Joy Division

Joy Division were a rock band that formed in 1976 in Manchester, England. Originally named Warsaw, they assumed the name Joy Division as they gained popularity. This name was a reference to groups of Jewish women in the concentration camps during WWII who were kept for the Nazi guards' sexual pleasure, as described in Ka-tzetnik 135633's 1955 book, The House of Dolls. Signed to Tony Wilson[?]'s Factory Records label, they are usually associated with punk rock or new wave music, though their idiosyncratic sound and image were equally influential upon later goth, alternative, and industrial subgenres.

Singer Ian Curtis's lyrics dwelt largely on themes of depression and emotional alienation (as reflected in their ironic name), and they packaged their albums with appropriately minimalist and orderly design work by graphic artist Peter Saville[?], which often contrasted with some of the more chaotic cut-and-paste styles of other more extroverted punk acts. Their most popular hit was "Love will Tear Us Apart", made more popular after Ian Curtis hanged himself in 1980 on the eve of the band's first tour to the United States.

Shortly after his death, the band reformed as New Order, who helped to launch the techno music revolution of the 1980s and 1990s.

See also: Post punk

Discography

• An Ideal For Living (1978)
• "Transmission"
• Unknown Pleasures (1979)
• "She's Lost Control"
• "Atmosphere"/"Dead Souls"
• "Love Will Tear Us Apart"
• Closer (1980)
• "Komakino" (limited edition flexi disk)
• Still (1981)
• Permanent (compilation, 1995)

External links & References

• Ian Curtis and Joy Division Fans Club (http://www.IanCurtis.org)
• The best and most complete site for Joy Division releases (http://www.incubation.ch)
• Musicbrainz Discography (http://www.musicbrainz.org/showartist?artistid=12153)
• 24-Hour Party People (film, 2002)
• Ka-tzetnik 135633 DeNur, Yehiel. (1955). The House of Dolls. Trans. from the Hebrew by Moshe M. Kohn. New York: Simon and Schuster.