Joy_Division_-_Desperation_Takes_Hold_(1980)-WOS

MP3

Reward for filling the request: 

20

Request details: 

Discogs or other URL:
Catalog number:
Year: 27-06-2002

│ Formed in the wake of the punk explosion in England, Joy Division became │
│ the first band in the post-punk movement by later emphasizing not anger │
│ and energy but mood and expression, pointing ahead to the rise of │
│ melancholy alternative music in the '80s. Though the group's raw initial │
│ sides fit the bill for any punk band, Joy Division later incorporated │
│ synthesizers (taboo in the low-tech world of '70s punk) and more haunting │
│ melodies, emphasized by the isolated, tortured lyrics of its lead vocalist │
│ Ian Curtis. While the British punk movement shocked the world during the │
│ late '70s, Joy Division's quiet storm of musical restraint and emotive │
│ power proved to be just as important to independent music in the 1980s. │
│ │
│ The band was founded in early 1977, soon after the Sex Pistols had made │
│ their first appearance in Manchester. Guitarist Bernard Albrecht and │
│ bassist Peter Hook had met while at the show and later formed a band │
│ called the Stiff Kittens; after placing an ad through a Manchester record │
│ store, they added vocalist Ian Curtis and drummer Steve Brotherdale. │
│ Renamed Warsaw (from David Bowie's "Warszawa"), the band made its live │
│ debut the following May, supporting the Buzzcocks and Penetration at │
│ Manchester's Electric Circus. After the recording of several demos, │
│ Brotherdale quit the group in August 1977, prompting the hire of Stephen │
│ Morris. A name change to Joy Division in late 1977 — necessitated by the │
│ punk band Warsaw Pakt — was inspired by Karol Cetinsky's World War II │
│ novel The House of Dolls. (In the book, the term "joy division" was used │
│ as slang for concentration camp units wherein inmates were forced to │
│ prostitute themselves for the enjoyment of Nazi soldiers.) │
│ │
│ Playing frequently in the north country during early 1978, the quartet │
│ gained the respect of several influential figures: Rob Gretton, a │
│ Manchester club DJ who became the group's manager; Tony Wilson, a TV │
│ print journalist and owner of the Factory Records label; and Derek │
│ Branwood, a record executive with RCA Northwest, who recorded sessions in │
│ May 1978, for what was planned to be Joy Division's self-titled debut LP. │
│ Though several songs bounded with punk energy, the rest of the album │
│ showed at an early age the band's later trademarks: Curtis' themes of │
│ post-industrial restlessness and emotional despair, Hook's droning bass │
│ lines, and the jagged guitar riffs of Albrecht. │
│ │
│ The album should have been hailed as a punk classic, but when a studio │
│ engineer added synthesizers to several tracks — believing that the punk │
│ movement had to move on and embrace new sounds — Joy Division scrapped │
│ the entire LP. (Titled Warsaw for a 1982 bootleg, the album was finally │
│ given wide issue ten years later.) The first actual Joy Division release │
│ came in June 1978, when the initial mid-1977 demos were released as the │
│ EP An Ideal for Living, on the band's own Enigma label. Early in 1979, │
│ the buzz surrounding Joy Division increased with a session recorded for │
│ John Peel's BBC radio show. │
│ │
│ The group began recording with producer Martin Hannett and released │
│ Unknown Pleasures on old friend Tony Wilson's Factory label in July 1979. │
│ The album enjoyed immense critical acclaim and a long stay on the U.K.'s │
│ independent charts. Encouraged by the punk buzz, the American Warner Bros. │
│ label offered a large distribution contract that fall. The band ignored │
│ it but did record another radio session for John Peel on November 26th. │
│ (Both sessions were later collected on the Peel Sessions album.) │
│ │
│ During late 1979, Joy Division's manic live show gained many converts, │
│ partly due to rumors of Curtis' ill health. An epilepsy sufferer, he │
│ was prone to breakdowns and seizures while on stage — it soon grew │
│ difficult to distinguish the fits from his usual on-stage jerkiness and │
│ manic behavior. As the live dates continued and the new decade approached │
│ Curtis grew weaker and more prone to seizures. After a short rest over │
│ the Christmas holiday, Joy Division embarked on a European tour during │
│ January, though several dates were cancelled because of Curtis. The │
│ group began recording its second LP after the tour ended (again with │
│ Hannett), and released "Love Will Tear Us Apart" in April. The single │
│ was again praised but failed to move beyond the independent charts. After │
│ one gig in early May, the members of Joy Division were given two weeks │
│ of rest before beginning the group's first U.S. tour. Two days before │
│ the scheduled flight, however, Curtis was found dead in his home, the │
│ victim of a self-inflicted hanging. │
│ │
│ Before Curtis' death, the band had agreed that Joy Division would cease │
│ to exist if any member left, for any reason. Ironically though, the summer │
│ of 1980 proved to be the blooming of the band's commercial status, when │
│ a re-release of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" rose to number 13 on the British │
│ singles chart. In August, the release of Closer finally united critics' │
│ positivity with glowing sales, as the album peaked at number six. Before │
│ the end of the summer, Unknown Pleasures was charting as well. │
│ │
│ By January of the following year, Hook, Morris, and Albrecht (now Bernard │
│ Sumner) had formed New Order, with Sumner taking over vocal duties. Also │
│ in 1981, the posthumous release of Still — including two sides of rare │
│ tracks and two of live songs — rose to number five on the British charts. │
│ As New Order's star began to shine during the '80s, the group had trouble │
│ escaping the long shadow of Curtis and Joy Division. "Love Will Tear Us │
│ Apart" charted for the third time in 1983, and 1988 also proved a big year │
│ for the defunct band: the reissued single "Atmosphere" hit number 34 and a │
│ double-album compilation entitled Substance reached number seven in the │
│ album charts. Seven years later, the 15th anniversary of Curtis' death was │
│ memorialized with a new JD compilation (Permanent: Joy Division 1995), a │
│ tribute album (A Means to an End), and a biography of his life (Touching │
│ From a Distance) written by his widow Deborah Curtis. In 1999 the Factory │
│ label began a program of concert-performance reissues all overseen by the │
│ remainder of the original lineup with Preston Warehouse 28 February 1980. │

2 Comments

Subscribe to Comments for "Joy_Division_-_Desperation_Takes_Hold_(1980)-WOS"