Artist Overview
# Punk Rock
Established in the wake of the punk explosion in England, Joy Division became the first band in the post-punk era to emphasise mood and expression, leading to the emergence of melancholy rock music in the 1980s. While the group's raw initial sides fit the bill for any punk band, Joy Division later added synthesisers, and more atmospheric melodies, underscored by the fragmented, tortured lyrics of its lead vocalist, Ian Curtis.
Joy Division made its live debut in 1976, supporting Buzzcocks and Penetration at Manchester's Electric Circus. Their self-titled debut album recorded in 1978, showed at an early age the band's later trademarks - Curtis' themes of post-industrial restlessness and emotional despair, Hook's droning bass lines, and the jagged guitar riffs of Albrecht. The commercial success of Joy Division peaked in the summer of 1980, and the re-release of 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' rose to 13 on the British singles chart the following year. In 1999, the Factory label began a program of concert-performance reissues -- all overseen by the remainder of the original lineup -- with Preston Warehouse 28 February 1980.