Joy Division

Joy Division formed in Manchester after Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook attended the now-legendary 1976 Sex Pistols concert, witnessed by only a few dozen people and often cited as the spark of the city’s post-punk scene. With Ian Curtis as singer and lyricist, the band signed to Tony Wilson’s Factory Records, where they were given unusual artistic freedom—no contracts, just trust. Their debut Unknown Pleasures (1979) was shaped decisively by producer Martin Hannett, who pushed the band into stark, spacious soundscapes using delays, isolation, and unconventional recording techniques that the band themselves initially disliked. Curtis’ distinctive lyrics and intensely physical stage performances were closely linked to his epilepsy and chronic depression, grounding the band’s darkness in lived experience rather than image. Despite releasing only two studio albums and existing for less than four years, Joy Division’s abrupt end in 1980 directly led to the formation of New Order—making their influence far greater than their brief discography suggests.