Album: Unknown Pleasures
Unknown Pleasures' brooding, chilling sound reflected a darkening mood in the North of England at the time, with Shadowplay and Disorder both exploring urban decay ("on the tenth floor / down the back stairs / it's a no man's land"). Peter Saville's stark sleeve design enhances this sense of collapse, displaying successive pulses of electromagnetic radiation from a dying, rotating neutron star (pulsar). Drummer Stephen Morris discovered the image in the Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Astronomy and suggested it to Saville, who took the radical decision to display it without any reference to the band name or album title. This minimalism would be hugely influential on post-punk album artwork. Hannett's production enhanced the album's bleak ambience by adding muffled screams and digital effects like crashing glass to the sound. Unknown Pleasures walks the tightrope between brooding and melancholy and its uniquely English Gothic sound would be hugely influential on other sonic innovators like Siouxsie & the Banshees and the Cure. New Dawn Fades ("me, seeing me this time / hoping for something else") and She's Lost Control ("and walked upon the edge of no escape / and laughed I've lost control") are the dark heart of the record, exploring themes of death and mental breakdown. Morris' innovative mix of electronic and acoustic drums, Hook's echoing bass melodies and Curtis' strange windmill dancing. Joy Division were like nothing before or since.
Artist: Joy Division
Born: Salford, Manchester
Released: June 1979
Genre: Gothic Rock
Influenced: Jesus & the Mary Chain, Depeche Mode, Low, Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, Interpol
In summer 1976, the Sex Pistols played twice at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, signalling the arrival of punk rock in Manchester. Among those that attended were future members of the Fall, the Smiths, the Buzzcocks and Joy Division (Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook were all there). Manchester's emerging DIY ethic in the late 70s can largely be traced to this influential concert, though Joy Division's great innovation was turning the energy of punk inwards to explore the interior landscape and far more complex emotions. Macclesfield-born Curtis was chiefly responsible for this approach, inspired by the manic introspection of songwriters like Iggy Pop and Jim Morrison. His lyrics explored the isolation of living in the North of England during the Winter of Discontent, his own existential crisis reflecting that of the region in which he lived. In early 1978, Granada TV presenter and Cambridge graduate Tony Wilson started putting on club nights under the name Factory (a reference to Manchester's industrial heritage) and also released a Factory Sample EP, on which Joy Division appeared along side acts like the Durutti Column and Cabaret Voltaire. This encouraged the band to record their debut album on Factory too, despite interest from larger labels, with Curtis citing the freedom from interference in their music or album artwork as the main motivating factor. Produced by Martin Hannett (who had already achieved minor success with the Buzzcocks) at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, Unknown Pleasures was the first LP to be released on Factory Records.
In summer 1976, the Sex Pistols played twice at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester, signalling the arrival of punk rock in Manchester. Among those that attended were future members of the Fall, the Smiths, the Buzzcocks and Joy Division (Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook were all there). Manchester's emerging DIY ethic in the late 70s can largely be traced to this influential concert, though Joy Division's great innovation was turning the energy of punk inwards to explore the interior landscape and far more complex emotions. Macclesfield-born Curtis was chiefly responsible for this approach, inspired by the manic introspection of songwriters like Iggy Pop and Jim Morrison. His lyrics explored the isolation of living in the North of England during the Winter of Discontent, his own existential crisis reflecting that of the region in which he lived. In early 1978, Granada TV presenter and Cambridge graduate Tony Wilson started putting on club nights under the name Factory (a reference to Manchester's industrial heritage) and also released a Factory Sample EP, on which Joy Division appeared along side acts like the Durutti Column and Cabaret Voltaire. This encouraged the band to record their debut album on Factory too, despite interest from larger labels, with Curtis citing the freedom from interference in their music or album artwork as the main motivating factor. Produced by Martin Hannett (who had already achieved minor success with the Buzzcocks) at Strawberry Studios in Stockport, Unknown Pleasures was the first LP to be released on Factory Records.
Unknown Pleasures' brooding, chilling sound reflected a darkening mood in the North of England at the time, with Shadowplay and Disorder both exploring urban decay ("on the tenth floor / down the back stairs / it's a no man's land"). Peter Saville's stark sleeve design enhances this sense of collapse, displaying successive pulses of electromagnetic radiation from a dying, rotating neutron star (pulsar). Drummer Stephen Morris discovered the image in the Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Astronomy and suggested it to Saville, who took the radical decision to display it without any reference to the band name or album title. This minimalism would be hugely influential on post-punk album artwork. Hannett's production enhanced the album's bleak ambience by adding muffled screams and digital effects like crashing glass to the sound. Unknown Pleasures walks the tightrope between brooding and melancholy and its uniquely English Gothic sound would be hugely influential on other sonic innovators like Siouxsie & the Banshees and the Cure. New Dawn Fades ("me, seeing me this time / hoping for something else") and She's Lost Control ("and walked upon the edge of no escape / and laughed I've lost control") are the dark heart of the record, exploring themes of death and mental breakdown. Morris' innovative mix of electronic and acoustic drums, Hook's echoing bass melodies and Curtis' strange windmill dancing. Joy Division were like nothing before or since.
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