Six Definitive Songs: The ultimate beginner’s guide to Joy Division
After childhood friends Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner attended a Sex Pistols gig in 1976, they knew they had to start a band of their own, with Sumner declaring that the punk rockers “destroyed the myth of being a pop star, of a musician being some kind of god that you had to worship”.
The pair recruited some more members, including frontman Ian Curtis, named themselves Warsaw after David Bowie’s ‘Warszawa’, and began gigging. In 1978, they changed their name to Joy Division to avoid confusion with a London punk band, Warsaw Pakt and released their first E.P., An Ideal for Living.
Soon after, Joy Division released their debut album, Unknown Pleasures, in 1979, establishing them as a pioneering force of UK post-punk. Known for championing a moody yet stunningly atmospheric sound, accompanied by Curtis’ dark and reflective lyrics, the band were a staple of Manchester’s alternative scene. Yet Joy Division’s success was shortlived, with Curtis committing suicide on the eve of the band’s first North American tour in 1980.
Their second album, Closer, was released two months after Curtis’ death, demonstrating the band’s maturity and progression towards an even more refined sound. However, that year, the remaining band members decided to rename themselves New Order and have continued making music ever since. Regardless of their success as New Order, the legacy of Joy Division has never been forgotten. In just four years, the band produced some of the most haunting and beautiful tracks ever made.
Joy Division’s six definitive songs:
‘No Love Lost’ (An Ideal For Living, 1978)
When Joy Division started out, they helmed a more traditional punk sound inspired by artists such as the Sex Pistols. On An Ideal For Living, the band were yet to refine their dark and often-gothic sound. However, they proved themselves to be more than capable of producing energetic, rough-around-the-edges punk cuts. ‘No Love Lost’ seems to bridge a gap between the outright raw energy of tracks such as ‘Warsaw’ and the direction they would come to take on Unknown Pleasures, as demonstrated by Hook’s indelible bassline that opens the tune before it explodes into an aggressive frenzy.
‘No Love Lost’ remains one of the band’s most incredible earlier cuts, although selecting just one track to define their earlier work is difficult. ‘Transmission’, initially recorded in 1978 for their planned debut Warsaw, is also worth mentioning. Its building instrumentation is simple yet addictive to listen to, culminating in Curtis’ instructions to “dance to the radio!”
‘Disorder’ (Unknown Pleasures, 1979)
Opening the band’s debut album is ‘Disorder’, one of the band’s most danceable tracks. Hook’s infectious bassline pummels through the song, and Stephen Morris’ drumming drives the fast tempo forward as Curtis sings about his depressive condition and struggle with epilepsy. The dichotomy between Curtis’ lyrics and the band’s upbeat instrumentation demonstrates the band’s sheer dynamism. Compared to the rest of Unknown Pleasures, which prioritises a darker and more lamenting sound, ‘Disorder’ retains a certain punk spirit carried across from their earlier work.
The song deals with the crushing weight of isolation, with Curtis admitting he can’t cope on his own, “I’ve been waiting for a guide to come and take me by the hand/ Could these sensations make me feel the pleasures of a normal man?” Lyrically, the track is quietly devastating, and Curtis’ vocal performance culminates in a desperate cry, “I’ve got the spirit/ But lose the feeling.”
‘She’s Lost Control’ (Unknown Pleasures, 1979)
One of Joy Division’s most lyrically affecting tracks is ‘She’s Lost Control’, which also appears on their debut album. Released just a year before Curtis would take his own life, overcome by mental health issues and debilitating epilepsy, the track deals with the singer’s fears surrounding the condition. Sumner told Q Magazine the track “was about a girl who used to come into the rehab centre where Ian worked, to try and find work. She had epilepsy and lost more and more time through it, and then one day, she just didn’t come in anymore. He assumed that she’d found a job but found out later she’d had a fit and died.”
There is desperation in Curtis’ performance as he reckons with his own fate through the story of another person’s struggle with epilepsy. Oddly, the band used a can of fly spray to achieve the ‘psst psst’ sound that permeates throughout, adding an uneasy layer to the track. ‘She’s Lost Control’ is a spectacular track and a highlight of their unrelenting debut.
‘Twenty Four Hours’ (Closer, 1980)
Despite the legendary status that Closer has achieved since its release in 1980, Curtis decreed the album a “disaster”. Yet the album features some of the band’s most visceral, memorable tracks, such as ‘The Eternal’, ‘Atrocity Exhibition’ and ‘Twenty Four Hours’. On the latter, Curtis’ lyrics are as bleak as the guitar and bassline that runs through the song; he sings: “A cloud hangs over me, marks every move/ Deep in the memory, of what once was love.”
‘Twenty Four Hours’ is arguably one of the greatest tracks on the album, moving through decisive, slow sections, only to be driven forwards by Morris’ speeding drums. As the song journeys to an end, Curtis references Iggy Pop’s ‘The Passenger’ with the lines: “Let’s take a ride out, see what we can find.” The song ends with the sadly prophetic final lines, “Gotta find my destiny before it gets too late.”
‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ (1980)
Following the death of Curtis, the band released ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, which has since become their most recognisable song. As one of the era’s definitive tracks, it acted as Joy Division’s first chart hit, reaching number 13 in the UK. Lyrically, Curtis deals with the disintegration of his marriage to Deborah and his increasing struggles with epilepsy.
Hook explained in a 2014 interview with Songfacts, “That song has everything. A great bass line, wonderful synths, a great showcase of Steve’s drumming, the simple yet effective guitar that became one of our trademarks.” However, Morris once told NME: “I honestly didn’t realise that he was writing about himself. I just said, ‘These are great lyrics, Ian’. That makes it a bit difficult to listen to now.”
‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ remains one of the band’s greatest cuts, with Curtis’ voice bleeding with a painful melancholy, contrasting the upbeat, nostalgia-tinged instrumentation.
‘Atmosphere’ (1980)
One of the most essential Joy Division tracks, ‘Atmosphere’ demonstrates the band at the height of their craft. The song has a distinctively elegiac quality, with John Peel playing it on air upon the announcement of Curtis’ death. Deeply atmospheric, Morris’ piercing drums and Sumner’s shimmering synths are unforgettable, making for the perfect accompaniment to Curtis’ brooding voice that sings, “Walk in silence/Don’t walk away, in silence.”
Hook and Sumner penned their respective parts separately, describing “the brainwave of putting them together” as “absolutely amazing.” Talking to TeamRock, he continued:”It is very moving and very melancholic, which Ian capitalised on with the vocal line and the lyrics.” A glimmer of light enters through Sumner’s synths – little did they know this would be Curtis’ final goodbye.
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