician being some kind of god that you had to worship". Inspired by the performance, Sumner and Hook formed a band with their friend Terry Mason, who had also attended the show. Sumner bought a guitar, and Mason a drum kit. They invited schoolfriend Martin Gresty to join as vocalist, but he turned them down after getting a job at a local factory. An advertisement was placed in the Virgin Records
store in Manchester for a vocalist. Ian Curtis, who knew the three from meeting at earlier gigs, responded and was hired without audition. According to Sumner, "I knew he was all right to get on with and that's what we based the whole group on. If we liked someone, they were in."
Buzzcocks
manager Richard Boon
and frontman Pete Shelley
have both been credited with suggesting the band call themselves the Stiff Kittens, and they were billed under this name for their first public performance, but the band instead chose the name Warsaw shortly before the gig, in reference to the song "Warszawa
" by David Bowie
. Warsaw played their first gig on 29 May 1977, supporting the Buzzcocks
, Penetration
, and John Cooper Clarke
at the Electric Circus. The band received national exposure due to reviews of the gig in the NME
by Paul Morley
and in Sounds
by Ian Wood. Tony Tabac played drums that night after joining the band two days earlier. Mason was soon made the band's manager and Tabac was replaced on drums in June 1977 by Steve Brotherdale, who also played in the punk band Panik. During his tenure with Warsaw, Brotherdale tried to get Curtis to leave the band and join Panik and even got Curtis to audition for the band. In July 1977, Warsaw recorded a set of five demo tracks at Pennine Sound Studios, Oldham
. Uneasy with Brotherdale's aggressive personality, the band fired him soon after the demo sessions. Driving home from the studio, they pulled over and asked Brotherdale to check on a flat tyre; when he got out of the car, they sped off.
In August 1977, the band placed an advertisement in a music shop window seeking a replacement drummer. Stephen Morris, who had attended the same school as Curtis, was the sole respondent. Deborah Curtis, Ian's wife, stated that Morris "fitted perfectly" with the other men, and that with his addition Warsaw became a "complete 'family'". In order to avoid confusion with the London punk band Warsaw Pakt
, the band renamed themselves Joy Division in early 1978, borrowing their new name from the prostitution wing of a Nazi
concentration camp mentioned in the 1955 novel The House of Dolls
. In December, the group recorded what became their debut EP
, An Ideal for Living
at Pennine Sound Studio and played their final gig as Warsaw on New Year's Eve at The Swinging Apple in Liverpool. Billed as Warsaw to ensure an audience, the band played their first gig as Joy Division on 25 January 1978 at Pip's Disco in Manchester.
to record a cover of Nolan "N.F." Porter's "Keep On Keepin' On" and were afforded recording time at a professional Manchester studio in return. Joy Division spent late March and April 1978 writing and rehearsing material. During the Stiff/Chiswick Challenge concert at Manchester's Rafters Club on 14 April, the group caught the attention of Tony Wilson
and Rob Gretton
. Curtis berated Wilson for not putting the group on his defunct Granada Television
show So It Goes
; Wilson responded that Joy Division would be the next band he would showcase on TV. Gretton, the venue's resident DJ, was so impressed by the band's performance that he convinced them to take him on as their manager. Gretton, whose "dogged determination" would later be credited for much of the band's public success, contributed the business skills that Joy Division lacked to provide them with a better foundation for creativity. Joy Division spent the first week of May 1978 recording at Manchester's Arrow Studios. The band were unhappy with the Grapevine Records head John Anderson's insistence on adding synthesiser into the mix to soften the sound, and asked to be dropped from the contract that they had recently signed with RCA.
Joy Division made their recorded debut in June 1978 when the band self-released An Ideal for Living
, and two weeks later a track of theirs, "At a Later Date", was featured on the compilation album Short Circuit: Live at the Electric Circus
(which had been recorded live in October 1977). In the Melody Maker
review of the EP, Chris Brazier said that it "has the familiar rough-hewn nature of home-produced records but they're no mere drone-vendors—there are a lot of good ideas here, and they could be a very interesting band by now, seven months on". The packaging of An Ideal for Living—which featured a drawing of a Hitler Youth
member on the cover—coupled with the nature of the band's name, fuelled speculation about their political affiliations. While Hook and Sumner later admitted to being intrigued by fascism at the time, Morris insisted that the group's obsession with Nazi imagery came from a desire to keep memories of the sacrifices of their parents and grandparents during World War II
alive. He argued that accusations of neo-Nazi
sympathies merely provoked the band "to keep on doing it, because that's the kind of people we are".
In September 1978, Joy Division made their television performance debut on the local news show Granada Reports
, hosted by Tony Wilson. Later in the month, Joy Division contributed two tracks recorded with producer Martin Hannett
to the compilation double-7" EP A Factory Sample
, the first release by Tony Wilson's record label, Factory Records
. Joy Division soon joined Factory's roster, after buying themselves out of the deal with RCA. Rob Gretton was made a partner in the label to represent the interests of the band. On 27 December, Ian Curtis suffered his first recognisable epileptic episode. During the ride home after a show at the Hope and Anchor
pub in London, Curtis had a seizure and was taken to a hospital. In spite of his illness, Joy Division's career continued to progress. Curtis appeared on the front cover of the 13 January 1979 issue of the NME
due to the persistence of music journalist Paul Morley
; that same month the band recorded their first radio session for BBC Radio 1
DJ John Peel
. According to Deborah Curtis, "Sandwiched in between these two important landmarks was the realization that Ian's illness was something we would have to learn to accommodate."
, at Strawberry Studios
in Stockport
. Producer Martin Hannett
contributed significantly to the final sound. The band initially disliked the "spacious, atmospheric sound" of the album, which did not reflect their more aggressive live sound. Hook said in 2006, "It definitely didn't turn out sounding the way I wanted it ... But now I can see that Martin did a good job on it ... There's no two ways about it, Martin Hannett created the Joy Division sound." The album cover was designed by Peter Saville, who would go on to provide artwork for future Joy Division releases. Unknown Pleasures was released in June and sold through its initial pressing of 10,000 copies. Tony Wilson said that the relative success of the album turned the indie label into a true business and a "revolutionary force" that operated outside of the major record label system. Reviewing the album for Melody Maker, writer Jon Savage
called Unknown Pleasures an "opaque manifesto" and declared "[leaving] the twentieth century is difficult; most people prefer to go back and nostalgize, Oh boy. Joy Division at least set a course in the present with contrails for the future—perhaps you can't ask for much more. Indeed, Unknown Pleasures may very well be one of the best, white, English, debut LPs of the year".
Joy Division performed on Granada TV again in July 1979, and made their only nationwide TV appearance in September on BBC2's
Something Else
. They supported the Buzzcocks in a 24-venue UK tour that began that October, which allowed the band to quit their regular jobs. The non-album single "Transmission
" was released in November. Joy Division's burgeoning success drew a devoted following nicknamed the "Cult With No Name", who were stereotyped as "intense young men dressed in gray overcoats".
, in March at London's Britannia Row Studios
. March also saw the release of the Licht und Blindheit
single (featuring the songs "Dead Souls" and "Atmosphere") on the small French label Sordide Sentimental
.
Lack of sleep and long hours destabilised Curtis's epilepsy and his seizures became almost uncontrollable. Curtis would often have seizures during shows, which left him feeling ashamed and depressed. While the band was concerned about their singer, audience members on occasion thought his behaviour was part of the show. On 7 April, Curtis attempted suicide by overdosing on phenobarbitone
. The next evening, Joy Division was set to play a gig at the Derby Hall
in Bury
. With Curtis recovering, it was decided that the band would play a combined set with Alan Hempstall of Crispy Ambulance
and Simon Topping of A Certain Ratio
filling in on vocals for the first few songs. Curtis came onstage to perform for part of the set. When Topping came back out to finish the set for Curtis, some in the audience started throwing bottles at the stage. Gretton leapt into the crowd and a riot ensued. Several April gigs were cancelled due to the continuing ill health of Curtis, but the band filmed a promotional video for the forthcoming "Love Will Tear Us Apart" single that month. The band played what would be their final show at the University of Birmingham
's High Hall on 2 May.
Joy Division were due to begin their first American tour in May 1980. While Curtis had expressed a desire to take time off to visit a few acquaintances, he feigned excitement about the tour around the band because he did not want to disappoint his band mates or Factory Records. At the time, Curtis's relationship with his wife, Deborah Curtis (the couple married in 1975 as teenagers), was collapsing. Contributing factors were his ill health, her being mostly excluded from his life with the band, and his relationship with a young Belgian woman named Annik Honoré whom he had met on a European tour. The evening before Joy Division were to embark on the American tour, Curtis returned to his home in Macclesfield in order to talk to his estranged wife. He asked her to drop the divorce suit she had filed; later, he told her to leave him alone in the house until he caught his train to Manchester the next morning. Early on the morning of 18 May 1980, Curtis hanged himself in his kitchen; Deborah Curtis discovered his body when she returned around midday. Tony Wilson said in 2005, "I think all of us made the mistake of not thinking his suicide was going to happen ... We all completely underestimated the danger. We didn't take it seriously. That's how stupid we were."
. Jon Savage wrote in his obituary for Curtis in Melody Maker, "Now no one will remember what his work with Joy Division was like when he was alive; it will be perceived as tragic rather than courageous." In June 1980, the posthumous single "Love Will Tear Us Apart
" was released, which hit number thirteen on the UK Singles Chart
. In July 1980, Closer finally came out, peaking at number six on the UK Albums Chart
. NME reviewer Charles Shaar Murray wrote, "Closer is as magnificent a memorial (for 'Joy Division' as much as for Ian Curtis) as any post-Presley
popular musician could have."
The members of Joy Division had made a pact long before Curtis's death that, should any member leave, the remaining members would change the name of the group. Eventually renaming themselves New Order
, the band was reborn as a three-piece with Sumner assuming vocal duties; the group later recruited Morris's girlfriend Gillian Gilbert
to round out the line-up as keyboardist and second guitarist. New Order's first single, the 1981 release "Ceremony
", featured the last two songs written with Ian Curtis. While the group struggled in its early years to escape the shadow of Joy Division, New Order eventually went on to much greater commercial success than their predecessor band.
Further Joy Division material has been released since the band's demise. Still
, a compilation of live tracks and rare recordings, was issued in 1981. Factory put out the Substance
compilation in 1988, which included several out-of-print singles. Another compilation, Permanent, was released in 1995 by London Records
, which had acquired the Joy Division catalogue after Factory Records went bankrupt in 1992. A comprehensive box set, Heart and Soul, came out in 1997. The compilation album The Best of Joy Division
was released in 2008.
voice, which often drew comparisons to Jim Morrison
of The Doors
(one of Curtis's favourite bands).
Sumner acted as the unofficial musical director of the band, a role that he carried over into New Order. While Sumner was the group's primary guitarist, Curtis played the instrument on a few recorded songs and during a few shows. Curtis hated playing guitar, but the band insisted he do so. Sumner said, "He played in quite a bizarre way and that to us was interesting, because no one else would play like Ian." During the recording sessions for Closer, Sumner began using self-built synthesisers and Hook used a six-string bass for more melody.
Producer Martin Hannett "dedicated himself to capturing and intensifying Joy Division's eerie spatiality". Hannett believed punk rock was sonically conservative because of its refusal to utilise studio technology to create sonic space. The producer instead aimed to create a more expansive sound on the group's records. Hannett said, "[Joy Division] were a gift to a producer, because they didn't have a clue. They didn't argue." Hannett demanded clean and clear "sound separation" not only for individual instruments, but even for individual pieces of Morris's drumkit. Morris recalled, "Typically on tracks he considered to be potential singles, he'd get me to play each drum on its own to avoid any bleed-through of sound."
that the writings of William S. Burroughs
and J. G. Ballard
were "obvious influences" to Curtis, and Morris also remembered the singer reading T. S. Eliot
.
The band refused to explain their lyrics to the press or print the words on lyrics sheets. Curtis told the fanzine Printed Noise, "We haven't got a message really; the lyrics are open to interpretation. They're multidimensional. You can read into them what you like." The other band members later admitted they paid little attention to what Curtis was writing. In a 1987 interview with Option, Morris commented: "We just thought the songs were sort of sympathetic and more uplifting than depressing. But everyone's got their own opinion." Deborah Curtis recalled that only with the release of Closer did many who were close to the singer realise "[h]is intentions and feelings were all there within the lyrics." The surviving members of the band in retrospect regret not seeing warning signs in Curtis's lyrics. "This sounds awful but it was only after Ian died that we sat down and listened to the lyrics," Morris said in 2007. "You'd find yourself thinking, 'Oh my God, I missed this one.' Because I'd look at Ian's lyrics and think how clever he was putting himself in the position of someone else. I never believed he was writing about himself. Looking back, how could I have been so bleedin' stupid? Of course he was writing about himself. But I didn't go in and grab him and ask, 'What's up?' I have to live with that."
wrote, "[D]uring a Joy Division set, outside of the songs, you'll be lucky to hear more than two or three words. Hello and goodbye. No introductions, no promotion." While singing, Curtis would often perform what was referred to as his "'dead fly' dance", where the singer's arms would "start flying in [a] semicircular, hypnotic curve". Simon Reynolds noted that Curtis's dancing style was reminiscent of an epileptic fit, and that he was dancing in the manner for some months before he was diagnosed with epilepsy. Live performances became problematic for Joy Division, due to Curtis's condition. Sumner later said, "We didn't have flashing lights, but sometimes a particular drum beat would do something to him. He'd go off in a trance for a bit, then he'd lose it and have a[n epileptic] fit. We'd have to stop the show and carry him off to the dressing-room where he'd cry his eyes out because this appalling thing had just happened to him."
in the '80s."
The band's dark and gloomy sound, which Martin Hannett described in 1979 as "dancing music with Gothic overtones", presaged the gothic rock
genre. While the term "gothic" originally described a "doomy atmosphere" in music of the late 1970s, the term was soon applied to specific bands like Bauhaus
that followed in Joy Division's wake. Standard musical fixtures of early gothic rock bands included "high-pitched post-Joy Division basslines usurp[ing] the melodic role" and "vocals that were either near operatic and Teutonic or deep, droning alloys of Jim Morrison and Ian Curtis." Joy Division has influenced bands ranging from contemporaries U2
and The Cure
to post-punk revival
artists such as Interpol
, Bloc Party
and Editors. U2 frontman Bono
stated that his group loved Joy Division. The singer said in the band's 2006 autobiography U2 by U2, "It would be harder to find a darker place in music than Joy Division. Their name, their lyrics and their singer were as big a black cloud as you could find in the sky. And yet I sensed the pursuit of God, or light, or reason ... a reason to be. With Joy Division, you felt from this singer, beauty was truth and truth was beauty, and theirs was a search for both." Artists including electronica
performer Moby
and Red Hot Chili Peppers
guitarist John Frusciante
have described their appreciation for Joy Division's music and the influence it has had on their own material. In 2005, Joy Division were inducted along with New Order into the UK Music Hall of Fame
.
Two biopics
have been released that dramatise Joy Division on film. 24 Hour Party People
(2002) presented a somewhat fictionalised account of the rise and fall of Factory Records, in which the members of Joy Division served as supporting characters. Tony Wilson said of the film, "It's all true, it's all not true. It's not a fucking documentary", insisting that whenever possible during the production of the film, he favoured the "myth" over the truth. The 2007 film Control, directed by Anton Corbijn
, is a biography of Ian Curtis (portrayed by Sam Riley
) that uses Deborah Curtis's biography of her late husband, Touching from a Distance
(1995), as its basis. Control had its international premiere on the opening night of Director's Fortnight at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
, where it was critically well-received. That year Grant Gee
directed the band documentary Joy Division
.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis
Ian Curtis
Ian Kevin Curtis was an English singer and lyricist, famous for leading the post-punk band Joy Division. Joy Division released their debut album, Unknown Pleasures, in 1979 and recorded their follow-up, Closer, in 1980...
(vocals and occasional guitar), Bernard Sumner
Bernard Sumner
Bernard Sumner , also known as Bernard Dickin, Bernard Dicken and Bernard Albrecht is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboard player and producer....
(guitar and keyboards), Peter Hook
Peter Hook
Peter Hook is an English bass player, musician and author.He was a co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division along with Bernard Sumner in the mid-1970s. Following the death of lead singer Ian Curtis, the band reformed as New Order, and Hook played bass with them throughout their career until...
(bass guitar and backing vocals) and Stephen Morris (drums and percussion).
Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
influences to develop a sound and style that pioneered the post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
movement of the late 1970s. According to music critic Jon Savage
Jon Savage
Jon Savage , real name Jonathon Sage, is a Cambridge-educated writer, broadcaster and music journalist, best known for his award winning history of the Sex Pistols and punk music, England's Dreaming, published in 1991.-Career:...
, the band "were not punk but were directly inspired by its energy". Their self-released 1978 debut EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, An Ideal for Living
An Ideal for Living
An Ideal for Living is the debut EP released by Joy Division in 1978, shortly after changing their name from Warsaw.All tracks were recorded at the Pennine Sound Studios, Oldham, on 14 December 1977...
, caught the attention of the Manchester television personality Tony Wilson
Tony Wilson
Anthony Howard Wilson, commonly known as Tony Wilson , was an English record label owner, radio presenter, TV show host, nightclub manager, impresario and journalist for Granada Television and the BBC....
. Joy Division's debut album, Unknown Pleasures
Unknown Pleasures
Unknown Pleasures is the debut album by the English post-punk band Joy Division, released in 1979 through Factory Records. Martin Hannett produced the record at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, England. The album sold poorly upon release, but due to the subsequent success of Joy Division with the...
, was released in 1979 on Wilson's independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
, Factory Records
Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside and James and...
, and drew critical acclaim from the British press. Despite the band's growing success, vocalist Ian Curtis was beset with depression and personal difficulties, including a dissolving marriage and his diagnosis of epilepsy
Epilepsy
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...
. Curtis found it increasingly difficult to perform at live concerts, and often had seizure
Seizure
An epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
s during performances.
On the eve of the band's first American tour in May 1980, Curtis, overwhelmed with depression, committed suicide. Joy Division's posthumously released second album, Closer
Closer (Joy Division album)
Closer is the second and final studio album by the English post-punk band Joy Division, released , two months following the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. The album was originally scheduled to be released on . The record was originally released on the Factory Records label as a 12" LP and...
(1980), and the single "Love Will Tear Us Apart
Love Will Tear Us Apart
"Love Will Tear Us Apart" is a song by the British post-punk band Joy Division. It was written in August and September 1979, and debuted when the band supported Buzzcocks on their UK tour in September and October 1979. It is one of the few songs in which singer Ian Curtis played guitar...
" became the band's highest charting releases. After the death of Curtis, the remaining members continued as New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
, achieving critical and commercial success.
Formation
On 20 July 1976, Sumner and Hook (who had been friends since the age of eleven) separately attended the second Sex PistolsSex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
show at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall
Free Trade Hall
The Free Trade Hall, Peter Street, Manchester, was a public hall constructed in 1853–6 on St Peter's Fields, the site of the Peterloo Massacre and is now a hotel. The hall was built to commemorate the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. The architect was Edward Walters The hall subsequently was...
. The following day Hook borrowed £35 from his mother to buy his first bass guitar. Sumner later said that he felt that the Pistols "destroyed the myth of being a pop star, of a musician being some kind of god that you had to worship". Inspired by the performance, Sumner and Hook formed a band with their friend Terry Mason, who had also attended the show. Sumner bought a guitar, and Mason a drum kit. They invited schoolfriend Martin Gresty to join as vocalist, but he turned them down after getting a job at a local factory. An advertisement was placed in the Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
store in Manchester for a vocalist. Ian Curtis, who knew the three from meeting at earlier gigs, responded and was hired without audition. According to Sumner, "I knew he was all right to get on with and that's what we based the whole group on. If we liked someone, they were in."
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial...
manager Richard Boon
Richard Boon
Richard Boon, former manager of Buzzcocks and boss of the record label, New Hormones.Boon, a school friend of Howard Devoto, became the manager for seminal punk group Buzzcocks by default, after organizing gigs for the band. Seeking to release the band's music, Boon started the New Hormones label...
and frontman Pete Shelley
Pete Shelley
Pete Shelley is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist, best known as the leader of Buzzcocks.-Biography:...
have both been credited with suggesting the band call themselves the Stiff Kittens, and they were billed under this name for their first public performance, but the band instead chose the name Warsaw shortly before the gig, in reference to the song "Warszawa
Warszawa (song)
"Warszawa" is a mostly instrumental song by David Bowie, co-written with Brian Eno and originally released in 1977 on the album Low.The arrangement is meant to evoke the desolation of Warsaw at the time of Bowie's visit in 1973...
" by David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
. Warsaw played their first gig on 29 May 1977, supporting the Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks
Buzzcocks are an English punk rock band formed in Bolton in 1976, led by singer–songwriter–guitarist Pete Shelley.They are regarded as an important influence on the Manchester music scene, the independent record label movement, punk rock, power pop, pop punk and indie rock. They achieved commercial...
, Penetration
Penetration (band)
Penetration is a punk rock band from County Durham, England formed in 1976. They re-formed in 2001 with several new members.Their debut single, "Don’t Dictate", is now acknowledged as a classic punk rock single and their debut album, Moving Targets , is still widely admired-Biography:The lead...
, and John Cooper Clarke
John Cooper Clarke
John Cooper Clarke is an English performance poet who first became famous during the punk rock era of the late 1970s when he became known as a "punk poet"...
at the Electric Circus. The band received national exposure due to reviews of the gig in the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
by Paul Morley
Paul Morley
Paul Morley is an English journalist, who wrote for the New Musical Express from 1977 to 1983, during one of its most successful periods, and has since written for a wide range of publications...
and in Sounds
Sounds (magazine)
Sounds was a long-term British music paper, published weekly from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991. It was produced by Spotlight Publications , which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left "Melody Maker" to start their own company...
by Ian Wood. Tony Tabac played drums that night after joining the band two days earlier. Mason was soon made the band's manager and Tabac was replaced on drums in June 1977 by Steve Brotherdale, who also played in the punk band Panik. During his tenure with Warsaw, Brotherdale tried to get Curtis to leave the band and join Panik and even got Curtis to audition for the band. In July 1977, Warsaw recorded a set of five demo tracks at Pennine Sound Studios, Oldham
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amid the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers Irk and Medlock, south-southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of the city of Manchester...
. Uneasy with Brotherdale's aggressive personality, the band fired him soon after the demo sessions. Driving home from the studio, they pulled over and asked Brotherdale to check on a flat tyre; when he got out of the car, they sped off.
In August 1977, the band placed an advertisement in a music shop window seeking a replacement drummer. Stephen Morris, who had attended the same school as Curtis, was the sole respondent. Deborah Curtis, Ian's wife, stated that Morris "fitted perfectly" with the other men, and that with his addition Warsaw became a "complete 'family'". In order to avoid confusion with the London punk band Warsaw Pakt
Warsaw Pakt
Warsaw Pakt was a short-lived punk group which were active in the years of 1977-78, though some of its members had heritages linking them to the 1960s underground...
, the band renamed themselves Joy Division in early 1978, borrowing their new name from the prostitution wing of a Nazi
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
concentration camp mentioned in the 1955 novel The House of Dolls
The House of Dolls
The House of Dolls is a 1955 novella by Ka-tzetnik 135633. The novella describes "Joy Divisions", which were allegedly groups of Jewish women in the concentration camps during World War II who were kept for the sexual pleasure of Nazi soldiers....
. In December, the group recorded what became their debut EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, An Ideal for Living
An Ideal for Living
An Ideal for Living is the debut EP released by Joy Division in 1978, shortly after changing their name from Warsaw.All tracks were recorded at the Pennine Sound Studios, Oldham, on 14 December 1977...
at Pennine Sound Studio and played their final gig as Warsaw on New Year's Eve at The Swinging Apple in Liverpool. Billed as Warsaw to ensure an audience, the band played their first gig as Joy Division on 25 January 1978 at Pip's Disco in Manchester.
Early releases
Joy Division were approached by RCA RecordsRCA Records
RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...
to record a cover of Nolan "N.F." Porter's "Keep On Keepin' On" and were afforded recording time at a professional Manchester studio in return. Joy Division spent late March and April 1978 writing and rehearsing material. During the Stiff/Chiswick Challenge concert at Manchester's Rafters Club on 14 April, the group caught the attention of Tony Wilson
Tony Wilson
Anthony Howard Wilson, commonly known as Tony Wilson , was an English record label owner, radio presenter, TV show host, nightclub manager, impresario and journalist for Granada Television and the BBC....
and Rob Gretton
Rob Gretton
Rob Gretton was the manager of Joy Division and New Order. He was also a partner in Factory Records, proprietor of the Rob's Records label and a co-founder along with Tony Wilson of The Haçienda nightclub in Manchester, England. In 1977, Gretton became a leading figure in the Manchester punk...
. Curtis berated Wilson for not putting the group on his defunct Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
show So It Goes
So It Goes (TV series)
So It Goes was a British TV music show presented by Tony Wilson on Granada Television between 1976 and 1977. It is most famous for showcasing the then burgeoning Punk rock movement...
; Wilson responded that Joy Division would be the next band he would showcase on TV. Gretton, the venue's resident DJ, was so impressed by the band's performance that he convinced them to take him on as their manager. Gretton, whose "dogged determination" would later be credited for much of the band's public success, contributed the business skills that Joy Division lacked to provide them with a better foundation for creativity. Joy Division spent the first week of May 1978 recording at Manchester's Arrow Studios. The band were unhappy with the Grapevine Records head John Anderson's insistence on adding synthesiser into the mix to soften the sound, and asked to be dropped from the contract that they had recently signed with RCA.
Joy Division made their recorded debut in June 1978 when the band self-released An Ideal for Living
An Ideal for Living
An Ideal for Living is the debut EP released by Joy Division in 1978, shortly after changing their name from Warsaw.All tracks were recorded at the Pennine Sound Studios, Oldham, on 14 December 1977...
, and two weeks later a track of theirs, "At a Later Date", was featured on the compilation album Short Circuit: Live at the Electric Circus
Short Circuit: Live at the Electric Circus
Short Circuit: Live at the Electric Circus is a compilation album of songs recorded live at the Electric Circus, Manchester, on the 1st and 2 October 1977, two concerts marking the last nights of the venue before it closed...
(which had been recorded live in October 1977). In the Melody Maker
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
review of the EP, Chris Brazier said that it "has the familiar rough-hewn nature of home-produced records but they're no mere drone-vendors—there are a lot of good ideas here, and they could be a very interesting band by now, seven months on". The packaging of An Ideal for Living—which featured a drawing of a Hitler Youth
Hitler Youth
The Hitler Youth was a paramilitary organization of the Nazi Party. It existed from 1922 to 1945. The HJ was the second oldest paramilitary Nazi group, founded one year after its adult counterpart, the Sturmabteilung...
member on the cover—coupled with the nature of the band's name, fuelled speculation about their political affiliations. While Hook and Sumner later admitted to being intrigued by fascism at the time, Morris insisted that the group's obsession with Nazi imagery came from a desire to keep memories of the sacrifices of their parents and grandparents during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
alive. He argued that accusations of neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
sympathies merely provoked the band "to keep on doing it, because that's the kind of people we are".
In September 1978, Joy Division made their television performance debut on the local news show Granada Reports
Granada Reports
Granada Reports is the flagship regional news programme of ITV franchisee Granada, presented by Tony Morris and Lucy Meacock, and serving the North West of England and the Isle of Man....
, hosted by Tony Wilson. Later in the month, Joy Division contributed two tracks recorded with producer Martin Hannett
Martin Hannett
Martin Hannett , sometimes credited as Martin Zero, was a record producer and an original partner in Factory Records with Tony Wilson...
to the compilation double-7" EP A Factory Sample
A Factory Sample
A Factory Sample is a 7-inch double sampler EP released on 24 December 1978 by Factory Records of Manchester, England. It was the first vinyl recording to be released by the label...
, the first release by Tony Wilson's record label, Factory Records
Factory Records
Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, Northside and James and...
. Joy Division soon joined Factory's roster, after buying themselves out of the deal with RCA. Rob Gretton was made a partner in the label to represent the interests of the band. On 27 December, Ian Curtis suffered his first recognisable epileptic episode. During the ride home after a show at the Hope and Anchor
Hope and Anchor, Islington
The Hope and Anchor is a public house on Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. During the mid-1970s it was one of the first pubs to embrace the emergent, but brief, phenomenon of pub rock...
pub in London, Curtis had a seizure and was taken to a hospital. In spite of his illness, Joy Division's career continued to progress. Curtis appeared on the front cover of the 13 January 1979 issue of the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
due to the persistence of music journalist Paul Morley
Paul Morley
Paul Morley is an English journalist, who wrote for the New Musical Express from 1977 to 1983, during one of its most successful periods, and has since written for a wide range of publications...
; that same month the band recorded their first radio session for BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
DJ John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
. According to Deborah Curtis, "Sandwiched in between these two important landmarks was the realization that Ian's illness was something we would have to learn to accommodate."
Unknown Pleasures
In April 1979, the band began recording their debut album, Unknown PleasuresUnknown Pleasures
Unknown Pleasures is the debut album by the English post-punk band Joy Division, released in 1979 through Factory Records. Martin Hannett produced the record at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, England. The album sold poorly upon release, but due to the subsequent success of Joy Division with the...
, at Strawberry Studios
Strawberry Studios
-Formation:The facility was originally called Inner City Studios and located above a music store in the town centre. In early 1968 it was bought by Peter Tattersall, a former road manager for Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas. Tattersall invited Eric Stewart – then lead guitarist and singer of...
in Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
. Producer Martin Hannett
Martin Hannett
Martin Hannett , sometimes credited as Martin Zero, was a record producer and an original partner in Factory Records with Tony Wilson...
contributed significantly to the final sound. The band initially disliked the "spacious, atmospheric sound" of the album, which did not reflect their more aggressive live sound. Hook said in 2006, "It definitely didn't turn out sounding the way I wanted it ... But now I can see that Martin did a good job on it ... There's no two ways about it, Martin Hannett created the Joy Division sound." The album cover was designed by Peter Saville, who would go on to provide artwork for future Joy Division releases. Unknown Pleasures was released in June and sold through its initial pressing of 10,000 copies. Tony Wilson said that the relative success of the album turned the indie label into a true business and a "revolutionary force" that operated outside of the major record label system. Reviewing the album for Melody Maker, writer Jon Savage
Jon Savage
Jon Savage , real name Jonathon Sage, is a Cambridge-educated writer, broadcaster and music journalist, best known for his award winning history of the Sex Pistols and punk music, England's Dreaming, published in 1991.-Career:...
called Unknown Pleasures an "opaque manifesto" and declared "[leaving] the twentieth century is difficult; most people prefer to go back and nostalgize, Oh boy. Joy Division at least set a course in the present with contrails for the future—perhaps you can't ask for much more. Indeed, Unknown Pleasures may very well be one of the best, white, English, debut LPs of the year".
Joy Division performed on Granada TV again in July 1979, and made their only nationwide TV appearance in September on BBC2's
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
Something Else
Something Else (UK TV series)
Something Else is a British television programme broadcast on BBC2 from 1978 to 1982 and targeted at a youth audience. It began in 1978 on Saturday evenings and was the first example of the genre known as "youth TV" encompassing unknown and largely untrained young presenters with undisguised...
. They supported the Buzzcocks in a 24-venue UK tour that began that October, which allowed the band to quit their regular jobs. The non-album single "Transmission
Transmission (song)
"Transmission" is a song by post-punk band Joy Division, released on Factory Records in November 1979 on 7" and re-released as a 12" single with a different sleeve in December 1980....
" was released in November. Joy Division's burgeoning success drew a devoted following nicknamed the "Cult With No Name", who were stereotyped as "intense young men dressed in gray overcoats".
Closer and Curtis's suicide
In January 1980, Joy Division set out on a European tour. While the tour was difficult, Curtis only experienced two grand mal seizures in the two months preceding the tour's final date. With Martin Hannett again producing, the band recorded their second album, CloserCloser (Joy Division album)
Closer is the second and final studio album by the English post-punk band Joy Division, released , two months following the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. The album was originally scheduled to be released on . The record was originally released on the Factory Records label as a 12" LP and...
, in March at London's Britannia Row Studios
Britannia Row Studios
Britannia Row Studios is a recording studio in Fulham, London SW6, England.Pink Floyd built the original Britannia Row Studios, located in the street Britannia Row, Islington, London N1, after their 1975 album Wish You Were Here was released...
. March also saw the release of the Licht und Blindheit
Licht und Blindheit
Licht und Blindheit is a single by post-punk band Joy Division, released by Sordide Sentimental in France in 1980.It was limited to just 1,578 copies. Bootlegged version exists and can be recognized by Medusa image on vinyl centre.-Track listing:...
single (featuring the songs "Dead Souls" and "Atmosphere") on the small French label Sordide Sentimental
Sordide Sentimental
Sordide Sentimental is a French record label, founded in 1978 by Jean-Pierre Turmel and Yves Von Bontee, notable for its releases of early industrial music works by Joy Division, Throbbing Gristle, Psychick TV and others.- Artists :* Monte Cazazza...
.
Lack of sleep and long hours destabilised Curtis's epilepsy and his seizures became almost uncontrollable. Curtis would often have seizures during shows, which left him feeling ashamed and depressed. While the band was concerned about their singer, audience members on occasion thought his behaviour was part of the show. On 7 April, Curtis attempted suicide by overdosing on phenobarbitone
Phenobarbital
Phenobarbital or phenobarbitone is a barbiturate, first marketed as Luminal by Friedr. Bayer et comp. It is the most widely used anticonvulsant worldwide, and the oldest still commonly used. It also has sedative and hypnotic properties but, as with other barbiturates, has been superseded by the...
. The next evening, Joy Division was set to play a gig at the Derby Hall
Derby Hall (Bury)
The Derby Hall is a large Victorian neo-classical building situated on Market Street in the centre of Bury, Greater Manchester, England.-History:The Derby Hall was built in the late 1840s for Edward Smith-Stanley, the 13th Earl of Derby....
in Bury
Bury
Bury is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the River Irwell, east of Bolton, west-southwest of Rochdale, and north-northwest of the city of Manchester...
. With Curtis recovering, it was decided that the band would play a combined set with Alan Hempstall of Crispy Ambulance
Crispy Ambulance
Crispy Ambulance were an English rock band, formed in Manchester, United Kingdom in late 1977 by Alan Hempsall , Keith Darbyshire , Gary Madeley and Robert Davenport...
and Simon Topping of A Certain Ratio
A Certain Ratio
A Certain Ratio are a Post-punk band formed in 1977 in Manchester, England. While originally part of the punk rock movement, they soon added funk and dance elements to their sound. They are sometimes referred to as "post punk funk"...
filling in on vocals for the first few songs. Curtis came onstage to perform for part of the set. When Topping came back out to finish the set for Curtis, some in the audience started throwing bottles at the stage. Gretton leapt into the crowd and a riot ensued. Several April gigs were cancelled due to the continuing ill health of Curtis, but the band filmed a promotional video for the forthcoming "Love Will Tear Us Apart" single that month. The band played what would be their final show at the University of Birmingham
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
's High Hall on 2 May.
Joy Division were due to begin their first American tour in May 1980. While Curtis had expressed a desire to take time off to visit a few acquaintances, he feigned excitement about the tour around the band because he did not want to disappoint his band mates or Factory Records. At the time, Curtis's relationship with his wife, Deborah Curtis (the couple married in 1975 as teenagers), was collapsing. Contributing factors were his ill health, her being mostly excluded from his life with the band, and his relationship with a young Belgian woman named Annik Honoré whom he had met on a European tour. The evening before Joy Division were to embark on the American tour, Curtis returned to his home in Macclesfield in order to talk to his estranged wife. He asked her to drop the divorce suit she had filed; later, he told her to leave him alone in the house until he caught his train to Manchester the next morning. Early on the morning of 18 May 1980, Curtis hanged himself in his kitchen; Deborah Curtis discovered his body when she returned around midday. Tony Wilson said in 2005, "I think all of us made the mistake of not thinking his suicide was going to happen ... We all completely underestimated the danger. We didn't take it seriously. That's how stupid we were."
Aftermath
Curtis's suicide "made for instant myth", in the words of music critic Simon ReynoldsSimon Reynolds
Simon Reynolds is an English music critic who is well-known for his writings on electronic dance music and for coining the term "post-rock". Besides electronic dance music, Reynolds has written about a wide range of artists and musical genres, and has written books on post-punk and rock...
. Jon Savage wrote in his obituary for Curtis in Melody Maker, "Now no one will remember what his work with Joy Division was like when he was alive; it will be perceived as tragic rather than courageous." In June 1980, the posthumous single "Love Will Tear Us Apart
Love Will Tear Us Apart
"Love Will Tear Us Apart" is a song by the British post-punk band Joy Division. It was written in August and September 1979, and debuted when the band supported Buzzcocks on their UK tour in September and October 1979. It is one of the few songs in which singer Ian Curtis played guitar...
" was released, which hit number thirteen on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. In July 1980, Closer finally came out, peaking at number six on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
. NME reviewer Charles Shaar Murray wrote, "Closer is as magnificent a memorial (for 'Joy Division' as much as for Ian Curtis) as any post-Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
popular musician could have."
The members of Joy Division had made a pact long before Curtis's death that, should any member leave, the remaining members would change the name of the group. Eventually renaming themselves New Order
New Order
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris...
, the band was reborn as a three-piece with Sumner assuming vocal duties; the group later recruited Morris's girlfriend Gillian Gilbert
Gillian Gilbert
Gillian Lesley Gilbert is an English musician, keyboardist, guitarist and singer, best known as a member of New Order and a founding member of The Other Two.-Biography:...
to round out the line-up as keyboardist and second guitarist. New Order's first single, the 1981 release "Ceremony
Ceremony (song)
"Ceremony" is a song by Joy Division, released as New Order's debut single in 1981. The song, as well as the B-side, "In a Lonely Place", were written as Joy Division prior to the death of Ian Curtis...
", featured the last two songs written with Ian Curtis. While the group struggled in its early years to escape the shadow of Joy Division, New Order eventually went on to much greater commercial success than their predecessor band.
Further Joy Division material has been released since the band's demise. Still
Still (Joy Division album)
Still is a compilation album by Joy Division, consisting of previously unused studio material and a live recording of Joy Division's last concert, performed at Birmingham University. Originally planned for release in August, it was eventually released on 8 October 1981. The CD version was...
, a compilation of live tracks and rare recordings, was issued in 1981. Factory put out the Substance
Substance (Joy Division album)
Substance 1977-1980 is a singles compilation album by the post-punk band Joy Division, released on Factory Records in 1988. It is companion to a similar singles compilation by their subsequent band New Order, also entitled Substance. It peaked at #7 in the UK album chart and #146 on the Billboard...
compilation in 1988, which included several out-of-print singles. Another compilation, Permanent, was released in 1995 by London Records
London Records
London Records, referred to as London Recordings in logo, is a record label headquartered in the United Kingdom, originally marketing records in the United States, Canada and Latin America from 1947 to 1979, then becoming a semi-independent label....
, which had acquired the Joy Division catalogue after Factory Records went bankrupt in 1992. A comprehensive box set, Heart and Soul, came out in 1997. The compilation album The Best of Joy Division
The Best of Joy Division
The Best of Joy Division is a compilation album of material from Joy Division. It was released and the UK version includes The Complete BBC Recordings as a bonus disc. The US release is a single disc...
was released in 2008.
Musical style
Joy Division took time to develop their sound. As Warsaw, the band played "fairly undistinguished punk-inflected hard-rock". Critic Simon Reynolds asserted that "Joy Division's originality really became apparent as the songs got slower." The group's music took on a "sparse" quality; in Reynolds's description, "Peter Hook's bass carried the melody, Bernard Sumner's guitar left gaps rather than filling up the group's sound with dense riffage, and Steve Morris's drums seemed to circle the rim of a crater." Sumner described the band's characteristic sound in 1994: "It came out naturally: I'm more rhythm and chords, and Hooky was melody. He used to play high lead bass because I liked my guitar to sound distorted, and the amplifier I had would only work when it was at full volume. When Hooky played low, he couldn't hear himself. Steve has his own style which is different to other drummers. To me, a drummer in the band is the clock, but Steve wouldn't be the clock, because he's passive: he would follow the rhythm of the band, which gave us our own edge." Over time, Ian Curtis began to sing in a low, baritoneBaritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
voice, which often drew comparisons to Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
of The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
(one of Curtis's favourite bands).
Sumner acted as the unofficial musical director of the band, a role that he carried over into New Order. While Sumner was the group's primary guitarist, Curtis played the instrument on a few recorded songs and during a few shows. Curtis hated playing guitar, but the band insisted he do so. Sumner said, "He played in quite a bizarre way and that to us was interesting, because no one else would play like Ian." During the recording sessions for Closer, Sumner began using self-built synthesisers and Hook used a six-string bass for more melody.
Producer Martin Hannett "dedicated himself to capturing and intensifying Joy Division's eerie spatiality". Hannett believed punk rock was sonically conservative because of its refusal to utilise studio technology to create sonic space. The producer instead aimed to create a more expansive sound on the group's records. Hannett said, "[Joy Division] were a gift to a producer, because they didn't have a clue. They didn't argue." Hannett demanded clean and clear "sound separation" not only for individual instruments, but even for individual pieces of Morris's drumkit. Morris recalled, "Typically on tracks he considered to be potential singles, he'd get me to play each drum on its own to avoid any bleed-through of sound."
Lyrics
Ian Curtis was the group's sole lyricist. Curtis would write frantically when the mood took him; he would then listen to the band's music (which was often arranged by Sumner) and used the lyrics that were most appropriate. Words and images such as "coldness, pressure, darkness, crisis, failure, collapse, loss of control" recur in his songs. In 1979, NME journalist Paul Rambali wrote, "The themes of Joy Division's music are sorrowful, painful, and sometimes deeply sad." Musicologist Robert Palmer wrote in MusicianMusician (magazine)
Musician was a monthly magazine that covered news and information about American popular music. Initially called "Music America", it was founded in 1976 by Sam Holdsworth and Gordon Baird. The two friends borrowed $20,000 from relatives and started the publication in a barn in Colorado...
that the writings of William S. Burroughs
William S. Burroughs
William Seward Burroughs II was an American novelist, poet, essayist and spoken word performer. A primary figure of the Beat Generation and a major postmodernist author, he is considered to be "one of the most politically trenchant, culturally influential, and innovative artists of the 20th...
and J. G. Ballard
J. G. Ballard
James Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
were "obvious influences" to Curtis, and Morris also remembered the singer reading T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
.
The band refused to explain their lyrics to the press or print the words on lyrics sheets. Curtis told the fanzine Printed Noise, "We haven't got a message really; the lyrics are open to interpretation. They're multidimensional. You can read into them what you like." The other band members later admitted they paid little attention to what Curtis was writing. In a 1987 interview with Option, Morris commented: "We just thought the songs were sort of sympathetic and more uplifting than depressing. But everyone's got their own opinion." Deborah Curtis recalled that only with the release of Closer did many who were close to the singer realise "[h]is intentions and feelings were all there within the lyrics." The surviving members of the band in retrospect regret not seeing warning signs in Curtis's lyrics. "This sounds awful but it was only after Ian died that we sat down and listened to the lyrics," Morris said in 2007. "You'd find yourself thinking, 'Oh my God, I missed this one.' Because I'd look at Ian's lyrics and think how clever he was putting himself in the position of someone else. I never believed he was writing about himself. Looking back, how could I have been so bleedin' stupid? Of course he was writing about himself. But I didn't go in and grab him and ask, 'What's up?' I have to live with that."
Live performances
In contrast to the sound of their studio recordings, Joy Division typically played loudly and aggressively during live performances. The band were unhappy with Hannett's mixing of Unknown Pleasures, which reduced the abrasiveness of their sound. According to Sumner, "the music was loud and heavy, and we felt that Martin had toned it down, especially with the guitars." In concert, the group interacted little with the crowd; Paul MorleyPaul Morley
Paul Morley is an English journalist, who wrote for the New Musical Express from 1977 to 1983, during one of its most successful periods, and has since written for a wide range of publications...
wrote, "[D]uring a Joy Division set, outside of the songs, you'll be lucky to hear more than two or three words. Hello and goodbye. No introductions, no promotion." While singing, Curtis would often perform what was referred to as his "'dead fly' dance", where the singer's arms would "start flying in [a] semicircular, hypnotic curve". Simon Reynolds noted that Curtis's dancing style was reminiscent of an epileptic fit, and that he was dancing in the manner for some months before he was diagnosed with epilepsy. Live performances became problematic for Joy Division, due to Curtis's condition. Sumner later said, "We didn't have flashing lights, but sometimes a particular drum beat would do something to him. He'd go off in a trance for a bit, then he'd lose it and have a[n epileptic] fit. We'd have to stop the show and carry him off to the dressing-room where he'd cry his eyes out because this appalling thing had just happened to him."
Legacy
Despite their short career and cult status, Joy Division have exerted a wide-reaching influence. John Bush of Allmusic argues that Joy Division "became the first band in the post-punk movement by ... emphasizing not anger and energy but mood and expression, pointing ahead to the rise of melancholy alternative musicAlternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
in the '80s."
The band's dark and gloomy sound, which Martin Hannett described in 1979 as "dancing music with Gothic overtones", presaged the gothic rock
Gothic rock
Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of post-punk and alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
genre. While the term "gothic" originally described a "doomy atmosphere" in music of the late 1970s, the term was soon applied to specific bands like Bauhaus
Bauhaus (band)
Bauhaus was an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...
that followed in Joy Division's wake. Standard musical fixtures of early gothic rock bands included "high-pitched post-Joy Division basslines usurp[ing] the melodic role" and "vocals that were either near operatic and Teutonic or deep, droning alloys of Jim Morrison and Ian Curtis." Joy Division has influenced bands ranging from contemporaries U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
and The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
to post-punk revival
Post-punk revival
The post-punk revival was a development in alternative rock of the late 20th and early 21st centuries in which bands took inspiration from the original sounds and aesthetics of garage rock of the 1960s and post-punk and New Wave of the late 1970s...
artists such as Interpol
Interpol (band)
Interpol is an American indie rock and post-punk revival band from New York City. Formed in 1997, the band's original line-up consisted of Paul Banks , Daniel Kessler , Carlos Dengler and Greg Drudy . Drudy left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Sam Fogarino...
, Bloc Party
Bloc Party
Bloc Party are a British Indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke , Russell Lissack , Gordon Moakes , and Matt Tong...
and Editors. U2 frontman Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
stated that his group loved Joy Division. The singer said in the band's 2006 autobiography U2 by U2, "It would be harder to find a darker place in music than Joy Division. Their name, their lyrics and their singer were as big a black cloud as you could find in the sky. And yet I sensed the pursuit of God, or light, or reason ... a reason to be. With Joy Division, you felt from this singer, beauty was truth and truth was beauty, and theirs was a search for both." Artists including electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
performer Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
and Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
guitarist John Frusciante
John Frusciante
John Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, record and film producer. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he had been for a number of years and recorded five studio albums...
have described their appreciation for Joy Division's music and the influence it has had on their own material. In 2005, Joy Division were inducted along with New Order into the UK Music Hall of Fame
UK Music Hall of Fame
The UK Music Hall of Fame was an awards ceremony to honour musicians, of any nationality, for their lifetime contributions to music in the United Kingdom. The Hall of Fame started in 2004 with the induction of five founder members and five more members selected by a public televote, two from each...
.
Two biopics
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
have been released that dramatise Joy Division on film. 24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People
24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom...
(2002) presented a somewhat fictionalised account of the rise and fall of Factory Records, in which the members of Joy Division served as supporting characters. Tony Wilson said of the film, "It's all true, it's all not true. It's not a fucking documentary", insisting that whenever possible during the production of the film, he favoured the "myth" over the truth. The 2007 film Control, directed by Anton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn is a Dutch photographer, music video and film director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2, having handled the principal promotion and sleeve photography for both for more than a decade...
, is a biography of Ian Curtis (portrayed by Sam Riley
Sam Riley
Sam Riley is an English actor and singer.-Early life:Riley was born in Menston in the Metropolitan District of Bradford in West Yorkshire, the son of "a textile agent and nursery-school teacher". He was educated at Uppingham School...
) that uses Deborah Curtis's biography of her late husband, Touching from a Distance
Touching From a Distance
Touching from a Distance is a biography written by Deborah Curtis. It details her life and marriage with Ian Curtis, lead singer of the 1970s British post-punk rock band Joy Division...
(1995), as its basis. Control had its international premiere on the opening night of Director's Fortnight at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
2007 Cannes Film Festival
The 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the sixtieth, ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights opened the festival, and Denys Arcand's The Age of Ignorance closed...
, where it was critically well-received. That year Grant Gee
Grant Gee
Grant Gee is a film director and cinematographer currently living in Brighton. He was born in Plymouth and studied Geography at St Catherine's College, Oxford....
directed the band documentary Joy Division
Joy Division (2007 film)
Joy Division is a 2007 British documentary film on the British post-punk band Joy Division, directed by Grant Gee.The film assembles TV clips, newsreel, pictures of modern Manchester and Manchester in the late 1970s, and interviews...
.
Discography
Studio albums- Unknown PleasuresUnknown PleasuresUnknown Pleasures is the debut album by the English post-punk band Joy Division, released in 1979 through Factory Records. Martin Hannett produced the record at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, England. The album sold poorly upon release, but due to the subsequent success of Joy Division with the...
(1979) - CloserCloser (Joy Division album)Closer is the second and final studio album by the English post-punk band Joy Division, released , two months following the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. The album was originally scheduled to be released on . The record was originally released on the Factory Records label as a 12" LP and...
(1980)