Two albums, a handful of singles, and barely four years together. Joy Division left behind less music than most bands release by their second album, and still changed the sound of everything that came after: post-punk, gothic rock, alternative, indie and more.
From Warsaw to Factory Records
Joy Division formed in Salford, Greater Manchester, in 1976: Ian Curtis on vocals and lyrics, Bernard Sumner on guitar, Peter Hook on bass and Stephen Morris on drums. They started out as Warsaw in Manchester’s punk scene and became Joy Division in 1978. With Factory Records and producer Martin Hannett, they built a sound out of space, melodic bass lines, angular guitar and Curtis’ deep, haunted voice.
Unknown Pleasures, one of the great debuts
Unknown Pleasures (1979), produced by Hannett, sounds like nothing before it. “Disorder”, “She’s Lost Control”, “New Dawn Fades” and “Shadowplay” are cold, tense and strangely beautiful. The white-on-black waveform cover is one of the most recognizable images in music. Around it came the singles “Transmission” and “Atmosphere”, which still stop people in their tracks.
Closer, and the loss of Ian Curtis
In 1980 they recorded their second and final album, Closer. Ian Curtis died in May 1980, aged 23, shortly before it came out. It’s darker and more experimental than the debut, with “Isolation”, “Twenty Four Hours”, “Heart and Soul” and “Decades”, and it’s now counted among the defining albums of post-punk.
Weeks before his death, the band recorded “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. Released in 1980, it became their best-known song and one of the most influential singles ever made. It still turns up on every list of the greatest songs of all time, and on every serious new wave playlist.
Is Joy Division new wave?
Joy Division are post-punk, the darker sibling of new wave. They grew out of the same late-’70s punk explosion, and “Love Will Tear Us Apart” is a staple of new wave radio. Their surviving members went on to form New Order, one of new wave’s most important bands.
What came next: New Order
After Curtis died, the others kept an earlier promise to carry on under a different name. Sumner, Hook and Morris, joined by Gillian Gilbert, became New Order. They didn’t try to replace Curtis. They built something new from post-punk, electronics and dance rhythms, and took the Joy Division story into a new era.
Why they still matter
Two studio albums. An influence you can hear across post-punk, gothic rock, alternative, indie, dream pop and electronic rock. The Cure, Depeche Mode, Interpol, Editors, Nine Inch Nails, the Killers, U2 and Radiohead have all named Joy Division as an influence.
The essential Joy Division songs
“Digital” · “Transmission” · “Disorder” · “Insight” · “New Dawn Fades” · “She’s Lost Control” · “Shadowplay” · “Candidate” · “Dead Souls” · “Atmosphere” · “Love Will Tear Us Apart” · “Isolation” · “Heart and Soul” · “Twenty Four Hours” · “Decades”
The albums and collections
Unknown Pleasures (1979) · Closer (1980) · Still (1981, studio outtakes and live recordings) · Substance (1988, the singles)
New to Joy Division? Start here
Substance is the way in: the singles, including “Transmission”, “Atmosphere” and “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, in one place. Then play Unknown Pleasures from start to finish, late, with headphones. Save Closer for when you’re ready.
Like Joy Division? Try these next
- New Order: what the band became next
- The Cure: gothic and alternative pioneers
- Echo & the Bunnymen: atmospheric post-punk and “The Killing Moon”
- Siouxsie and the Banshees: post-punk and goth innovators
- The Chameleons: Manchester guitars that shimmer and ache
- The Psychedelic Furs: raw post-punk with melody
- Talk Talk: from synth-pop hits to art rock
- Depeche Mode: darker electronics, similar emotional territory
- The Smiths: another Manchester legend
- Bauhaus: theatrical gothic rock
- Wire: minimalist post-punk
- Gang of Four: angular guitars and political bite
Hear Joy Division on New Wave Radio
“Love Will Tear Us Apart” is in rotation. Request “Atmosphere” on Rare & Deep 80s Tracks.
Official links: joydivisionofficial.com · Facebook · Instagram · YouTube · Spotify
