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When you have finished, click on the picture of Ian Curtis to return to the index.
| I was there in the backstage |
| May 1977 | |
| 29th: | The Electric Circus, Manchester |
| Warsaw's first public performance was at The Electric Circus, with an under-rehearsed Tony Tabac on drums. They were billed as the Stiff Kittens, although the band never used this name themselves. The gig was reviewed favourably by Paul Morley for the NME. | |
| 31st: | Rafters, Manchester |
| June 1977 | |
| 3rd: | The Squat, Manchester |
| 6th: | Guildhall, Newcastle |
| 16th: | The Squat, Manchester |
| 25th: | The Squat, Manchester |
| 30th: | Rafters, Manchester |
| Warsaw may have played on other occasions at The Squat and/or Rafters during June and July in addition to the dates listed above. At The Squat on 3rd June, John the Postman joined the band on stage to sing Louie Louie. The Rafters gig on 30th June was the first with Steve Brotherdale on drums, replacing Tony Tabac. Steve Brotherdale continued during July (also participating in the band's first recording session). | |
| August 1977 | |
| 27th: | Eric's, Mathew Street, Liverpool (date uncertain) |
| 27th: | The Electric Circus, Manchester (date incorrect) |
| The gig at Eric's was the first with Steve Morris on drums, when Warsaw supported X-Ray Spex at a Saturday matinée special. The date is usually listed as the 27th. Some listings wrongly show an Electric Circus gig on the same day. The band may also have played at Rafters in August. | |
| September 1977 | |
| 14th: | Rock Garden, Middlesborough |
| 24th: | The Electric Circus, Manchester |
| Warsaw supported the Rezillos at the Electric Circus. Some accounts incorrectly give the date of this gig as 27th August, and a report of the Middlesborough visit gives the date as 14th September 1979. | |
| October 1977 | |
| 2nd: | The Electric Circus, Manchester |
| A number of Manchester bands played at the Electric Circus closing concert, which was recorded for the Short Circuit compilation album. Warsaw contributed At a Later Date to the album. | |
| 7th: | Salford College of Technology |
| The Salford gig is believed to be where Martin Hannett saw the band live for the first time. | |
| 8th: | Manchester Polytechnic |
| 13th: | Rafters, Manchester |
| 19th: | Pipers Disco, Manchester (venue uncertain) |
| November 1977 | |
| 24th: | Rafters, Manchester |
| December 1977 | |
| 31st: | The Swinging Apple, Liverpool |
| The New Years Eve performance was the band's last under the name Warsaw. They may also have appeared again at Rafters earlier in December. | |
|
| When figures from the past stand tall
And mocking voices ring the hall |
| January 1978 | |
| 25th: | Pips, Manchester |
| The band's first gig as Joy Division was marked by a certain amount of fighting and chaos. | |
| March 1978 | |
| 14th: | Bowdon Vale Youth Club (probably confused with 14th March 1979) |
| Many lists show the band appearing at the Bowdon Vale Youth Club on 14th March, but I think this may have been confused with the gig there on 14th March 1979. | |
| 28th: | Rafters, Manchester (date uncertain) |
| April 1978 | |
| 14th: | Rafters, Manchester |
| Rafters hosted the Stiff Records/Chiswick Challenge, billed as a "Battle of the Bands". Joy Division performed last at about 2am, after most of the audience had left. Fortunately Tony Wilson and Rob Gretton were still there to see them and were impressed by their performance. During the evening Ian took the opportunity to harangue Tony Wilson (in very strong language) for not giving Joy Division a slot on his TV show. | |
| 25th: | Eric's, Liverpool |
| May 1978 | |
| 20th: | The Mayflower Club, Manchester |
| June 1978 | |
| 9th: | The Factory, Manchester |
| Joy Division performed at one of four evenings which marked the opening of Tony Wilson's club The Factory. The poster designed by Peter Saville for the four events was the first item in the legendary Factory catalogue, FAC 1. The Tiller Boys shared the billing with Joy Division. | |
| Band on the Wall, Manchester (dates unknown) | |
| July 1978 | |
| 15th: | Eric's, Liverpool (two performances) |
| 27th: | Roots Club, Leeds |
| 28th: | The Factory, Manchester |
| Joy Division probably played several times at the Band on the Wall during this period, but so far there is only one confirmed date ... | |
| August 1978 | |
| 29th: | Band on the Wall, Manchester |
| September 1978 | |
| 4th: | Band on the Wall, Manchester |
| 9th: | Eric's, Liverpool |
| 10th: | Royal Standard, Bradford |
| 22nd: | Coach House, Huddersfield |
| 26th: | Band on the Wall, Manchester |
| October 1978 | |
| 2nd: | Institute of Technology, Bolton |
| 12th: | Kelly's, Manchester |
| 20th: | The Factory, Manchester |
| At The Factory, Joy Division played support for Cabaret Voltaire and The Tiller Boys, and impressed everybody present. This event, and the poster which publicised it, were catalogued as FAC 3. | |
| 24th: | Fan Club, Leeds |
| 27th: | Apollo Theatre, Manchester (confused with 27th October 1979) |
| Band on the Wall, Manchester (dates unknown) | |
| November 1978 | |
| 4th: | Eric's, Liverpool |
| 14th: | The Odeon, Canterbury |
| 15th: | Brunel University, Uxbridge |
| 15th: | Top Rank, Reading (cancelled) |
| 19th: | Locarno, Bristol (cancelled) |
| November marked Joy Division's first venture away from the North of England as support for the Rezillos and the Undertones. Unfortunately most of the planned concerts were cancelled, including several other university visits. | |
| 20th: | Check Inn Club, Altrincham |
| 26th: | New Electric Circus, Manchester |
| December 1978 | |
| 1st: | Salford College of Technology |
| Some accounts incorrectly give the venue of the Salford gig as The Factory. | |
| 22nd: | Revolution Club, York |
| 27th: | Hope and Anchor, Islington, London |
| At Joy Division's first appearance in London, only 30 people paid to get in even though the price was only 60 pence. | |
|
| For entertainment they watch his body twist |
| January 1979 | |
| 12th: | Wythenshawe College, Manchester |
| 26th: | The Factory, Manchester |
| February 1979 | |
| 10th: | Bolton (Coal Miners' Club?) |
| 16th: | Eric's, Liverpool |
| 28th: | Playhouse, Nottingham |
| March 1979 | |
| 1st: | Hope and Anchor, Islington, London |
| The band's second appearance in London brought an increase in the admission price to 75 pence! | |
| 4th: | The Marquee, Soho, London |
| At the Marquee Joy Division provided support for The Cure. | |
| 13th: | Band on the Wall, Manchester |
| 14th: | Bowdon Vale Youth Club, Altrincham |
| The Bowdon Vale concert was probably the first to be captured on bootleg recordings. It was also filmed, the film featuring in the Factory Flick. Apparently this gig was arranged to repay Bob Jefferson, the promoter, who had helped Joy Division to buy out their original recording contract. | |
| 17th: | University of Kent, Canterbury (date uncertain) |
| 30th: | Youth Centre, Walthamstow, London |
| May 1979 | |
| 3rd: | Eric's, Liverpool |
| Joy Division led an Amnesty International benefit concert at Eric's with two Manchester bands as support. Ian Wood gave them an extended review in the NME and described them as "an important band". | |
| 11th: | The Factory, Manchester |
| 17th: | Acklam Hall, Kensington, London |
| 23rd: | Bowdon Vale Youth Club, Altrincham |
| June 1979 | |
| 7th: | Fan Club, Leeds |
| 13th: | The Factory, Manchester (probably confused with 13th July 1979) |
| 16th: | The Odeon, Canterbury |
| Joy Division again played support for The Cure in another rare venture south. On other June dates they shared the bill with John Cooper Clarke. | |
| 17th: | Royalty Theatre, Holborn, London |
| 19th: | Nuffield Theatre, University of Lancaster |
| 22nd: | Good Mood, Halifax |
| 25th: | Free Trade Hall, Manchester |
| 28th: | The Factory, Manchester (probably confused with 28th July 1978) |
| Many lists show the band appearing at the Russell Club on 13th and 28th June. These were not regular Factory nights and the dates have probably been confused with other genuine Factory concerts. | |
| Band on the Wall, Manchester (date unknown) | |
| July 1979 | |
| 3rd: | Free Trade Hall, Manchester |
| 5th: | Limit Club, West Street, Sheffield |
| 11th: | Roots Club, Leeds |
| 13th: | The Factory, Manchester |
| After the release of Unknown Pleasures, Joy Division were able to attract larger audiences. Over 400 attended the Factory concert, almost as many as for the Buzzcocks the night before. Most of their performance here appears on the Heart and Soul boxed set, as well as on bootleg recordings. | |
| 27th: | Imperial Hotel, Blackpool |
| The Imperial Hotel concert was organised by Blackpool band Section 25, and also featured Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark. | |
| 28th: | The Mayflower Club, Manchester |
| The Funhouse Festival "Stuff the Superstars" event at the Mayflower Club featured ten bands, including The Fall, Ludus and The Distractions as well as Joy Division. | |
| August 1979 | |
| 2nd: | YMCA, Tottenham Court Road, London |
| August was an eventful month! Joy Division played at the first of a four-night alternative rock festival at the YMCA's Prince of Wales Conference Centre. Adrian Thrills was ecstatic about Joy Division in his NME review, describing them as "phenomenal". | |
| 3rd: | Albany Empire, Deptford, London |
| 8th: | Romulus Club, Birmingham |
| 11th: | Eric's, Liverpool (two performances) |
| The band played two Saturday sessions at Eric's, a few tracks from here appearing on bootleg recordings. | |
| 13th: | Nashville Rooms, Earls Court, London |
| 24th: | Youth Centre, Walthamstow, London (date uncertain) |
| 27th: | Leigh Festival, Plank Lane, Leigh |
| The Leigh Festival was arranged with help from Factory and Zoo Records to showcase the best bands from Manchester and Liverpool over a bank holiday weekend. Those playing included OMD, A Certain Ratio, The Teardrop Explodes, Echo And The Bunnymen and Joy Division. At least part of the festival, including Joy Division's performance, was recorded. Despite the high quality of the performers, the event was poorly attended. | |
| 31st: | The Electric Ballroom, Camden, London |
| There were no problems with the attendance at the Electric Ballroom, when Joy Division headlined their own show and played in front of 1,200 people, their largest audience. | |
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