Joy Division/New Order

▪ British rock group

Introduction

      British rock group who, as Joy Division, refined the external chaos of 1970s punk into a disquieting inner turmoil, ushering in the postpunk era. They later, as New Order, pioneered the successful fusion of rock and 1980s African-American dance music styles. The principal members were Ian Curtis (b. July 15, 1956, Macclesfield, Cheshire, Eng.—d. May 18, 1980, Macclesfield), Bernard Albrecht (later Bernard Sumner; b. Jan. 4, 1956, Salford, Manchester), Peter Hook (b. Feb. 13, 1956, Manchester), Stephen Morris (b. Oct. 28, 1957, Macclesfield), and Gillian Gilbert (b. Jan. 27, 1961, Manchester).

      Inspired by seeing the Sex Pistols (Sex Pistols, the) perform in Manchester, guitarist Albrecht, bassist Hook, and vocalist Curtis formed Warsaw in the spring of 1977 to play thrashing punk music. By early 1978 they had replaced their original drummer with Morris and changed the band's name to Joy Division (slang for female concentration camp prisoners forced into prostitution by the Nazis (Nazi Party)). Their trademarks were already in place: prominent, melodic bass; guitar and drums as rhythm and texture; complex, literary lyrics; and mediumistic live performances (Curtis's spastic hyperactivity was sometimes actually the result of onstage epileptic seizures). The group's debut album, Unknown Pleasures (1979), was produced by Martin Hannett for Manchester's with a prescient ambience and sonic atmosphere that anticipated production conventions to come. It marked the viability of the independent bands and labels that had arisen in response to punk and made Joy Division one of the hottest live draws in the United Kingdom. Later covered by disco diva Grace Jones, “She's Lost Control,” from Unknown Pleasures, became their signature tune.

      Working at a dizzying pace, the group incorporated drum machines and synthesizers in their move from rock to a measured European electronic sound influenced by Kraftwerk and producer Giorgio Moroder. In concert Curtis held nothing back, giving nightmare visions such as “Dead Souls” and “Atrocity Exhibition” an existential authority. Along with a troubled private life and worsening epilepsy, this intensity drove Curtis to the brink. On the eve of Joy Division's first U.S. tour in 1980, he committed suicide at the home of his estranged wife. Success followed tragedy; the single “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and the band's second album, Closer, made the Top Ten and Top 20, respectively, in the United Kingdom.

      Following Curtis's death, the three remaining band members—joined by keyboardist Gilbert—continued as New Order, with Sumner (formerly Albrecht) becoming the vocalist. With singles such as “Everything's Gone Green” (1981) and the best-selling “Blue Monday” (1983), New Order moved toward a more thorough exploration of dance music. Their 1989 single “Fine Time” incorporated elements of the then-current U.K. club sound called acid house, and “World in Motion,” the official national theme for the 1990 World Cup, gave them their first U.K. number one. “Regret,” released in 1993, was New Order's last significant single.

Jon Savage

Representative Works

● Unknown Pleasures (1979)

● “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (1980)

● Closer (1980)

● Still (1981)

Additional Reading

Joy Division is discussed in Mark Johnson et al., An Ideal for Living (1984); Claude Flowers, New Order + Joy Division: Dreams Never End (1995); and Deborah Curtis, Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division (1995), written by Ian Curtis's widow.

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