Biography
Joy Division were an English band from Manchester whose spare, shadowy post-punk sound helped define the genre.
Their singer and lyricist Ian Curtis married Deborah Woodruff in 1975 and was diagnosed with epilepsy in 1979 while the band's touring schedule intensified.[1]
The band released the albums Unknown Pleasures (1979) and Closer (1980) with producer Martin Hannett on Factory Records.[2]
Curtis died by suicide on 18 May 1980, and the band ended soon afterward. The surviving members went on to form New Order.[1]
The single "Atmosphere" was recorded with Martin Hannett at Cargo Studios in Rochdale in October 1979 and first released in France in March 1980. Factory reissued it after Curtis's death.[3] Its keyboards and drums point toward the sound the surviving members developed as New Order.[4]
In 1988 Factory released the singles compilation Substance, which reached number 7 in the UK and remains the band's only Billboard 200 entry.[5]
References
- Love Will Tear Us Apart (Wikipedia) — Recording history, chart performance, critical rankings, covers, and the memorial inscription.
- Closer (Joy Division album) (Wikipedia) — Album recording dates, release, production and relation to Curtis's death.
- Atmosphere (Joy Division song) (Wikipedia) — Recording, release history and reception of the single.
- Atmosphere: how Joy Division's masterpiece was assembled (Far Out Magazine) — Songwriting process and the link to New Order.
- Substance (Joy Division album) (Wikipedia) — 1988 compilation release, charts and reception.