The
single arrived without any major label push, and without much hope of mainstream
radio play, yet somehow the UK music press of the time – pretty much restricted
to three-month-old ship-freighted newsprint copies of the NME and Sounds et al
– had sufficient clout with the less mainstream masses to ensure advance orders
and pre sales were at a premium by the time it docked.
The
band’s Unknown Pleasures album, also on debut, did exactly the same thing on
the album charts, arriving at No.1 on the back of advance sales, with little
more than the word of a select few UK-based music journalists to really
recommend it. Which is quite astonishing really – more so when you consider
that there was no previous reference point for Joy Division’s music in this
tiny backblock, 12,000 miles away from the band’s home town of Manchester.
What
is even more notable in all of this, and the source of some disappointment for
a few at the time, is that neither ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, nor subsequent
singles ‘Atmosphere’ (another No.1), and ‘Transmission’, were included on
Unknown Pleasures.
Notable,
because back in 1980 – unless you were Pink Floyd – you simply didn’t have a
chart-topping album unless it was preceded or accompanied by a single of some
note. In the case of Joy Division, the album came as a standalone, with no
singles whatsoever lifted from it. This was standard modus operandi of the
Factory label at the time.
The
role played by producer Martin Hannett was pivotal to achieving Joy Division’s
unique sound. It was Hannett who harnessed all of the individual elements
within the band to create a truly remarkable whole; Curtis’ bleak lyrics and
despairing baritone, Bernard Sumner’s prototype post-punk guitar and keys,
Peter Hook’s distinctive bass, and the drumming of Stephen Morris, all working
in unison to generate noise and imagery the like of which had never been heard
before.
There
was post-punk before and during Joy Division’s time, but Joy Division and
Hannett moved the genre’s boundaries forever, and just as likely played a major
part in bringing the fledgling goth-rock sub-genre into public consciousness.
Hannett’s key contribution was to bring the drums and percussion to the fore,
and he was able to create a sense of space within otherwise clustered and
claustrophobic confines, which perfectly complemented the gloomy nature of Joy
Division’s sound.
Unknown
Pleasures has since gone on to become one of the more critically-acclaimed
releases of the past 30 years. Ian Curtis’ suicide in 1980 – just prior to the
release of band’s follow-up album, Closer – has doubtlessly contributed to the
band’s wider mythology over the years but there is no denying that Joy
Division’s place in post-punk legend is well deserved, and Unknown Pleasures
still stands as a landmark release.
Best
tracks: ‘New Dawn Fades’, ‘She's Lost Control’, and ‘Shadowplay’...
And
here’s a little something that didn’t make it on to the album:
