Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris. Sumner and Hook formed the band after attending a Sex Pistol concert. While Joy Division’s first recordings were heavily influenced by early punk, they soon developed a sparse sound and style that made them one of the pioneering groups of the post-punk movement. The band played their first gig as Joy Division in January 1978 at Pip’s Disco in Manchester.
Their self-released 1978 debut EP ‘An Ideal for Living’ drew the attention of the Manchester television personality Tony Wilson, who signed them to his independent label Factory Records. Their debut album, ‘Unknown Pleasures’, which was recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, followed in April 1979. Producer Martin Hannett significantly altered their live sound, a fact that greatly displeased the band at the time; however, in 2006, Hook said that in retrospect Hannett had done a good job and “created the Joy Division sound”. The album cover was designed by Peter Saville, who went on to provide artwork for future Joy Division and New Order releases. Joy Division performed on Granada TV again in July 1979, and made their only nationwide TV appearance in September on BBC2’s Something Else. The non-album single “Transmission” was released in November. Joy Division’s burgeoning success drew a devoted following who were stereotyped as “intense young men dressed in grey overcoats”.
Joy Division toured Europe in January 1980. Although the schedule was demanding, Curtis experienced only two grand mal seizures, both in the final two months of the tour. That March, the band recorded their second album, Closer, with Hannett at London’s Britannia Row Studios. That month they released the “Licht und Blindheit” single, with “Atmosphere” as the A-side and “Dead Souls” as the B-side, on the French independent label Sordide Sentimental.
A lack of sleep and long hours destabilised Curtis’s epilepsy, and his seizures became almost uncontrollable. He often had seizures during performances, which some audience members believed were part of the performance. The seizures left him feeling ashamed and depressed, and the band became increasingly worried about Curtis’s condition. In April 1980, Curtis attempted suicide by overdosing on his anti-seizure medication, phenobarbitone. Curtis’s ill health led to the cancellation of several gigs that April. Joy Division’s final live performance was held at the University of Birmingham’s High Hall in May, and included their only performance of “Ceremony”, one of the last songs written by Curtis.
Joy Division were scheduled to commence their first US/Canada tour in May 1980. Curtis had expressed enthusiasm about the tour, but his relationship with his wife, Deborah, was under strain; Deborah was excluded from the band’s inner circle, and Curtis was having an affair with Belgian journalist and music promoter Annik Honore, whom he met on tour in Europe in 1979. He was also anxious about how American audiences would react to his epilepsy. The evening before the band were due to depart for America, Curtis returned to his Macclesfield home to talk to Deborah. He asked her to drop an impending divorce suit, and asked her to leave him alone in the house until he caught a train to Manchester the following morning. Early on 18 May 1980, having spent the night watching the Werner Herzog film Stroszek and listening to Iggy Pop’s 1977 album The Idiot, Curtis hanged himself in his kitchen. Deborah discovered his body later that day when she returned.
In June 1980, Joy Division’s single “Love Will Tear Us Apart” was released, which hit number thirteen on the UK Singles Chart. In July 1980, Closer was released, and peaked at number six on the UK Albums Chart. Morris said that even without Curtis’s death, it is unlikely that Joy Division would have endured. The members had made a pact long before Curtis’s death that, should any member leave, the remaining members would change the band name. The band re-formed as New Order, with Sumner on vocals; they later recruited Morris’s girlfriend Gillian Gilbert as keyboardist and second guitarist. Gilbert had befriended the band and played guitar at a Joy Division performance when Curtis had been unable to play. New Order’s debut single, “Ceremony” (1981), was formed from the last two songs written with Curtis. New Order struggled in their early years to escape the shadow of Joy Division, but went on to achieve far greater commercial success with a different, more upbeat and dance-orientated sound.
Various Joy Division outtakes and live material have been released. Still, featuring live tracks and rare recordings, was issued in 1981. Factory issued the Substance compilation in 1988, including several out-of-print singles. Permanent was released in 1995 by London Records, which had acquired the Joy Division catalogue after Factory’s 1992 bankruptcy. The comprehensive box set Heart and Soul was released in 1997.
