Joy Division got the spirit but lost the feeling in the shuddering surrender of this severe sonic shadowplay. Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook started the band after seeing the Sex Pistols perform at the Free Trade Hall in Manchester in 1976. Sumner says: "I only remember me and Terry, who became our roadie. And Peter Hook being there. And the Buzzcocks being there, and the Buzzcocks’ manager. That’s all I remember. I think there were loads of people there who became musicians, but I think they were in the process of becoming musicians – I don’t think they became them because of that gig. Although – the gig did offer a lot of encouragement. Because up to that point, you had to be a virtuoso to be in that group. And now it was like you don’t need that shit. Three chords, write a song, bingo...When we started out, in Joy Division, we were influenced by a lot of stuff. I don’t think any young musician starts at year zero. We used to listen to Iggy Pop, the Velvet Undergroundd, MC5, Love, Led Zeppelin, even Santana! I don’t think anyone should be shot down for having influences, really."
Hook reveals: "What I loved about the Pistols was the attitude, and the fact it seemed more human, and you could relate to it. I went to see Led Zeppelin just before the Sex Pistols, and I never looked at Led Zeppelin and thought, 'I could do that.' Yet, when I looked at Johnny Rotten, for some insane reason, which I still can't actually explain, I looked at him and thought "That's what I want to do." And all he was doing, basically, was screaming at everyone to fuck off. When I saw the Sex Pistols, it was like being in a darkened room, and somebody opening the door, and you thought, 'There's the way out. Yes!' My whole life changed over the period of that half-hour. I went in completely normal...and I came out a bloody musician."
Ian Curtis and Stephen Morris were brought into the project, which was dubbed Warsaw after a song from David Bowie's 'Low'. They changed their name to Joy Division and got a record deal with RCA; but after recording some demos, they opted out of their contract, citing dissatisfaction with the mixing. They produced an EP 'An Ideal for Living' and two songs were included on the compilation 'A Factory Sample' ('Digital' and 'Glass'). The band was offered another deal with Genetic Records in London; but turned it down for a 50/50 split with the local Factory label started by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus.
Curtis would consider: “There was a point where we were thinking about signing, but we weren’t rushing anything. We went down to London to see what type of working relation ship we would have, but by that time we’d already agreed to do the first LP with factory. So we decided to wait and see how that went. It started selling well so we realised there was no need to go to a major ... Basically we want to play and enjoy what we like playing. I think when we stop doing that i think, well, that'll be time to fuck it."
They recorded 'Unknown Pleasures' at Strawberry Studios in Stockport with unconventional producer Martin Hannett. The sessions featured Ian Curtis on lead vocals; Bernard Sumner on guitar and keyboards; Peter Hook on bass guitar, backing vocals, and co-lead vocals on "Interzone"; and Stephen Morris on drums and percussion. Hook admits: "Now it pains me to realize what a genius [Hannett] was. But I didn't have the maturity to recognize the beauty in what he'd done. I was 21. I wanted the LP to rip your fucking head off in the same way that the Sex Pistols, Richard Hell and the Clash did. I didn't want this mature, wonderful-sounding album that was going to last 30 years...I couldn't see past that ... [Hannett] thought sideways. He confused you and made you do something you didn’t expect. He was like Pan; he loved making mischief and messing things up, just to see what happened...We gave him great songs, and like a top chef, he added some salt and pepper and some herbs and served up the dish. But he needed our ingredients."
'Unknown Pleasures' didn't chart when it was first released; but its dark intensity established the band at the forefront of the post punk movement. Morris mused: "We haven't been influenced by what's been going on elsewhere really. We're gone from everything and we've sort of developed our own particular way in our own environment."
http://joydivisionofficial.com/
lyrics:
http://www.worldinmotion.net/joydivision/lyrics/unknownpleasures.htm
Shadowplay performance on Tony Wilson's 'Granada Reports'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LdEM9xhMUM
She's Lost Control
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVc29bYIvCM
'Unknown Pleasures'
full album:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVvoQIdD80U
Side one
1. "Disorder" 3:32
2. "Day of the Lords" 4:49
3. "Candidate" 3:05
4. "Insight" 4:29
5. "New Dawn Fades" 4:47
Side two
6. "She's Lost Control" 3:57
7. "Shadowplay" 3:55
8. "Wilderness" 2:38
9. "Interzone" 2:16
10. "I Remember Nothing" 5:53
live at the Factory
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWZgylF_5AI
00:13 Dead Souls
04:25 The Only Mistake
08:37 Insight
12:31 Candidate
14:37 Wilderness
17:09 She's Lost Control
20:57 Shadowplay
24:31 Disorder
28:00 Interzone
30:05 Atrocity Exhibition
36:19 Novelty
40:48 Transmission
'Control' trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUz6y6ANIgE
'24 Hour Party People' trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1Qz2x94q6A
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