Joy Division's 40th Anniversary Reissues

Joy Division's second album Closer has been reissued as part of the 40th Anniversary as limited edition ‘crystal clear’ vinyl LP. The three non-album singles,"Transmission", "Atmosphere" and "Love Will Tear Us Apart", are also being reissued as 12" singles at the same time as the album. The reissue is set for release on July 18th.  This release also marks 40 years of Ian Curtis' death who died on May 18th 1980.

The Manchester Connection Art Exhibition

The Movie Poster Art Gallery is pleased to announce a fascinating exhibition of original and rare music posters entitled “The Manchester Connection”, a celebration of Manchester's legendary renaissance in musical and design creativity that exploded in the wake of the Sex Pistols' legendary 1976 Free Trade Hall gig.

Highlights include rare original music posters from The Smiths, New Order, A Certain Ratio, Happy Mondays, The Stone Roses, The Haçienda, plus an ultra rare poster of Joy Division's debut album “Unknown Pleasures,” rare sleeve proofs of The Smiths, A Certain Ratio, New Order, and a unique Morrissey hand-annotated sleeve proof for his album "Your Arsenal," plus rare artefacts including the original FAC51 embosser used at the HAÇIENDA, the original "Gay Traitor" bar menu poster from the HAÇIENDA.
The exhibition runs from 12th-25th November at the Movie Poster Art Gallery, 1 Colville Place, London, W1T 2BG.

http://www.rock-explosion.com/manchester.html

OMD Revisit Eric's Club

The legendary music club in England has opened its doors again. Eric's Club which was opened in Liverpool on October 1, 1976 in a building basement on Mathew Street, has became notable for hosting early performances by many punk, new wave and post-punk bands as well as by The Beatles. Joy Division, Ultravox, Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Clash are among of the groups who performed some of their first gigs there. For OMD it all started at the Eric's club where they had their debut in 1978 and they came back to re-open the club after 33 years.

 
OMD performing "Electricity"

Best of 1980 - Top 50 Singles List

It was an interesting year at the crossroads, still very influenced by the 70s music and culture, but also slowly opening the doors to the new decade and adopting new trends and styles. Blondie, ABBA, The Police and The Jam still ruled the charts. David Bowie scored his second number one hit this year, while Kate Bush became the first British female artist to have a No.1 album. It was also a sad year in music as the music world lost two very influential musical artists and iconic figures. Ian Curtis of Joy Division hanged himself just days before the US Tour kick off and John Lennon was shot dead outside his apartment building in New York City, both leaving their families and thousands of fans in mourning and sorrow. The year ended with John Lennon's song "Just Like Starting Over" reaching number one in the UK charts, announcing the new decade.

01. Joy Division- Love Will Tear Us Apart 

02. Visage- Fade to Grey 

03. Orchestral Manouvers in the Dark- Enola Gay 

04. Joy Division- Atmosphere 

05. David Bowie- Ashes to Ashes

06. The Cure- A Forest 

07. Spandau Ballet- To Cut A Long Story Short

08. Blondie- Atomic 

09. The Korgis - Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes 

10. Siouxsie and the Banshees- Happy House 

11. Peter Gabriel- Games Without The Frontiers 
12. Robert Palmer - Johnny and Mary

13. John Foxx- Underpass

14. Martha and The Muffins- Echo Beach

15. The Clash - Train in Vain
16. The Jam- Going Underground

17. Kate Bush- Babooska 

18. The Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated

19. Bauhaus - Dark Entries

20. Ultravox- Passing Strangers 

Joy Division for a new Generation

Rhino Records UK / Warner Music are proud to announce the release of '+ -" (plus minus) - a unique Joy Division retrospective box set consisting of 10 7" singles on vinyl presented in a beautiful clamshell box. All tracks have been newly re-mastered from original tapes by Stephen Morris and Frank Arkwright with creative direction for '+ -" box set artwork coming from Peter Saville and Studio Parris Wakefield.

Compiled by renowned journalist and author Jon Savage, the boxset is released in celebration of Ian Curtis - in the year that is the 30th anniversary of his death. +- includes 7"'s which have previously been issued and some which have been created specifically for this release.

www.rhino.co.uk

Best of 1980- The Album List

The year 1980 marked a fascinating intersection, straddling the influences of the 1970s while gradually embracing the emerging trends of the new decade. Chart-toppers like Blondie, ABBA, The Police, and The Jam continued to dominate the music scene. Notable achievements included David Bowie securing his second number one hit, and Kate Bush becoming the first British female artist to claim a No.1 album.

However, amidst the musical successes, 1980 also witnessed tragic losses that left an indelible mark on the industry. Ian Curtis of Joy Division tragically took his own life just before the band's scheduled US Tour, while John Lennon, an iconic figure in music, was shot dead outside his New York City apartment. These losses left families and legions of fans grieving.

The year concluded with John Lennon's posthumous release, "{Just Like) Starting Over," topping the UK charts, serving as both a poignant farewell and a herald of the new decade.

Bernard Sumner Announces New Project

Bad Lieutenant, a new group put together in 2007 by New Order’s Bernard Sumner (guitar and vocals) alongside Phil Cunningham (guitar) and Jake Evans (guitar and vocals) are pleased to confirm they have completed their long awaited debut LP, which is set for release in autumn this year.
Together, the band have spent over a year writing, recording and mixing the album near Manchester, drafting in additional musicians including Stephen Morris and Alex James. Song titles and live dates will be announced in due course. A new single is expected to be released prior to the LP.

More
http://www.neworderonline.com/

30 Years of Unknown Pleasures

30 years have passed since Joy Division released their debut album 'Unknown Pleasures' in 1979 which was considered one of the best debut album from that year. NME will celebrate the annivesary with the special edition of the magazine which also includes an interview with the band. The latest NME is out on Wednesday 17 June.

http://www.nme.com/magazine

http://www.nme.com/magazine

Joy Division Documentary

According to NME.com, the release of the Joy Division documentary has been announced. It was directed by directed by Grant Gee and it is the great answer to Anton Corbijn's movie "Control" which was released in 2007.

The new documentary examines the band’s story through never-before-seen live performance footage, personal photos, period films and newly discovered audiotapes. There are also interviews with Tony Wilson, the boss of the band's label Factory Records, who died last year. The rest of the band also contribute, as does Annik Honore, the Belgian journalist who Curtis was havingan affair with.

http://www.nme.com/news/joy-division/34685

Tony Wilson Dies!

Anthony H. Wilson, co-founder of Factory Records, has died of a heart attack yesterday (August 10th) at the age of 57. Wilson is best known for signing legendary bands including Joy Division and New Order to his label, and as owner of the Hacienda nightclub in Manchester. He played a key role in the Madchester scene of the late 1980's and early 1990's, signing the Happy Mondays.

Wilson passed away on this evening in the hospital after suffering a heart attack that his doctor said was unrelated to his recent battle with cancer.

Thanks for Joy Division, the "Factory" , the music. RIP Tony!

Contol, Ian Curtis

Control: The Ian Curtis film is a biopic film in the making about the late Ian Kevin Curtis (1956-1980), lead singer of the legendary post-punk rock band Joy Division. The screenplay will be based on the book Touching From a Distance, by Curtis' wife, Deborah, who is also a co-producer of the upcoming film.

http://www.neworderonline.com/News/NewsRoom.aspx

The Killers Cover Joy Division's Shadowplay for the Upociming Ian Curtis Bipoic

The Killers have covered the 1979 Joy Division song "Shadowplay" for the soundtrack to the forthcoming movie about the life of the band's front man Ian Curtis. The movie, Control, is based on the book Touching From A Distance, by Curtis' widow Deborah who also co-produced the movie. She is played by Samantha Morton. The film was directed by famed music video director Anton Corbijn. As previously reported on nme.com, New Order have recorded the incidental music for the movie, and are also mooted to be re-recording a number of Joy Division tracks. The biopic is set for a September 2007 release