‘Chelsea Girl’: How one of Peter Hook’s all-time favourite records defined the sound of Joy Division
A lot of people tend to mistake Joy Division for being depressive music, and that it’s only there to be listened to when you’re deathly miserable and trying to find something you can relate to in your sadness.
Now, the story of Ian Curtis and the tragedy that surrounds him is possibly a big reason behind that, and his anguish can be felt in the words he’s straining to get out in his songs. There’s a real pain in what he’s expressing, and this fact can’t be ignored when you take Joy Division’s work into account as a whole. However, this isn’t reflective of everything that they ever produced together in their short-lived existence.
At the same time, there are plenty of moments where the instrumentation is vibrant, carefree and full of joy, and what the other three members contributed together was actually far more buoyant than Curtis’ lyrics might want to suggest. It’s less apparent on works where drums, bass and guitar are the only elements used, but when synths begin to come into the picture, there’s a sudden cheerfulness that begins to emerge in the instrumental elements of the songs.
‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, one of the band’s best-known songs, has this bittersweet synth line floating over the top of Curtis’ despairing lyrics about separation, and while it may throw listeners off and cause them to think that it’s simply another of their typical songs of sadness, it has moments where it appears to be more cheerful in tone, and this is far from an accidental feature. On their second and final album, Closer, ‘Isolation’ feels upbeat in its instrumentation despite the lyrics doing the opposite, and before that, ‘Atmosphere’ has an inviting brightness about it, even though the lyrics are as despondent as ever.
But how did this unnerving juxtaposition become their bread and butter? Peter Hook argued that one of his favourite albums manages to illustrate this balance of frolic and darkness in a way that was hugely influential to the Manchester band. Speaking to the Classic Album Sundays podcast, the bassist claimed that one of his favourite albums of all time was Nico’s Chelsea Girl, which arrived in 1967, shortly after she’d collaborated with The Velvet Underground on their debut album earlier in the year.
Hook called Chelsea Girl “a perfect long player with a wonderful orchestral production by John Cale, melancholic and great melodies, you will be sad but happy”. This ethos is reflected in Joy Division’s approach, and while the luscious production and arrangements that Nico and Cale came up with together are a lot less ambiguous in their tone and more upfront about wanting to be upbeat, the lyrics are equally as despairing, telling stories of characters living their lives on the fringes of society.
This match-up always seems to manage to create magic, and ends up being such a powerful combination that conveys a sea of emotion. While Nico’s version isn’t as personal as Curtis’ lyrics are, neither of them found themselves in a good place, and the happiness of the instrumentals was there as a way for the respective vocalists to look for hope in some form.
