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Originally known as Warsaw, this Manchester post-punk outfit comprised Ian Curtis (b. July 1956, Macclesfield, Cheshire, England, d. 18 May 1980; vocals), Bernard Dicken/Albrecht (b. 4 January 1956, Salford, Manchester, England; guitar, vocals), Peter Hook (b. 13 February 1956, Manchester, England; bass) and Steven Morris (b. 28 October 1957, Macclesfield, Cheshire, England; drums).
Borrowing their name from the prostitution wing of a concentration camp, Joy Division emerged in 1978 as one of the most important groups of their era. After recording a regionally available EP, An Ideal For Living, they were signed to Manchester's recently formed Factory Records and placed in the hands of producer Martin Hannett.
Their debut, Unknown Pleasures , was a raw, intense affair, with Curtis at his most manically arresting in the insistent 'She's Lost Control'. With its stark, black cover, the album captured a group still coming to terms with the recording process, but displaying a vision that was piercing in its clinical evocation of an unsettling disorder. With Morris's drums employed as a lead instrument, backed by the leaden but compulsive bass lines of Hook, the sound of Joy Division was distinctive and disturbing.
By the time of their single 'Transmission', the quartet had already established a strong cult following, which increased after each gig. Much of the attention centred on the charismatic Curtis, who was renowned for his neurotic choreography, resembling a demented marionette on wires. By the autumn of 1979, however, Curtis's performances were drawing attention for a more serious reason. On more than one occasion he suffered an epileptic seizure and blackouts onstage, and the illness seemed to worsen with the group's increasingly demanding live schedule.
On 18 May 1980, the eve of Joy Division's proposed visit to America, Ian Curtis was found hanged. The verdict was suicide. A note was allegedly found bearing the words: 'At this moment I wish I were dead. I just can't cope anymore'. The full impact of the tragedy was underlined shortly afterwards, for it quickly became evident that Curtis had taken his life at the peak of his creativity.
While it seemed inevitable that the group's posthumously released work would receive a sympathetic reaction, few could have anticipated the quality of the material that emerged in 1980. The single, 'Love Will Tear Us Apart', was probably the finest of the year, a haunting account of a fragmented relationship, sung by Curtis in a voice that few realized he possessed. The attendant album, Closer , was faultless, displaying the group at the zenith of their powers. With spine-tingling cameos such as 'Isolation' and the extraordinary 'Twenty-Four Hours', the album eloquently articulated a sense of despair, yet simultaneously offered a therapeutic release. Instrumentally, the work showed maturity in every area and is deservedly regarded by many critics as the most brilliant rock album of the 80s.
The following year, a double album, Still, collected the remainder of the group's material, most of it in primitive form. Within months of the Curtis tragedy, the remaining members sought a fresh start as New Order.
In 1995 Curtis's widow, Deborah, published a book on her former huband and the band, while a compilation album and a re-released version of 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' were back on the shelves on the 15th anniversary of his death.
- Encyclopedia of Popular Music Copyright Muze UK Ltd. 1989 - 1998
Last updated on 2005-08-29 6:31:00 AM - 6:31:00 AM
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
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