Joy Division

For other uses, see the band and Joy Division.

Joy Division

Joy Division were an English rock band that formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band consisted of Ian Curtis (vocals and guitar), Bernard Sumner (guitar and keyboards), Peter Hook (bass guitar and backing vocals), and Stephen Morris (drums and percussion), who replaced three previous short-tenured drummers in late 1977.

Music critic Jon Savage said, "Joy Division were not punk but were directly inspired by its energy." Joy Division gradually moved away from their early punk rock influences and developed a dark and gloomy sound that placed them as pioneers of the post-punk movement of the late 1970s. The band self-released their debut EP An Ideal for Living in June 1978, and soon caught the attention of 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 burgeoning success, Ian Curtis was troubled by his crumbling marriage, and after being diagnosed with epilepsy he found it increasingly difficult to perform live. On the eve of Joy Division's first American tour in May 1980, Curtis committed suicide. The group's posthumous second album Closer (1980) and the single "Love Will Tear Us Apart" became their highest charting releases. After Curtis' death, the remaining members soon reformed as New Order and went on to achieve much critical and commercial success.

History

Formation

Sumner and Hook attended a Sex Pistols show at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall on 4 June 1976. While only 35 to 40 people were in attendance, the performance that night has been credited with igniting the Manchester music scene and inspiring a number of audience members to form their own groups. Sumner said the punk rock group "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, Hook a bass and Mason a drum kit. They placed an advertisement in the Virgin Records record store in Manchester looking for a singer. Curtis, who knew the others from previous gigs, responded to the ad and was hired without an audition. Sumner said, "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."

While Buzzcocks manager Richard Boon suggested the band call themselves the Stiff Kittens, the band instead chose the name Warsaw, in reference to the song "Warszawa" by David Bowie. Warsaw played their first gig on 29 May 1977 supporting the Buzzcocks and Penetration at the Electric Circus. Tony Tabac performed drums that night. Mason was soon made the band's manager and was replaced on drums by drummer Steve Brotherdale, who also played in the punk band Panik. During July 1977 the band recorded a set of demos at Oldham. The band fired Brotherdale soon after the demo sessions, unable to work with his aggressive personality. During his tenure in the group Brotherdale had also tried to get Curtis to leave Warsaw and join Panik, but Curtis declined. Driving home from the studio one night, 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 put out an advertisement in a music shop window for a replacement drummer; Stephen Morris, who had attended the same school Curtis had, 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 late 1977, borrowing their new name from the prostitution wing of a Nazi concentration camp in the 1965 novel The House of Dolls. The group played their first gig as Joy Division on 25 January 1978.

Early releases

Joy Division was approached by RCA Records to record a cover of Nolan "N.F." Porter's "Keep On Keepin' On" and was afforded recording time at a professional Manchester studio for their compliance. Joy Division spent late March and April 1978 writing and rehearsing material. During a 14 April concert the group caught the attention of Tony Wilson and Rob Gretton, who became supporters of the band. In Wilson's case, Curtis insulted him for not putting the band on his defunct Granada Television show So It Goes; Wilson responded that Joy Division would be the next band he would showcase on TV. Joy Division spent the first week of May 1978 recording at Manchester's Arrow Studios; Gretton became the band's manager soon after recording was completed. The band were unhappy with the result of the recording sessions and asked to be dropped from their contract.

Joy Division made their recorded debut in June 1978 when a track of theirs was featured on the compilation album Short Circuit - Live At The Electric Circus, which had been recorded live on 2 October 1977. That same month, Joy Division self-released their debut EP An Ideal for Living. In the Melody Maker review of the EP, Chris Brazier said, "This 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—which featured a drawing of a Hitler Youth member on the cover—coupled with the nature of the band's name, fueled speculation about their political affiliations. While Hook and Sumner admitted in later years to a fascination with fascism at the time, Morris insisted that the group's obsession with Nazi imagery throughout their career came from a desire to keep memories of the sacrifices of their parents and grandparents during World War II alive, and 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 Joy Division made their television debut performing on the local news show Granada Reports, hosted by Tony Wilson. Later in December 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, and Rob Gretton was made a partner in the label to represent the interests of the band. Meanwhile on 27 December Ian Curtis suffered his first recognisable epileptic seizure. After a show Curtis had a seizure during the ride home and had to be taken to a hospital. In spite of Curtis' 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 and that same month the band recorded their first radio session for BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel. Deborah Curtis noted, "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

Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Sample box end In April 1979, the band began recording their debut album Unknown Pleasures 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 and made their only nationwide TV appearance in September on BBC2. 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."

Closer and Curtis' 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 Closer 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' 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 Curtis' behaviour was part of the show. On 8 April, Joy Division was set to play a gig at the Derby Hall in Bury. Curtis had attempted suicide the previous night by overdosing on phenobarbitone. 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 for the singer on the first few songs. Curtis came onstage to perform for only part of the set. When Topping came back out to finish the set for Curtis, some members of the audience started throwing bottles at the stage. Gretton leapt into the crowd and the show soon turned into a riot. Several April gigs were cancelled due to the continuing ill health of Curtis. The band played what would become 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 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' 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 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. While he first asked Deborah Curtis to drop the divorce suit, he eventually told her to leave him alone in the house until he caught his train to Manchester the following morning. Early the following morning of 18 May 1980, Curtis hanged himself in the 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

Template:Sound sample box align right Template:Sample box end Curtis's suicide "made for instant myth", in music critic Simon Reynolds' words. 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 British singles chart. In July 1980, Closer was finally released, peaking at number six on the British album chart. NME reviewer Charles Shaar Murrary 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' 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' girlfriend Gillian Gilbert to round out the lineup as keyboardist. 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 success than their previous band had.

Further material has been released by Joy Division after the band's demise. Still, a compilation of live tracks and rare recordings, was released in 1981. Factory issued the Substance compilation in 1988, which compiled several out-of-print singles. Another compilation, Permanent, was 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, was released in 1997.

Musical style

Joy Division took time to develop their sound. As Warsaw, the band played "fairly undistinguished punk-inflected hard-rock". Music 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; Reynolds detailed that "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' 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, baritone voice, which often drew comparisons to Jim Morrison of The Doors (a group which was one of Curtis' 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 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 synthesizers 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' 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 would choose the lyrics that seemed appropriate. Words and images such as "coldness, pressure, darkness, crisis, failure, collapse, loss of control" reoccur in his songs. In 1979 NME journalist Paul Rambali wrote, "The themes of Joy Division's music are sorrowful, painful, and sometimes deeply sad."

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." Despite their insistence on not explaining the meanings of their songs, the band later admitted they paid little attention to what Curtis was writing. Deborah Curtis recalled that only with the release of Closer did many who were close to the singer realise "His intentions and feelings were all there within the lyrics." The surviving members of the band in retrospect regret not seeing warning signs in Curtis' 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

As opposed to the sound of their studio recordings, Joy Division's music during live performances was loud and aggressive. The band initially detested how Hannett's production altered the band's sound. Sumner said of the producer's work on Unknown Pleasures, "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 Morley 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 perform what was often referred to as the "'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 a epileptic fit, and that he danced that way for some time before he was diagnosed with epilepsy. Live performances were problematic for Joy Division because of Curtis's condition. Sumner 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 [an 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, Joy Division have exerted a wide-reaching influence. John Bush of All Music Guide summarised Joy Division as "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 music 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 term "gothic" originally described a "doomy atmophere" 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 usurped 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 his group "worshipped" Joy Division. The singer said in U2'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 noted 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; other people who were consulted for the film included Tony Wilson and New Order, who scored the film. Control had its international premiere on the first night of Director's Fortnight at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, where it was critically well-received.

Discography

Main article: Joy Division discography

Studio albums

• Unknown Pleasures (1979)
• Closer (1980)

Sources

• Curtis, Deborah. Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division. London: Faber, 1995 (2nd ed. 2001, 3rd ed. 2005). ISBN 0-571-17445-0
• Ott, Chris. Unknown Pleasures. (33⅓ series) New York: Continuum, 2004. ISBN 0-8264-1549-0
• Reynolds, Simon. Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. Penguin, 2005. ISBN 0-14-303672-6
• Savage, Jon. "Joy Division: Someone Take These Dreams Away". Mojo. July 1994.

External links

• Joy Division Central Fan site