Joy Division Central

10 Oct Glasgow Apollo:

Ticket scan added to our listing for Buzzcocks and Joy Division at Glasgow Apollo. Thanks to glasgowapollo.com

Poster added for Buzzcocks and Joy Division at Caird Hall, Dundee 1979.
Thanks to and (C) Victoria and Albert Museum, London

24 Sept Published today: HEART & SOUL: Critical Essays on Joy Division

A new book of essays on JOY DIVISION by Dr Martin J Power, Prof Devereux, and Aileen Dillane with a foreword by Noel Hogan of The Cranberries. Published by Rowman & Littlefield

Click here to order with a 30% discount (opens .pdf file)

“This stunning collection provides essential insights into a lesser known, yet highly significant segment of British popular and post punk music history.” - Britta Sweers, Professor of Cultural Anthropology of Music at the University of Bern

Led by the iconic Ian Curtis, Joy Division remains one of the most influential bands to emerge in the British Post-Punk Scene. In spite of Joy Division’s relatively short existence, their unique sound and distinct iconography have had a lasting impact on music fans and performers alike. This book disassembles the band’s contribution to rock music.

Based on up-to-date original research, Heart And Soul brings together established and newly emerging scholars who provide detailed examinations of the many layers of this multi-faceted and influential band and their singer, the late Ian Curtis, in particular. Given Joy Division’s complexities, the book draws upon a wide range of academic disciplines and approaches in order to make sense of this highly influential band.

21 Sept This Searing Light, The Sun and Everything Else - a book by Jon Savage

On 7 March 2019 (23 April 2019 USA) Faber Social will publish THIS SEARING LIGHT, THE SUN AND EVERYTHING ELSE by Jon Savage.

Joy Division emerged in the mid-70s at the start of a two-decades long Manchester scene that was to become much mythologised. It was then a city still labouring in the wake of the war and entering a phase of huge social and physical change, and something of this spirit made its way into the DNA of the band. Over the course of two albums, a handful of other seminal releases, and some legendary gigs, Joy Division became the most successful and exciting underground band of their generation. Then, on the brink of a tour to America, Ian Curtis took his own life.

In THIS SEARING LIGHT, THE SUN AND EVERYTHING ELSE, Jon Savage has assembled three decades worth of interviews with the principle players in the Joy Division story: Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Deborah Curtis, Peter Saville, Tony Wilson, Paul Morley, Alan Hempsall, Lesley Gilbert, Terry Mason, Anik Honore, and many more. It is the story of how a band resurrected a city, how they came together in circumstances that are both accidental and extraordinary, and how their music galvanised a generation of fans, artists and musicians. It is a classic story of how young people armed with electric guitars and good taste in literature can change the world with four chords and three-and-a-half minutes of music. And it is the story of how illness and demons can rob the world of a shamanic lead singer and visionary lyricist.

THIS SEARING LIGHT, THE SUN AND EVERYTHING ELSE presents the history of Joy Division in an intimate and candid way, as orchestrated by the lodestar of British music writing, Jon Savage.

Jon Savage is the author of England’s Dreaming: Sex Pistols and Punk Rock, Teenage: The Creation of Youth, 1875 – 1945 and 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded.

12 Sept Alternate Unknown Pleasures bootleg released

This 2018 LP features alternative live and studio versions of the official release.

£12.99 inc P&P

03 Sept Unpublished poster up for auction in December

Omega auctions will be hosting the Peter Hook: Joy Division Signature Collection on December 8th and the initial publicity includes the unpublished photo below. Click here for our listing for the concert. Thanks to Omega auctions and Mark Gale.

02 Sept Misplaced

Bootleg listing updated with reissues.

01 Sept Unpublished flyer

An unpublished flyer for the Rezillos, Undertones, and Joy Division concert at Canterbury Odeon November 1978 has surfaced on Ebay. Thanks to DMXI for spotting it.

21 Aug We Were Strangers - Published 6th September £12.99 - Pre Order now

A book of short stories inspired by Unknown Pleasures published by Confingo Publishing

We Were Strangers is an anthology of ten original short stories inspired by Joy Division’s debut album, Unknown Pleasures. The collection includes new fiction from the award-winning authors Toby Litt (shortlisted for the 2015 Edge Hill Short Story Prize and the 2013 Sunday Times EFG Private Bank Short Story Award), Jenn Ashworth (winner of the 2010 Betty Trask Award), Nicholas Royle (shortlisted for the inaugural Edge Hill Short Story Prize, 2006), Sophie Mackintosh (winner of the 2016 White Review Short Story Prize, the 2016 Stylist/Virago Short Story competition and longlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize) and Eley Williams (shortlisted for the 2018 James Tait Black Memorial Prize).

Joy Division's combination of weighty themes and raw, brooding music has impacted on the imagination of countless listeners since 1979 when Unknown Pleasures was released.

The songs which make up Unknown Pleasures are dark and powerful – morose and menacing in both their composition and lyrical content. We Were Strangers, with its eclectic mix of narrative styles, forms and voices, delivers a thoughtful, absorbing and intense response almost 40 years on. The stories range from the bleak and sinister to the moving and thrilling, much like the songs on the album.

Richard Hirst, Editor says:
“Ian Curtis’s legacy lies principally in his distinctive lyrics, suggestive as they are of some kind of story, a chronicle of isolation, anguish, biblical conflict and ecstasy, but one whose plot, characters and structure are all lost in the dark and the fog. The listener feels a temptation to shade in between the lines of Curtis’s oblique words and the group’s cavernous melodies, a flame lit in their imagination. What better medium than the short story – a form currently enjoying an uncanny renaissance – to discover what that blaze will illuminate?...The following stories constitute a contemporary literary snapshot of the impact (the) energy (of Unknown Pleasures) has had: what we heard, what it has done for our imaginations, and where it has led us.”

Confingo Publishing is an independent publisher based in Manchester. It publishes the biannual literary and arts magazine, Confingo. In 2017 it published its first book, Ornithology: Sixteen Short Stories by Nicholas Royle, which has recently been longlisted for the 2018 Edge Hill Short Story Prize.

19 Aug
New concert photos added:

Reynard Toombs's colour photos of Joy Division at the Factory Manchester April 1980 added. Many thanks to Reynard and Mark Gale.

Ian Curtis on stage - with Twinny, Terry Mason and Bernard in the second photo
Stage photos (C) Reynard Toombs and reproduced here with permission.

25 Jul Unseen concert ticket surfaces:

After nearly 30 years a ticket for Joy Division's December 1979 concert at Les Bains Douches has surfaced. Many thanks to Francois Guillez for sharing it with us.

This ticket surfaced in 2018 - thanks to Francois Guillez

17 Jul New photographic book from Brazil:

New book listing added: In Aeternum, Joy Division: a busca afetiva por uma imagem - a Brazilian, Portuguese language, photo book. Listing includes contact email address for ordering.

Thanks to Felipe Andrian Techeira.

17 Jun Russell Club bootleg LP:

Listing simplified and a couple of new versions added

31 May First gig recollections:

Arthur in Sheffield and his mate Nigel were at the front when Warsaw played their first gig at the Electric Circus, wrongly billed as Stiff Kittems. He shares his memories with us:

"They strode on and were clearly cheesed off about the Stiff Kittens name and barked out that they were Warsaw. Great start - far better name. There was not a lot of interest or applause but my pal and I liked them straight off. They came across as earnest with a nervous edge and determined. I don't recall any particular songs - I remember the feel of the music was amateur, stripped back and had attack. I've nowt against leather caps and moustaches but I thought that Peter Hook's leather cap stood out as a bit of a glam rock throwback! We liked Warsaw and when I got a leaflet for the 'new wave night' at the Squat the following week, with them included in the line-up, we went along to that too.

22 May Factory Sample pirate:

2016 United States pirate edition added to the listings

28 April Update:

The bootleg being sold by some sellers on Ebay as a Record Store Day release appears to be a straighforward pressing of Warsaw which makes no such claims. It's on a different label to the planned RSD version and has fewer tracks. It has appeared elsewhere for a tenth of the price.

27 April Fake Records Store Day release:

Warsaw bootlegs are appearing on Ebay with fake Record Store Day 2018 credentials. The prices are highly inflated and the tracks will be nothing new, most likely the same as the Baby Face Warsaw CD.

27 March Record Store Day - Joy Division offering appears to have been withdrawn:

The Vinyl Passion reissue of the Warsaw bootleg has been removed from the official Record Store Day web site. It's hard to understand how a bootleg album the band do not want released could have been approved for inclusion in RSD 2018 in the first place, particularly when it was on the same label as an unauthorised 2007 release.

This is not the first time Joy Division bootlegs have been associated with Record Store Day. In 2015 an Italian 7" picture disc of Love Will Tear Us Apart on Radiation Records appeared in record shops on Record Store Day. It wasn't an official RSD release, but the packaging was designed to make it appear like one.

Later that year Radiation Records re-released the single on black vinyl with no claimed Record Store Day credentials.

12 March Joy Division tattoos

More tattoos added

9 March 1979 Set lists

Set listings for the following concerts on the Buzzcocks tour added to the listings:

Loughborough 20 October 1979

Derby 22 October 1979

Leicester 29 October 1979

Thanks to Sarge, a Buzzcocks fan who took notes at these gigs, TJ and Sam Habash. If anybody has any more information we'd like to hear it.

7 March Record Store Day - Joy Division offering:

According to the official Record Store Day web site, Vinyl Passion will be releasing the Warsaw LP on Record Store Day 2018 - 21st April.

From the information provided this sounds like a reissue of the unofficial 2007 'Baby Face' LP of the same name by the same record label. If so, the track listing will be as follows:

All of this for you Interzone

The leaders of men Warsaw

They walked in line Shadowplay

Failures As you said

Novelty Inside the line

No love lost Gutz

Transmission At A Later date

Living in the ice age The kill

You're No Good For Me

25 February Strawberry Studios diary for April 1981:

What were Martin Hannett and Rob Gretton mixing and editing at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, between 3rd-6th April 1981?

This was around the time Still was being mixed in London, was it part of that process or something else?

Thanks to Mark Gale and Strawberry Studios for the images.

nks to Mark Gale an

6 February New poster added:

Poster for the Ajanta Theatre Derby added thanks to Darrell Buxton and Mark Gale

26 January Contemporary review added to Check Inn listing:

Paul Campbell wrote this review for a local publication at the time of the concert:

19 January Iconic stage production about Joy Division and the 1970s Manchester music scene returns to Manchester this April:

“New Dawn Fades – A Play About Joy Division and Manchester”chronicles the rise and fall of the ground-breaking post-punk band, and the 1970s Manchester music scene

This is the story of four ordinary lads who, inspired by the punk revolution of the 1970s, came together to form one of the most influential bands of all time, Joy Division.

This unique production places the band within the context of Manchester’s history as a city with a vibrant reputation, setting the scene for a completely new and fascinating look at the Joy Division story.

Anthony H Wilson guides the audience through the heart and soul of both the band and the city, introducing an array of historical figures, including Roman General Julius Agricola, Dr John Dee, Frederich Engels, and the Buzzcocks!

The result is a spellbinding journey of love, passion, progress, grief, and, of course, music. Drawing inspiration from the enigmatic lyrics of Ian Curtis, with a soundtrack featuring live performances of his most beloved tracks.

A smash hit when it debuted at the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival on 15th July 2013 (Curtis' birthday), New Dawn Fades was subsequently staged at the Macclesfield WinterFest in Ian Curtis’ home town, where it played to capacity audiences and standing ovations. Tours in 2015 and 2016 followed, with more acclaimed performances in Chester, Leeds, Bury, Liverpool, Bury St Edmonds, and London

Tickets for Manchester

Now, due to popular demand, the show is back at Manchester's Dancehouse Theatre this April.
Tickets can be booked here

Actors and musicians can audition

For this new run, three leading roles are currently being re-cast. Actors and musicians interested should apply here

The Director

Director Emma Bird joins the production team for its 5th year. Emma is an actor and director, improviser and teacher. She has performed at theatres such as The Royal National Theatre, Hampstead Theatre, Norwich Playhouse, and Finborough Theatre. She was a regular character in BBC TV’s Casualty, and has worked with writers such as Jimmy McGovern, Peter Bowker, and alongside great actors such as Pete Postlethwaite, Tom Wilkinson, Frances de La Tour, and David Morrissey. Emma received Best Director award at Liverpool’s Page to Stage Festival (2016), and directed three well received productions in 2017 in Liverpool, and at The Greater Manchester Fringe Festival. Previously her directing work received a 4 star review at Brighton Fringe. She has also co-starred in the feature film 'The Governess', alongside Minnie Driver.

The play is produced by Giles Bastow of All Roads Meet. In 2017 he directed the audio drama ‘Everyman - A Celebration of Patrick McGoohan and The Prisoner’ and a music video for cult band Evil Blizzard. Giles reprises his stage role of legendary Joy Division manager Rob Gretton.

The play is written, and executive produced, by Brian Gorman, creator of 'Everyman: The Story Of Patrick McGoohan – The Prisoner', co-writer of the 2013 stage version of 'Blade Runner', and currently performing in his new show 'One Man Bond: Every Bond Film In 60 Minutes'. Brian is also a writer and artist of graphic novels, including the highly-acclaimed adaptation of 'Everyman' (9/10 Starburst Magazine review).

Graphic novel - and you can be in it

There is also a graphic novel adaptation of the stage show, due to be published this April. Brian Gorman has adapted his script, and illustrated the book. 'NEW DAWN FADES: The Graphic Novel' will also include exclusive production photographs by Shay Rowan, and an introduction by legendary music journalist Mick Middles. Fans can join in with a crowdfunding campaign, and receive copies of the book, original artwork, and exclusive perks here

14 January Special Brew:

More information added to the Factory New year's Eve party 1979 where Joy Division, A Certain Ratio, and Section 25 played. Factory provided copious amounts of free Special Brew which ensured a lively evening.

12 January New bootleg LP listing added:

In the world of bootlegs things are not always as they seem, and leftover stock can be repackaged as a new limited item. Is that what's happened with To the Centre of Koln Vol II?

5 January
2018
Set list update:

Nick Blakey has spotted that Michael's set list posted 15 December, which enabled us to work out which songs were played at Altrincham, is the same as the mystery set list Bryan Kee sent us in 2013. Bryan's version has Sister Ray written on it as another encore:

15 December
2017
Unpublished set list surfaces:

Michael Waterhouse has published a photo of the Joy Division set list given to his step father at the Check Inn Club, Altrincham 20th November 1978. The set list, in Ian Curtis's handwriting, tells us for the first time what songs were played that night.

2 December Paul Slattery blog:

Joy Division on The Streets of Stockport: Photographer Paul Slattery on his iconic 1979 photo session and Strawberry Studios Exhibitions

1 December Promo press pack added to the site

This Australian 1981 press pack included copies of Closer and Unknown pleasures with a Love Will Tear Us Apart 7" plus photos and printed material

28 November Ticket stub added to the site

Electric Ballroom 31st August 1978 ticket image added to the site - thanks to DMXI

Ticket image thanks to DMXI

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26 November Advert added to the site

Music paper advert for Rezillos, Undertones and Joy Division gig at Brunel University Uxbridge added

Music paper advert thanks to Boredteenagers.co.uk

24 November New poster added to the site

John Angus's poster for the cancelled Rezillos gig at Lancaster University added to the site. This was part of the Rezillos, Undertones, Joy Division tour which unraveled after the Rezillos had a bust up.

Poster (C) John Angus and reproduced here with permission
You can see more of John's posters on his web site

30 August Japanese Pirate releases from 2008 added to the site

In 2008 someone released pirate copies of the official Japanese CDs in packaging designed to look like mini LPs:

£7.27

28 August Manchester Apollo video

Films page updated now the unreleased and previously unseen songs from Manchester Apollo 27th October 1979 have been shown at the True Faith exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery.

26 June Singles 1978-1980

Pirate 2LP version of the official box set - listing added

21 June La Sélection Idéale

2012 3CD French box set - listing added

£7.99

16 June Blue Plaque for Factory

Alan Erasmus's old flat in Palatine Road, West Didsbury has been awarded a blue plaque. It was commissioned by the BBC in conjunction with the British Plaque Trust to commemorate the birthplace of Factory.

Peter Saville unveiled it yesterday with Shaun Ryder, Bez, Rowetta and Mark Day from the Happy Mondays and former Hacienda DJs Graeme Park and Dave Haslam attending the ceremony.

Pictures reproduced courtesy Jez Kerr and Rowetta. With thanks to Mark Gale

31 May Listing updated:

Lyceum concert - information added about a superior two track soundboard recording, possibly recorded by a roadie, and a table of what tracks appear on the different tapes of the gig

1 May Listings updated:

Peel Sessions - pirate LP listing updated with more coloured vinyl versions
Amnesty International Picture Disc - another version added

8 Apr Nashville Rooms 1979 - second audience bootleg tape identified

It's not always easy to tell if recordings of the same concert are from different tapes or simply different generations and edits of a common original. However, audience chatter between songs can give a huge clues, as in this instance.

7 Apr
High Hall Birmingham photo

High Hall Birmingham - 1981 photo of the venue for Joy Division's last concert added thanks to Birmingham 81 who posted the image on Twitter

(C) Copyright Birmingham 81 and reproduced here with permission

22 Mar Record Store Day 2017

There are no Joy Division or New Order releases on Record Store day this year. However there are nine Peter Hook and the Light albums up for grabs on 22nd April.

Amazon Echo
£149.99

19 Mar Nottingham ticket stub added

Many thanks to Charlie Harvey

24 Feb More Joy Division tattoos added

Many thanks to Rachael Cannon, Jenna, Leon, Tara, Lars Madsen, and Connor Allan

24 Feb Unpublished photo of Hooky at the final Joy Division Concert

Martin Hardy took this photo of Peter Hook at High Hall Birmingham 2nd May 1980 and it is published here for the first time.

Copyright Martin Hardy

23 Feb Too good to be true? Mysterious Joy Division rehearsals test press sells for £1,900 on Ebay

A 10" vinyl LP featuring a 20 minute Joy Division rehearsal has sold for £1900 on Ebay. This previously unknown record was apparently one of only six made for Joy Division's manager Rob Gretton by Strawberry Mastering, the mastering division of Strawberry Records Stockport, - according to the item's description on the auction web site.

The full description on Ebay reads as follows: "Apparently only six ever made by Strawberry Mastering in London, the mastering division of Strawberry Studios, Stockport. Made for Rob Gretton by Strawberry Mastering a 20 min approximate vinyl of Joy Division rehearsals on a ten inch test pressing. Strawberry Mastering closed down in the 1980s. Only five now known to be in existence- cardboard sleeve grubby but record plays well".

Strawberry Mastering opened in 1978 and closed in 1983 and, according to Strawberry Recording Studios Facebook pages, the link between Strawberry Recording Studios and Strawberry Mastering was that Ric Dixon was a director/partner in both companies.

There is no mention of which rehearsal is on the recording so it will be interesting to find out if this recording is a new discovery or one of the rehearsals already documented on our rehearsals page and previously released on bootleg.

It appears the seller has three more copies for sale

Kindle £12.09

18 Feb Photos from the Strawberry Studios Exhibition, Stockport

The Strawberry 50 exhibition is at Stockport Staircase House Museum, Market Place , Stockport SK1 1ES.

The exhibition charts the Strawberry story from the time the studios was built in 1967, the 1970's - the 10CC and Joy Divsion era. Through the 1980's/90's when The Smiths, Stone Roses and many others recorded there.

It runs until 28th January next year.

Opening times are 10am - 5pm - Tuesday to Saturday and 11am - 5pm Sundays

Admission is FREE.

Lots of Joy Division and Manchester music artefacts and memorabilia.

Thanks to Mark Gale for the photos

17 Feb Au Plan K - limited edition has been published

Limited edition and signed editions of Philippe Carly's "Au Plan K" book are being delivered to their new owners. The paperback version is due out 15 March.

8 Feb Undocumented 1978 concert date confirmed:

The date of Joy Division's first gig at the Good Mood Club Halifax has been something of a mystery, until now. Stephen Morris remembered it as May or June 1978 but thanks to Dave Knight who runs a Facebook page dedicated to the old Clarences / Good Mood Club in Halifax we now have a newspaper advert pinning it down to 7th April 1978. Many thanks to Dave for providing this information.

Dave has also provided us with the advert for their concert the following year on 22 June 1979

4 Dec Au Plan K - Book Crowdfunding underway:

The wait is over: the crowd funding campaign for the long awaited book "Au Plan K" featuring all 56 Joy Division images taken by Philippe Carly at Plan K has launched. You can help by donating as little as €5.00, while €139.00 gets you a signed limited edition version of the book delivered to your door.

276 pages, 12x12" size, 300+ photos, Joy Division and 70+ other acts, 25+ reproductions of original posters, 25+ significant players contribute memories, anecdotes.

Philippe has been working on this beautiful book for 12 years and it's now ready.

The list of headline attractions at Plan K reads like a who’s who of post-punk. Joy Division, Cabaret Voltaire, William S. Burroughs, The Human League, Orange Juice, Josef K, Scritti Politti, James White, Tuxedomoon, Front 242, Bauhaus, The Slits and many more. Most of these legendary performances were documented by noted new wave photographer Philippe Carly, who has selected the best of his images for this rich and varied book, giving readers a unique opportunity to relive these moments as if they were standing in the front row.

La Repubblica - free Unknown Pleasures CD:

The 6th December issue of Italian newspaper "La Repubblica" will come with a free Unknown Pleasures CD. This is part of a weekly offering which builds up into a boxed Punk collection also featuring the likes of the Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Ramones.

It may be possible to buy copies via the La Repubblica web site although we suspect Ebay and Discogs will have them cheaper. Thanks to Mark Woodley for letting us know about this.

30 Nov Strawberry 50:

Commencing in January, Stockport Museum will be showcasing "Strawberry 50" - commemorating the 50th anniversary of the opening of Strawberry Studios.

A central part of the exhibition will be specially commissioned new immaculate resolution prints of a selection of Paul Slattery's photographs taken in Stockport on 28 July 1979, the day "Transmission" was recorded.

They are reputedly the only photographs taken of a rock band on the streets of Stockport! Here Paul proudly poses with one of the prints to be exhibited - this was the first time he had seen the prints and he was ecstatic with the results.

To find out more about the exhibition visit their website

Photo: Lee McFadden

£7.49

19 Nov The 6th December issue of Italian newspaper La Repubblica will come with a free Unknown Pleasures CD. It's part of a series which began with the Sex Pistols. Possibly with a box to put them in coming at the end of the series. Thanks to Mark Woodley for the info.

16 Nov Tier 3 - listing for cancelled date on proposed US tour updated thanks to Mark Woodley for the information.

12 Nov Duffy's Minneapolis flyer from Joy Division's cancelled US tour surfaces:

Duffy's Minneapolis - flyer and venue photo for cancelled date on proposed US tour added. Thanks to Daniel Grobani, Nick Blakey, Daniel Peterson and Jim Froehlich

£6.99

15 Oct New setlists:

Listings updated with two recently surfaced setlists for Warehouse Preston and the
Bury Riot - many thanks to Graham Duff and Mark Gale

15 Oct Futurama 2 LP - listing updated with 2016 counterfeit

Russion mp3 CD collections - listing updated.

15 Oct Bury Riot - listing updated including information from the setlist which recently surfaced

Futurama 79 - listing updated

Russion mp3 CD collections - listing added

Substance: Inside New Order by Peter Hook - Out October 6th

Two acclaimed albums and an upcoming US tour - Joy Division had the world at their feet. Then, on the eve of that tour and the beginning of what would surely have been an international success story, the band's troubled lead singer, Ian Curtis, killed himself.

'We didn't really think about it afterwards. It just sort of happened. One day we were Joy Division, then our lead singer killed himself and the next time we got together, we were a new band...'Peter Hook

RRP £20.00 Amazon price £13.60

That band was New Order. Their distinctive sound, a fusion of post-punk and ground-breaking electronica, paved the way for the dance music explosion of the '80s and earned them the reputation as one of the most influential bands of their generation. Despite their success, the band has always been a collision the visionary and the volatile, and relationships have often been fraught with tensions.

Peter Hook has written a no-holds-barred, comprehensive account of the band's entire history, packed with outrageous anecdotes and including every set list and tour itinerary and interspersed with 'geek facts' of every piece of electronic equipment used to forge the sound that changed the direction of popular music

14 Sept Joy Division Radio Documentary

This Day In Music have produced a three part radio documentary about Joy Division:

1 Sept Stephen Morris to publish autobiography in 2018

Little, Brown imprint Constable have acquired the rights to Stephen Morris’s memoirs which promise to be part memoir, part visual scrapbook, part aural history, according to The Bookseller

18 Aug New Blue Plaques for Strawberry Studios

Strawberry Studios, where Joy Division recorded Unknown Pleasures, Transmission and Love Will Tear Us Apart are getting two updated blue plaques as part of the Studio's 50th anniversary celebrations.

The first plaque went up today at the back of the building and the second will be formally unveiled as part of the 50th anniversary celebrations, which will include an exhibition at Stockport Museum throughout 2017.

The new plaques add Joy Division, Martin Hannett and The Smiths to the previously commemorated Paul McCartney, Neil Sedaka, Stone Roses and the Syd Lawrence Orchestra

The new plaque

The old plaque is removed

"Why had those early Factory releases had that magical Hannett sound? The young genius had been able to plug in his digital thingy into the outboard racks of a major world-class thirty-six track studio that was in Stockport - Stockport ladies and gentleman, Stockport, because 10cc were a Manchester band and they had taken the proceeds of the delicious I'm Not In Love and had reinvested in their home. Reinvested. Built a fuck-off studio. Respect." Tony Wilson

20 July Marquee 4th March 1979 - music paper advert added thanks to Mark Gale

Thanks to Mark Gale for the scan

9 July YMCA, Prince Of Wales Conference Centre 2nd August 1979 : - original ticket on sale on Ebay for £250

Image courtesy of Rob Whitmarsh and reproduced here with permission

3 July Another Ideal For Killing - New LP listing added

24 May Setback for Macclesfield Joy Division exhibition

Incubation Arts's plans to create a permanent Joy Division exhibition in Ian Curtis's home town of Macclesfield have suffered a setback after a grant application to the Lottery Heritage Lottery Fund was refused. The grant was to secure permises for the exhibition and an arts centre in Charles Roe House, which has subsequently been sold to a private bidder who plans to turn it into a doctor's surgery.

Incubation Arts are continuimng to fundraise and are looking for alternative venues

We wonder if the new owner of Barton Street would be interested ...

Read more in the Macclesfield Express

18 May Today we remember Ian Curtis who died 18th May 1980

Also spare a thought for Joy Division fan Cornelia F who died 18th May 1993

Both of these tragedies could have been avoided. If you are having a tough time on this poignant day there are people out there who want to help you:

The Samaritans:

In the UK and ROI 116 123
In the USA 1 (800) 273-TALK

Leicester 29 October 1979 - unpublished Ian Curtis photo added to listing thanks to Guy A

Photo (C) Guy A and used here with permission

13 May Joy Division Undercover: 6 tracks footage. Live at "De Peppel" in Zeist, April 30th 2016

4 May Tribute Band of the Week: The Golden Dawn, from Italy

28 April Love Will Tear Us Apart - pirate catchup - listings updated:

US pirate 12" reissues - bootleg listing updated with more rreissues and cover photos improved
Pirate 12" 6 track - listing added
Cleopatra pirate 7" - listings added
Cleopatra pirate 12" - listings added

17 April New Division (Italy)78 - new tribute band added

6 March Liverpool Eric's gig listings corrected and updated :

13th July 1978 - New listing added. This previously undocumented gig was Joy Division's first at Eric's

15th July 1978 - Joy Division supported Rich Kids at Eric's as previously documented - but only at the afternoon show. Germs supported Rich Kids in the evening.

27 August 1977 - Joy Division (Warsaw) definitely did not play Eric's that night - Generation X did.

Many thanks to Lesley Kazan-Pinfield, Mark Woodley, amnd Steve for the above information and images

If you have any more information, recollections, photographs etc from any of the Eric's gigs please get in touch with us

22 Jan Ian Curtis O Level results and Upper Fifth Divinity Prize 1972 - school report added thanks to Rico and Tim Bayes

21 Jan Eric's November 1978 - flyer scan added thanks to John Pollard and Julian Saunders

9 Jan Manchester Free Trade Hall June 1979 - ticket scan added thanks to James Barlow

17 Dec Ian Curtis Radio Blackburn Interview - new unpublished information about the interview added plus a transcript of the interview itself. Thanks to Steve Barker and Mark Gale

15 Dec The Blue Monday Diaries - In The Studio With New Order
Michael Butterworth, Plexus Publishing, December 2015, £14.99

Day-by-day, minute-by-minute, this is a uniquely personal account of the making of Power, Corruption & Lies, New Order’s acclaimed second album, and ‘Blue Monday’, the classic electro anthem that it spawned. Created by Michael Butterworth, who was there at the invitation of the band to witness it all firsthand. ‘Blue Monday’ became the fastest selling 12” single ever and the pressing of the vinyl in 1983 – in the shadow of Ian Curtis’ tragic passing – marked a thrilling new phase in the career of the band, and the history of music in general.

Three decades on, author Michael Butterworth – the trusted friend who gained access to a string of notoriously private sessions at London’s Britannia Row Studios – breaks the silence to reveal exactly what went into the recording of this timeless track. Committed to creating an authentic record of the band’s arduous creative process, without the aid of a tape recorder, Butterworth worked alongside his friends for the duration. From beneath a perpetual fug of dope smoke, speed and alcohol, within the confines of the band’s miniscule rented flat, he acted as New Order’s designated scribe, censoring not a single detail in their 24-hour schedule.

Obsessively detailed, mundane and illicit by turns, The Blue Monday Diaries provide a uniquely intimate insight into the personalities of the band – as well as the process of making music – that no Joy Division or New Order fan should be without.

‘Well-written, friendly and very easy to live with.’ – Peter Hook
‘I really enjoyed it . . . brought back a lot of memories.’ – Stephen Morris
‘An important part of musical history.’ – Peter Saville

Published December 2015, paperback, 192 pages ISBN 978-0-85965-546-0

7 Nov Love Will Tear Us Apart - reissue of the so-called Record Store Day 2015 single added

6 Nov Komackino LP - listing updated. Labels are on the wrong sides on the original. Thanks to Daan for the info.

3 Oct New Order's Music Complete enters UK Album Charts at No2

Deluxe Vinyl Box Set version available for £65.00

8 piece deluxe vinyl collection
New album on double clear vinyl
Extended versions of all 11 brand new tracks on 6 pieces of vinyl
Coloured vinyl 12”s plus 1 sided black etched vinyl
Packaged in an archival acid free box, using 1300 micron grey white board and a wire stitch. Box is debossed on the lid and base
Art Direction by Peter Saville

200 copies will be signed by all 5 members of New Order

Substance 2015 reissues - listing added

12 Sep Radio Blackburn interview - listing updated with plausible recording date thanks to Mark Gale and the On The Wire - Radio Lancashire Blog

So This is Permanence - paperback version added to listings

31 Aug Still 2015 reissue - listing added

30 Aug Unknown Pleasures 2015 reissue - listing added
Closer 2015 reissue - listing added

22 Aug Record Store Day 2015 - Love Will Tear Us Apart picture disc added to listings. Whether this is unofficial, semi-official or official remains to be seen.

So This is Permanence - Spanish version added
Interview picture disc - Iron Maiden mispress added

22 Aug Futurama 1978 - flyer and ticket scans added thanks to Steve
These items are currently on Ebay - click image to go to there

19 July The Venue 1978 - poster scan added thanks to Gary Smith

16 July Canterbury Odeon June 1979 - ticket scan added thanks to Mike S

11 July Canterbury Odeon November 1978 - ticket scan added thanks to Mike S who has it for sale on Ebay

Click image to go to Ebay listing

8 July De Montford Hall Leicester - ticket scan added thanks to Paul who has it for sale on Ebay

Click image to go to Ebay listing

July Joy Division official site launched
Joy Division Official features a news section, an extensive band biography, discography, photo gallery and a "listen" section which allows fans to experience a classic Joy Division album set to photographs.

24 June Articles and Interviews
Sometimes people contribute to this site by writing articles about Joy Division or doing interviews for us. Traditionally we have announced these on the front page of the site for several weeks and then allowed them to become more difficult to find as time goes on. Now we are gathering them in one place in recognition of the effort put in by the fan community. See bottom left of the table above

23 June Bristol Trinity March 1980 - colour concert photo added thanks to in Your Face Photo

19 June Autosuggestion LP - listing added. A good exmpla of a bootlegger using different sleeves, vinyl colour and labels to give the impression of several separate releases

The Warsaw gigs at Rafters 31 May 1977 and 30 June 1977 have often been mixed up. We've unravelled the truth thanks to Nick Blakey, Mark Woodley and kevin Cummins

Rhino to reissue four Joy Division albums on vinyl from June 2015

To celebrate the 35th anniversary of “Love Will Tear Us Apart” on June 27th, Rhino have announced the re-issue of four iconic Joy Division releases on heavyweight 180-gram vinyl.

The studio albums UNKNOWN PLEASURES (1979) and CLOSER (1980) will be available on June 29th. They will be followed on July 24th by STILL (1981) and an expanded version of SUBSTANCE (1988), both available as a double-LP set.

Each design replicates the original in painstaking detail, including the gatefold covers used for Still and Substance. The music heard on the albums was remastered in 2007 when Rhino introduced expanded versions of the albums. The lone exception is Substance, which features audio remastered in 2010 for the +- singles box and for the first time on vinyl, the expanded tracklist from the original CD release, plus two additional songs: “As You Said” and the Pennine version of “Love Will Tear Us Apart.”

21 May Ian Curtis's house has sold and may yet become a museum

Ian Curtis's Macclesfield home has been bought by musician Hadar Goldman at nearly double the asking price as he paid £75,000 in compensation and legal fees to halt its sale to a private buyer.

According to the Manchester Evening News Hadar, who plays electric violin in the band Ciam, felt he had to get involved after a crowdfunding event failed to raise enough revenue to buy the building and turn it into a museum.

Mr Goldman says any museum would be tasteful and preserve Joy Division's heritage: "The Joy Division legacy deserves to be taken into the 21st century, to raise awareness into one of the most seminal bands in the history of contemporary music. It will be developed using both heart and soul.”

See Hadar Goldman perform on YouTube

18th May

If you're in Macclesfield paying your respects to Ian Curtis today please Tweet us your pictures, and remember there's the Martin O'Neill exhibition and, if you're lucky enough to have tickets, Peter Hook and the Light are performing the Complete Works of Joy Division . You may also like to spare a though for Cornelia F, a Joy Division fan whose last wish was to be interred close to Ian Curtis.

If you're there Tweet us and we'll do our best to retweet

Record Store Day Saturday 18th April 2015

This year's Joy Division release for Record Store Day appears to be a 7" picture disc on Italy's Radiation Records. It is not listed on the official Record Store Day web site, apparantly because it was a late addition.

Images thanks to Discogs

Tracks:
A. Love Will Tear Us Apart
B. Leaders Of Men

Radiation Records, C.ne Casilina 44 - Roma 00176 Italy
Licensed by San Huan Music Group USA
Catalogue No: RADRSD003
RRP £14.99

The PR reads: The latest issue in Radiation's Record Store Day exclusive Picture disc series, this is a fully licensed, limited, hand-numbered edition of 500 copies only 7" with two classic Joy Division tracks.

Peter Hook & The Light Perform The Complete Works Of Joy Division

Monday 18th May Christ Church Macclesfield

Tickets on sale 9am Wednesday 25th March

18 Feb Crowdfunding campaign set up to turn Ian Curtis's house into a museum

Joy Division fan Zak Davies has started a campaign to buy Ian Curtis's former home and turn in into a museum in his memory

He plans to raise a minimum of £150,000 to cover the following costs:

£115,000 on the purchase of the property
£30,000 on the renovation to the original interior
£5,000 on any legal costs

Not everyone welcomes the scheme - Incubation Arts have been working for some time to establish a similar museum elsewhere in Macclesfield and one-time owner of the house Dorothy Bentley-Smith would prefer the property to remain residential.

Media coverage has inevitably tended to focus on Ian's death rather than the fact that he wrote his best work in the triangular room at the front of the house. See pic below.

Links:

Zak's crowdfunding page

Manchester Evening News article on Zak's campaign

Manchester Evening News article about opposition with bizarre reference to seances and parties

12 Feb Ian Curtis's Barton Street home is up for sale
Thanks to Andrew Paget for spotting this

24 Jan Let The Movie Begin - purple vinyl reissue added
Let The Movie Begin - "Japanese" CD release added
In The Studio With Martin Hannett - blue and yellow vinyl reissues added

23 Jan The Sound of Music - 2012 reissue added
The Sound of Music - 2012 bundled reissue added
Day of The Lords LP - 2012 version added along with all colour vinyl variations for the original
Hand of Doom LP - listing added
Paradiso LP - listing added
A Retrospective Part II - confusing track listing information updated and corrected
Die Kalten Winde Des Winters 2LP - listing updated with the various vinyl colours

18 Jan Warsaw Newcastle 1977 and Joy Division Blackpool 1979 - Martin from Noth East Punk shares his recollections
Touching From a Distance - 2014 edition added
Dutch Atmosphere 12" - added
Record Store Day 2014 12" - misprinted UK version with no text on sleeve added

17 Jan Pirate Unknown Pleasures - Tonpress pink tinted sleeve added
Cover Versions - Page updated
Blackpool July 1979 - Sounds gig listing added thanks to Steve Benham

12 Dec Pirate Closer - pink tinted sleeve, listing added
Pirate Unknown Pleasures - plain white "test pressing" of picture disc version added

9 Dec Ian Curtis Facsimile £125

To complement publication of So this is Permanence, Ian Curtis’s collected lyrics and notebooks in facsimile form, Faber Social is offering a limited edition print of She’s Lost Control exclusive to customers on the website.The print of the song, written and recorded in 1979, is signed by Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, Peter Hook, Deborah Curtis and Jon Savage, editors of the volume of Curtis’s lyrics. The run is limited to 20 copies only and comes in a specially designed presentation envelope. A fantastic gift or purchase for the Joy Division completist, the handwritten lyric taken from one of Ian Curtis’s three surviving notebooks represents the genesis-point of one of the signature tunes in the Joy Division catalogue.

- 20 facsimiles at £125 each, available to buy from the Faber & Faber website here.
– signed by Bernard Sumner, Stephen Morris, Peter Hook, Deborah Curtis and Jon Savage
– exclusive high-quality print reproduction of ‘She’s Lost Control’ lyrics as per notebooks
– 300gsm silk board presentation sleeve

26 Nov The poem sold for £1,100 (£1,375 including commission)

19 Nov Ian Curtis school poem up for auction November 23rd
A piece of Ian Curtis's personal history comes up for auction at TracksAuction.com this Sunday. A poem penned while he was still at achool ariound 1966/67.

The auction catalogue reads:

An original handwritten poem by the lead singer of Joy Division, Ian Curtis. Ian wrote the poem at school circa 1966/1967. The poem is written on a piece of lined paper and is glued into a school book called Our Book Of Epitaphs along with poems from the other pupils in the class. It reads, “An Epitaph for an Electrian (sic), Here lies Fred the electrian (sic), who went on a very fateful mission, he got a shock when tampering with a fuse, which went from his head right down to his shoes, by I. Curtis”. Ian has also drawn a small picture of a man and a tombstone. The poem comes with a letter from the owner who was a fellow pupil. It reads, “I grew up on Hurdsfield Estate, Macclesfield where I attended Hurdsfield Junior School. I started Hurdsfield Junior School in 1963 where I met Ian Curtis, he was a fellow pupil in my class and we went through school together. Mr Young was our teacher when this piece of work was carried out, he himself has got a poem in the book along with myself and all the other pupils in the class. This poem was written in 1966 or 1967. I was presented with the book at the end of the school year for being head boy. At the time the head teacher was called Mr Tattasall. Ian Curtis lived on Grey Stoke Road, Hurdsfield Estate, I lived on Delemere Road, Hurdsfield Estate, Cheshire”.

The poem measures 16.5cm x 9.5cm (6.5 inches x 3.75 inches), the book measures 28.5cm x 22cm (11.25 inches x 8.75 inches). The condition of the poem is excellent. There is some wear and aging to the book and a vertical crease down the last 5 pages and back cover. A few of the poems have also become detached from the book. The condition of the book is very good minus.

13 Nov So This is Permanence - pictures of limited edition version added thanks to John Gardner.
French and German listings added.

9 Nov So This is Permanence listing added
Chapter and Verse listing added
Scrapbook updated

2 Nov Jon Savage Interview
Lee McFadden interviews Jon Savage for Joy Division Central about So This is Permanance.
Many thanks to both of them. And thanks too to Deborah Curtis for making these private notebooks available giving us this unique insight into Ian Curtis's creative thought processes.

23 Oct Joy Division in Yorkshire
Julian has massively updated his article with new photos and information about the good Mood Club, The Coach House and St Georges Hall. For those of you who are familiar with the origional article we've highlighted the new text in green for the time being. Many thanks to Julian for this excellent piece of work.

The Coach House, 1970s (thanks to Graeme Bower)

16 Oct So This is Permanence: - our review

This is a big 274 page 28 x 21cm hardback which is big on content. We'd hoped this would be packed with unpublished images of Ian's notebooks and we're not disappointed.

Focussing on his lyrics there's an initial section with the finished songs featuring the handwritten version on one page and the typed up version opposite. This is followed by a large section with handwritten lyrics to unfinished songs, early versions and other prose. Finally there's a section with other items from Ian's archive - book covers, letters from fans, pages from fanzines etc.

This is clearly a labour of love and Jon Savage explains in the intro how they selected the images for the book - generally the most complete version in Ian's notebooks.

"His lyrics tell much more than a conversation with him ever could" - Deborah Curtis

Highly recommended

22 Sep Ian Curtis - 1977 Office Party photos surface

Photographs of Ian Curtis showing his lighter side at an office party circa 1977 have surfaced on the Invincible Error Tumblr account . The photos had previously been posted on Instagram by someone who obtained them from a work colleague. If that's you please get in touch

We're not sure when these photos were taken but you can read our article about Ian's working life here

2 Sep Chapter and Verse - New Order, Joy Division and Me - our review

Bernard Sumner's book has arrived and first impressions are good. More than 340 pages with a printed picture cover inside a picture dust jacket and it's a nice solid object too.

We follow Bernard from a strict and often painful upbringing in Salford against the background of a society moving from the friendly communities of the Victorian "slums" and his bombsite playground to the soulless urban renewals of the high rise flats. His family and the neighbourhood were not without their eccentricities and Bernard needed to keep his wits about him from an early age - not least to avoid antique swords in the wrong hands.

£13.60 & free delivery on Amazon

But just as the new flats represented an environment superficially for the better while actually making life harder, Bernard found this echoed in his own life as he progressed through a dull school career towards the disappointing world of paid work.

The story of his school days will resonate with many a man of Bernard's age. Then, as a teenage scooter boy, his love of music developed and he and close friend Hooky started going to concerts including "short-arse" Lou Reed and ultimately the life changing Sex Pistols Manchester Free Trade Hall concert where his life started to break away from his potentially mediocre destiny.

Then we have a sizeable chunk of 70-odd pages covering the Joy Division story and it's nice to see that the staple of so many Joy Division books, the useful but space-consuming gigography, is absent. This is no deep concert-by-concert fact strewn book about Joy Division for the obsessive fan, nor does it repeat the often told soundbites with which we are all over familiar. It's somewhere in between and somehow different.

He tells us about his thought processes behind the controversial Ideal For Living Sleeve and the Joy Division name as well as revealing small details like the "opportunity" to overdub a saxophone onto the RCA demos. There's even a transcript of the now famous Ian Curtis hypnosis recording.

He also covers the split with Hooky.

Overall it's a well written and entertaining tome that casts warm light on Bernard's character more than anything else. Well, it is his autobiography.

Very enjoyable and highly recommended

2 Sep New Order sign to Mute:

New Order have signed a worldwide deal with Mute and their 10th studio album will be on the independent label.

Speaking about the signing Daniel Miller explains: “This is an exciting new chapter for both Mute and New Order and I feel privileged to be working with artists with such a long, creative and successful history. When the possibility of us working together first came up, I was invited to hear some of the new material and immediately had no doubts whatsoever that Mute would be the right home for New Order. We've already had a number of creative conversations, and I am looking towards an exciting future”.

New Order are similarly thrilled with their new home "New Order are delighted to be signing to Mute. We couldn't imagine a better place to be than working with Daniel Miller and his team. Mute has a superb roster of artists and a history that complements our own. In many ways joining the label feels like we are coming home, returning to our independent roots."

31 Aug So This is Permanence: Lyrics and Notebooks Published November 2014

Edited by Jon Savage with a foreword by Deborah Curtis, presents the intensely personal writings of one of the most enigmatic and influential songwriters and performers of the late twentieth century, Joy Division's Ian Curtis.

The songs of Joy Division, infused with the energy of punk but seeped in a resigned longing, were born of Manchester in the late seventies - a once flourishing industrial city in decline. They were the songs too of Ian Curtis's inner tragedies, as he battled depression, epilepsy and debilitating stage fright. Ian Curtis committed suicide in 1980, on the eve of the band's first American tour.

Interspersed with the lyrics are previously unpublished facsimile pages of Ian's notebooks, which throw his highly emotive lyrics into fascinating relief and cast light on the creative process of this singularly poetic songwriter.

25 Aug Eric's August 1979 - updated with Andrew Twambley's recollections

15 July Ian Curtis's Birthday

Photograph (C) of Philippe Carly
www.newwavephotos.com
and reproduced with permission

11 July Joy Division in Yorkshire

Julian's research for his Joy Division in Yorkshire article continues as new facts come to light and new people contact him with more information. Today the Huddersfield Daily Examiner helped out with this appeal about the particularly mysterious Coach House gig

Image and article thanks to Denis Kilcommons, Andy Hirst and the Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Chapter and Verse - New Order, Joy Division and Me

Bernard Sumner's long awaited autobiography will be released on September 25th

Pre order for £20 & free delivery on Amazon

Chapter and Verse includes a vivid and illuminating account of Bernard's Salford childhood, the early days of Joy Division, the band's enormous critical and popular success, and the subsequent tragic death of Ian Curtis. Bernard describes the formation of New Order, takes us behind the scenes at the birth of classics such as 'Blue Monday' and gives his first-hand account of the ecstasy and the agony of the Haçienda days.

Sometimes moving, often hilarious and occasionally completely out of control, this is a tale populated by some of the most colourful and creative characters in music history, such as Ian Curtis, Tony Wilson, Rob Gretton and Martin Hannett. Others have told parts of the story, in film and book form. Now, for the first time, Bernard Sumner gives you chapter and verse.

3 July Annik Honoré 12 October 1957 - 3 July 2014

We are very sorry to hear of the death of Annik Honoré earlier today following a serious illness. Annik was the co-founder of independent record label Les Disques Du Crépuscule and promoted a number of legendary concerts at Plan K in Brussels. She was also Ian Curtis's girfriend and confidante.

Image thanks to Le Soir

She had the most dignity of anyone I ever met, protective of intrusion into her life, yes, but always balanced with dignity - Lindsay Reade

A new book of essays on JOY DIVISION by Dr Martin J Power, Prof Devereux, and Aileen Dillane with a foreword by Noel Hogan of The Cranberries. Published by Rowman & Littlefield Click here to order with a 30% discount (opens .pdf file)

“This stunning collection provides essential insights into a lesser known, yet highly significant segment of British popular and post punk music history.” - Britta Sweers, Professor of Cultural Anthropology of Music at the University of Bern

On 7 March 2019 (23 April 2019 USA) Faber Social will publish THIS SEARING LIGHT, THE SUN AND EVERYTHING ELSE by Jon Savage.

Later that year Radiation Records re-released the single on black vinyl with no claimed Record Store Day credentials.

Set listings for the following concerts on the Buzzcocks tour added to the listings: Loughborough 20 October 1979

Thanks to Sarge, a Buzzcocks fan who took notes at these gigs, TJ and Sam Habash. If anybody has any more information we'd like to hear it.

A new book of essays on JOY DIVISION by Dr Martin J Power, Prof Devereux, and Aileen Dillane with a foreword by Noel Hogan of The Cranberries. Published by Rowman & Littlefield

Click here to order with a 30% discount (opens .pdf file)

Set listings for the following concerts on the Buzzcocks tour added to the listings:

Loughborough 20 October 1979