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Joy Division

Band formed in 1977 in Manchester, England

Joy Division's Genre:

Post-Punk, Alternative/Indie Rock, Punk/New Wave, Punk

Biography

Formed in the wake of the punk explosion in England, Joy Division became the first band in the post-punk movement by later emphasizing not anger and energy but mood and expression, pointing ahead to the rise of melancholy alternative music in the '80s. Though the group's raw initial sides fit the bill for any punk band, Joy Division later incorporated synthesizers (taboo in the low-tech world of '70s punk) and more haunting melodies, emphasized by the isolated, tortured lyrics of its lead vocalist, Ian Curtis. While the British punk movement shocked the world during the late '70s, Joy Division's quiet storm of musical restraint and emotive power proved to be just as important to independent music in the 1980s.

The band was founded in early 1977, soon after the Sex Pistols had made their first appearance in Manchester. Guitarist Bernard Albrecht (b. Bernard Dicken, January 4, 1956) and bassist Peter Hook (b. February 13, 1956) had met while at the show and later formed a band called the Stiff Kittens; after placing an ad through a Manchester record store, they added vocalist Ian Curtis (b. July 15, 1956) and drummer Steve Brotherdale. Renamed Warsaw (from David Bowie's "Warszawa"), the band made its live debut the following May, supporting the Buzzcocks and Penetration at Manchester's Electric Circus. After the recording of several demos, Brotherdale quit the group in August 1977, prompting the hire of Stephen Morris (b. October 28, 1957). A name change to Joy Division in late 1977 -- necessitated by the punk band Warsaw Pakt -- was inspired by Karol Cetinsky's World War II novel The House of Dolls. (In the book, the term "joy division" was used as slang for concentration camp units wherein female inmates were forced to prostitute themselves for the enjoyment of Nazi soldiers.)

Playing frequently in the north country during early 1978, the quartet gained the respect of several influential figures: Rob Gretton, a Manchester club DJ who became the group's manager; Tony Wilson, a TV/print journalist and owner of the Factory Records label; and Derek Branwood, a record executive with RCA Northwest, who recorded sessions in May 1978, for what was planned to be Joy Division's self-titled debut LP. Though several songs bounded with punk energy, the rest of the album showed at an early age the band's later trademarks: Curtis' themes of post-industrial restlessness and emotional despair, Hook's droning bass lines, and the jagged guitar riffs of Albrecht.

The album should have been hailed as a punk classic, but when a studio engineer added synthesizers to several tracks -- believing that the punk movement had to move on and embrace new sounds -- Joy Division scrapped the entire LP. (Titled Warsaw for a 1982 bootleg, the album was finally given wide issue ten years later.) The first actual Joy Division release came in June 1978, when the initial mid-1977 demos were released as the EP An Ideal for Living, on the band's own Enigma label. Early in 1979, the buzz surrounding Joy Division increased with a session recorded for John Peel's BBC radio show.

The group began recording with producer Martin Hannett and released Unknown Pleasures on old friend Tony Wilson's Factory label in July 1979. The album enjoyed immense critical acclaim and a long stay on the U.K.'s independent charts. Encouraged by the punk buzz, the American Warner Bros. label offered a large distribution contract that fall. The band ignored it but did record another radio session for John Peel on November 26th. (Both sessions were later collected on the Peel Sessions album.)

During late 1979, Joy Division's manic live show gained many converts, partly due to rumors of Curtis' ill health. An epilepsy sufferer, he was prone to breakdowns and seizures while on stage -- it soon grew difficult to distinguish the fits from his usual on-stage jerkiness and manic behavior. As the live dates continued and the new decade approached, Curtis grew weaker and more prone to seizures. After a short rest over the Christmas holiday, Joy Division embarked on a European tour during January, though several dates were cancelled because of Curtis. The group began recording its second LP after the tour ended (again with Hannett), and released "Love Will Tear Us Apart" in April. The single was again praised but failed to move beyond the independent charts. After one gig in early May, the members of Joy Division were given two weeks of rest before beginning the group's first U.S. tour. Two days before the scheduled flight, however, Curtis was found dead in his home, the victim of a self-inflicted hanging.

Before Curtis' death, the band had agreed that Joy Division would cease to exist if any member left, for any reason. Ironically though, the summer of 1980 proved to be the blooming of the band's commercial status, when a re-release of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" rose to number 13 on the British singles chart. In August, the release of Closer finally united critics' positivity with glowing sales, as the album peaked at number six. Before the end of the summer, Unknown Pleasures was charting as well.

By January of the following year, Hook, Morris, and Albrecht (now Bernard Sumner) had formed New Order, with Sumner taking over vocal duties. Also in 1981, the posthumous release of Still -- including two sides of rare tracks and two of live songs -- rose to number five on the British charts. As New Order's star began to shine during the '80s, the group had trouble escaping the long shadow of Curtis and Joy Division. "Love Will Tear Us Apart" charted for the third time in 1983, and 1988 also proved a big year for the defunct band: the reissued single "Atmosphere" hit number 34 and a double-album compilation entitled Substance reached number seven in the album charts. Seven years later, the 15th anniversary of Curtis' death was memorialized with a new JD compilation (Permanent: Joy Division 1995), a tribute album (A Means to an End), and a biography of his life (Touching From a Distance) written by his widow, Deborah Curtis. In 1999, the Factory label began a program of concert-performance reissues -- all overseen by the remainder of the original lineup -- with Preston Warehouse 28 February 1980. ~ John Bush

AOL Radio Stations Joy Division is Featured on (18)

Drama

Introducing Drama Radio, brought to you by Cars.com. They've taken the drama out of car shopping and placed it here- on this station. These songs were hand-selected for their drama- dramatic lyrics and dramatic songwriting. Brought to you by Cars.com. ALL DRIVE. No Drama.

Post-Breakup

The majority of breakups turn out to be a very positive catalyst for personal growth and ultimately finding greater happiness with a more deserving partner. If you’ve moved past the mourning phase of a bad breakup, and you’re ready for the soundtrack to empowerment- this is your station. Featuring songs handpicked by expert curators that know a thing or two about bouncing back from nasty breakups. As Kelly Clarkson famously sang- “What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger”! You’ll hear that song, and empowering tracks from Adele, Beyonce, P!nk, and more.

Indie Halloween

It’s often hard to tell the difference between costumed Halloween revelers and sullen hipsters. For this reason, Halloween is the most indie-rock holiday of the year. On this station, you’ll hear Indie artists singing about blood, death, bones, ghosts, pumpkins, and other loosely-related Halloween topics.

Twin Shadow Showcase

This is the Twin Shadow Artist Showcase station on Slacker Radio. Tune in to hear a station built entirely by the band including music that is hand-picked by George Lewis Jr. as well as commentary by him about the songs that influenced his music and his life.

FILTER Magazine

Good music will prevail. These are the words that FILTER lives by. In an ever-evolving musical landscape, we're here to help. Through FILTER Magazine Radio, we want to help you discover your new favorite band.

Silversun Pickups Showcase

Brian Aubert and Nikki Monninger of Silversun Pickups recently played a private showcase for Slacker Radio listeners. Afterwards, they sat down with us to create and host their own Slacker Radio station. Every song you hear on this station was picked by Silversun Pickups, collectively. Brian and Nikki are your hosts- join them as they give you a look at the musical DNA of the band.

Hotel Poolside

You know the vibe: boutique hotels from New York to San Francisco with rooftop pools staffed by impossibly attractive people. A perfect place to relax, have a cocktail, and spend a summer weekend living like a celebrity. Featuring swanky exotica, modern chill-out, and sophisticated electronica. The songs on this station are all relaxing and metropolitan, and they all set an extravagant and luxurious mood.

Metric Showcase

This is the Metric Artist Showcase station on Slacker Radio. Tune in to hear a station built entirely by the members of Metric including music hand-picked by Emily, James, Josh and Joules as well as commentary about the songs that influenced their music and their lives.

Indie Sleepover

This station features love songs for hipsters. Awkward glances, relationships founded over a shared love of the same band, and nights spent making out to Neutral Milk Hotel. If you think Valentine’s Day’s earlier records are better- this is the station for you. Featuring tracks from The Magnetic Fields, The Postal Service, Little Dragon, The Smiths, and more.

AFI Showcase

This is Radio AFI. Tune in to hear a station built entirely by the band members of AFI including music hand-picked by Davey, Adam, Jade and Hunter as well as commentary by each about the songs that influenced their music and their lives.

Indie 500

After much debate and consideration, Your Slacker curators have come up with the top 500 indie songs of all time. Slacker’s Indie 500 is actually a showcase of the greatest songs from many different sub-genres, all unified by a common spirit and ethos. Call it College Rock, Post-Punk, Pre-Emo, Indie Rock, Twee Pop, Indietronica, Riot Grrl; call it whatever you like. Just know that all the songs on this station were created with the same independent spirit. Hear indie hits spanning from the late 70's up until now.

Classic Alternative

Call it "Alternative," "Modern Rock," "College Rock" - call it whatever you like. Classic Alternative on Slacker Radio is all of those things and more- from the golden age of Alternative. Spanning various decades, this is radio for people that were raised on 120 Minutes. David Bowie, The Clash, The Smiths, Erasure, Depeche Mode, New Order, INXS, Midnight Oil, R.E.M., 10,000 Maniacs, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Weezer, and many more!

'80s Alternative

If you remember skinny ties, shrink-to-fit jeans and Molly Ringwald then '80s Alternative on Slacker Radio is for you. The '80s saw the birth of "Modern-Rock" and bands like Duran Duran, The Cure and R.E.M. were producing their best work. You’ll hear your favorite hits, deep cuts and one-hit wonders only on ‘80s Alternative.

Halloween

We cracked open the crypt to bring you the most terrifying tunes this side of the graveyard. You’ll hear creepy classics, freaky film scores and eerie effects to put a chill in your bones.

The Current

The Current brings you the best authentic new music alongside the music that inspired it, from unique to universal, indie to influential, new to nostalgic. Broadcasting from the musical hotbed that is Minnesota, listen to The Current and you’ll see why we say, “Great Music Lives Here.” Find playlist, interviews and more at thecurrent.org.

Adult Alternative

Adult Alternative on Slacker has all the good stuff without the angst-ridden teens and their complicated haircuts. You’ll hear cutting-edge artists like Gotye, The Lumineers, and The Head & The Heart as well as established artists like Dave Matthews, Arcade Fire, U2, R.E.M., the Black Keys, and Talking Heads. If you’ve graduated from keg stands to craft beer, this is the soundtrack to your next party.

Dive Bar Jukebox

You walk through the doors and you know. This is it. The perfect dive bar. A cool crowd, great beers on tap and, above all, the perfect jukebox for a true music geek. Classic Rock, Classic Country, a lil' bit of Soul and the most important Indie Rock of all-time make this jukebox your all-time favorite. Welcome to Dive Bar Jukebox on Slacker Radio.

Joy Division

This station plays the best music from and music from related artists like The Smiths, The Cure, New Order, Echo & The Bunnymen, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Depeche Mode, The Psychedelic Furs, Morrissey, Violent Femmes, Love and Rockets and more.

All Stations

Joy Division's Selected Discography (18)

Unknown Pleasures

2007 London Records 90 Ltd. 198910 Songs

Unknown Pleasures [Collector's Edition]

2007 London Records 90 Ltd200722 Songs

Closer

2007 London Records 90 Ltd19899 Songs

Artists Related to Joy Division (50)

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	The Cure	Out of all the bands that emerged in the immediate aftermath of punk rock in the late '70s, few were as enduring and popular as the Cure.
	New Order	Rising from the ashes of the legendary British post-punk unit Joy Division, the enigmatic New Order triumphed over tragedy to emerge as one of the most influential and acclaimed bands of the 1980s; embracing the electronic textures and disco rhythms of the underground club culture many years in advance of its contemporaries, the group's pioneering fusion of new wave aesthetics and dance music successfully bridged the gap between the two worlds, creating a distinctively thoughtful and oblique brand of synth pop appealing equally to the mind, body, and soul.
	Echo & The Bunnymen	Echo & the Bunnymen's dark, swirling fusion of gloomy post-punk and Doors-inspired psychedelia brought the group a handful of British hits in the early '80s, while attracting a cult following in the United States.
	Siouxsie and the Banshees	Siouxsie and the Banshees were among the longest-lived and most successful acts to emerge from the London punk community; over the course of a career that lasted two decades, they evolved from an abrasive, primitive art punk band into a stylish, sophisticated unit that even notched a left-field Top 40 hit.
	Depeche Mode	Originally a product of Britain's new romantic movement, Depeche Mode went on to become the quintessential electro-pop band of the 1980s.
	The Psychedelic Furs	The Psychedelic Furs, whose name was inspired by the 1966 Velvet Underground song "Venus in Furs," were formed in England in 1977 by brothers Richard Butler (vocals) and Tim Butler (bass), along with saxophone player Duncan Kilburn and guitarist Roger Morris.
	Morrissey	As the lead singer of the Smiths, arguably the most important indie band in Britain during the '80s, Morrissey's theatrical crooning and literate, poetic lyrics -- filled with romantic angst, social alienation, and cutting wit -- connected powerfully with a legion of similarly sensitive, disaffected youth.
	Violent Femmes	The textbook American cult band of the 1980s, the Violent Femmes captured the essence of teen angst with remarkable precision; raw and jittery, the trio's music found little commercial success but nonetheless emerged as the soundtrack for the lives of troubled adolescents the world over.
	Love and Rockets	Love and Rockets comprised guitarist/vocalist Daniel Ash, bassist/vocalist David J, and drummer Kevin Haskins, all former members of the pioneering goth band Bauhaus.
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	Bauhaus	Bauhaus are the founding fathers of goth rock, creating a minimalistic, overbearingly gloomy style of post-punk rock driven by jagged guitar chords and cold, distant synthesizers.
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	The English Beat	One of the earliest and most important ska revivalist groups, Birmingham's the Beat formed in 1978 (the band had to change its name to the English Beat in the U.
	Talking Heads	At the start of their career, Talking Heads were all nervous energy, detached emotion, and subdued minimalism.
	Peter Murphy	Despite having a successful solo career as a cult artist, vocalist Peter Murphy remains best known as the lead vocalist for Bauhaus, the pioneering post-punk goth rock band of the early '80s.
	The Jesus and Mary Chain	Like the Velvet Underground, their most obvious influence, the chart success of the Jesus and Mary Chain was virtually nonexistent, but their artistic impact was incalculable; quite simply, the British group made the world safe for white noise, orchestrating a sound dense in squalling feedback which served as an inspiration to everyone from My Bloody Valentine to Dinosaur Jr.
	David Bowie	The cliché about David Bowie says he's a musical chameleon, adapting himself according to fashion and trends.
	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Featuring the core members Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey, the Liverpudlian synth pop group Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark formed in the late '70s.
	Erasure	Following the disbandment of the short-lived synth pop group Yazoo, former Depeche Mode member Vince Clarke formed Erasure in 1985 with singer Andy Bell.
	Modern English	The summery hooks and warm lyrics of Modern English's biggest hit, "I Melt With You," gave listeners the impression that the band was an upbeat pop act in the early '80s.
	The Sisters of Mercy	One of England's leading goth bands of the 1980s, the Sisters of Mercy play a slow, gloomy, ponderous hybrid of metal and psychedelia, often incorporating dance beats; the one constant in the band's career has been deep-voiced singer Andrew Eldritch.
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	XTC	XTC was one of the smartest -- and catchiest -- British pop bands to emerge from the punk and new wave explosion of the late '70s.
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	Elvis Costello	When Elvis Costello's first record was released in 1977, his bristling cynicism and anger linked him with the punk and new wave explosion.
	The The	The The was the guise of Matt Johnson, a mercurial singer/songwriter whose music ran the gamut from dance-pop to country.
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	A Flock of Seagulls	As well-known for their bizarrely teased haircuts as their hit single "I Ran (So Far Away)," A Flock of Seagulls were one of the infamous one-hit wonders of the new wave era.
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	Adam Ant	One of the seminal figures of new wave, Adam Ant (born Stuart Leslie Goddard) had several distinct phases to his career.
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	Duran Duran	Duran Duran personified new wave for much of the mainstream audience. And for good reason, too. Duran Duran's reputation was built through music videos, which accentuated their fashion-model looks and glamorous sense of style.
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	The Human League	Synth pop's first international superstars, the Human League were among the earliest and most innovative bands to break into the pop mainstream on a wave of synthesizers and electronic rhythms, their marriage of infectious melodies and state-of-the-art technology proving enormously influential on countless acts following in their wake.
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	a-ha	Pal Waaktaar and Magne Furuholmen, formerly of Bridges formed a-ha in the early '80s. Morten Harket joined the duo, and they left for the now "legendary London flat" (so called because of its state of disrepair) to make it.
	R.E.M.	R.E.M. marked the point when post-punk turned into alternative rock. When their first single, "Radio Free Europe," was released in 1981, it sparked a back-to-the-garage movement in the American underground.