Joy Division

[rjfp1962]

Am a bit late with this one! 2020 was the 40th anniversary of Joy Divisions Ian Curtis taking his own life. This was a time when epilepsy was a little known condition, and it amazes me he went on this long as a performer when this lifestyle is largely detrimental to this condition.

I only properly discovered Joy Division about 8 years ago, the only really familiar song being "Love will tear us apart".
Now have the only 2 studio albums they recorded, namely "Unknown Pleasures" and "Closer", and the later compilation "Substance". It is only when you hear these songs you realize how troubled this young man was. To get a better detailed picture of his songs, I also bought the book "So this is Permanence" which has images of the scraps of paper he wrote his sad yet poetic words. I believe Ian is much better understood now than any time he was when alive.. sadly.

[vixen1700]

You also need Still.

Incredible band with tunes that still sound amazing over 40 years later.

After buying Transmission as a 13 year old in '79, hearing Unknown Pleasures just blew me away. Wilderness really is their most underrrated track, never ceases to amaze me.

[towser]

vixen1700 said:

You also need Still.

Incredible band with tunes that still sound amazing over 40 years later.

After buying Transmission as a 13 year old in '79, hearing Unknown Pleasures just blew me away. Wilderness really is their most underrrated track, never ceases to amaze me.

Pretty much follows my exposure to Joy Division also - still an unreal / other worldly sound 40 years on.

OP it's worth watching this when it comes back on, although the story of JD is pretty well known this is the best telling of it in my opinion :

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0543ytw

Edited by towser on Saturday 17th October 21:11

[anonymous-user]

towser said:

vixen1700 said:

You also need Still.

Incredible band with tunes that still sound amazing over 40 years later.

After buying Transmission as a 13 year old in '79, hearing Unknown Pleasures just blew me away. Wilderness really is their most underrrated track, never ceases to amaze me.

Pretty much follows my exposure to Joy Division also - still an unreal / other worldy sound 40 years on.

OP it's worth watching this when it comes back on, although the story of JD is pretty well known this is the best telling of it in my opinion :

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0543ytw

Yeah that film is fantastic if you’re at all into joy division.

Top scenes showing Ian Curtis performing “she’s lost control” with his signature dancing,

Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 17th October 21:04

[mickyh7]

I was 61 this year and I still play Joy Division on Spotify most days in the car.
How can that energy ever age?
Still as fresh now as it was when it came out.

[anonymous-user]

Found the movie on youtube

https://youtu.be/rBplFE7GIZc

Well worth watching for anyone that hasn’t seen it,

[rjfp1962]

I saw this on BBC4 a couple of years ago and managed to get a perfect s/h DVD of it too. Gives a great insight into life in Manchester during the mid 70's as well as the band.

[hepy]

Have you seen the mural of Ian in Manchester https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-mancheste... ?

Or try youtube 'lego joy divison' .

The video for Transmission (from Something Else), when he really gets in to the performance around 2 mins in shows someone who has so much passion for his art.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Unknown Pleasures is still one of my fave LPs of all time. Just fabulous.

As an aside, I like this cover of Love Will Tear Us Apart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ_Rz49imWw

[anonymous-user]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Unknown Pleasures is still one of my fave LPs of all time. Just fabulous.

As an aside, I like this cover of Love Will Tear Us Apart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ_Rz49imWw

Same. Interesting that in the interview some of the remaining band members seem to dislike it and prefer closer.

That was my take from the film anyway,

[vixen1700]

Another aside, do you think they heard this pretty obscure track from 1974? Give it a listen and see if you recognise the riff that kicks in:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rl3FstCc_OY

[rjfp1962]

[quote=El stovey]
Same. Interesting that in the interview some of the remaining band members seem to dislike it and prefer closer.

I think the problem the band had with the album was how it was mixed, produced and recorded. Most of the band-members preferred a more Live" sound akin to their stage performances.

"Transmission" performance on Something Else - Ian danced that almost violent and energetic way with staring eyes, to mask his epilepsy illness.

[mrtwisty]

El stovey said:

Found the movie on youtube

https://youtu.be/rBplFE7GIZc

Well worth watching for anyone that hasn’t seen it,

Thank you for linking that stovey - never seen that before and it was really quite special.

Some of the best music of the 20th century. The antithesis of insincere, cynically marketed dross.

[GC8]

Humble boast:



The first single that I bought. My favourite now would probably be New Dawn Fades.

[anonymous-user]

mrtwisty said:

El stovey said:

Found the movie on youtube

https://youtu.be/rBplFE7GIZc

Well worth watching for anyone that hasn’t seen it,

Thank you for linking that stovey - never seen that before and it was really quite special.

Some of the best music of the 20th century. The antithesis of insincere, cynically marketed dross.

Yeah I ended up watching it all again last night. It’s great, plus some really interesting background about Manchester in the early 70s. I was quite shocked how bleak it all was.

Show what an amazing journey it must have been for a band making it in those days,

[Piersman2]

GC8 said:

Humble boast:



The first single that I bought. My favourite now would probably be New Dawn Fades.

You're not the only one with that a little nugget of trivia about themselves, My first record ever bought as well.

After a 15 year separaton following a divorce I got it back just 4 weeks ago, along with my other younger days records.

[anonymous-user]

Did anyone have that uni poster sale love will tear us apart big poster?

I had a huge copy of this one.



I was a bit young for buying joy division records when they came out but saw new order a few times and bought loads of their music. I only got into joy division in the mid late 80s after they’d broken up. I did get substance when that was released though.

[GC8]

Im too young too - Im sure that it was a reissue, but Discogs has a huge number of alternatives.

[lockhart flawse]

I saw them at the Russell Club in Manchester in late 78 or early 79. Live they were still pretty rough and did not sound anything like they did on the first album and you tended to concentrate on watching Ian Curtis who was genuinely original and different. I still play the albums and had Unknown Pleasures on my turntable for a week a couple of months ago. The felt on my turntable is a copy of the album cover too. Manchester was a total dump by the way.

[rjfp1962]

Here's "Atmosphere"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EdUjlawLJM

Had to add this before this thread fades away.......