Posted on 01/25/2023 1:46:34 PM PST by nickcarraway
On this day (Jan. 25) in 1978, Joy Division played their first live gig, a moment that is often credited with kicking off the post-punk era.
The iconic, yet short-lived rock outfit – made up of frontman Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook, and drummer Stephen Morris – premiered their unique blend of moody punk-tinged, synth rock at Pips Discotheque in Manchester, England.
Back then, Pips was the place to be, a hub where the ever-shifting culture of late 1970s Britain was continually being shaped. “Inside there were different sub-cultures all coming together,” an article from the Manchester Evening News explained of the since-closed venue.
The members of Joy Division were frequent patrons of Pips, so when they arranged their debut at the disco, they already knew the lay of the land. However, the night didn’t go as smoothly as one would think.
Two other local acts, called Connection and The Stance, were scheduled to open for Joy Division. The night’s trouble began with on-stage antics from the latter band, which resulted in some broken glass and the headliner’s frontman almost missing his moment.
“Ian nearly didn’t sing at all after being thrown out for kicking glass The Stance had broken on stage,” the drummer Morris explained of the incident. “He was only being helpful, trying to tidy the place up a bit, as I recall.
“The bouncers left Ian cooling his heels outside until 15 minutes before Joy Division came on stage,” author Mark Johnson detailed in his book, An Ideal For Living. “He tried to plead with them, saying, ‘But I’m the lead singer,’ but the bouncer just said, ‘I don’t care if you’re The Pope, you’re not coming in.’”
Curtis was eventually allowed to re-enter the venue and take the stage, but The Stance’s antics had carried over into the crowd, an audience made up of now-opposing sides – those who came to support Joy Division and friends of the openers.
“The two camps engaged themselves in a brawl that rolled back and forth in pendulum fashion across the front of the stage,” Morris recalled. “Ian did his best to discourage this but to no avail. The punch-up continued unabated, with [Hook] joining in on his mates’ side.”
Violence aside, Joy Division’s debut was no bust. In fact, that night marked a distinct shift for the band, an outfit that would soon pioneer post-punk and, ultimately, alter the trajectory of rock into the 1980s.
They definitely were the first to put Manchester on the map.
The Hacienda.
Actually, Steve was competing with Barney (Bernard) for her affection. Bizarre Love Triangle.
That’s socialized medicine for ya. Kind of like Obamacare...
So what was punk?
And what was pre-punk?
But I thought he sang “I’ve never looked at you in a sexual way in my life before…” on Touched By the Hand of God. That is one funny music video.
Sex Pistols. Ramones. Clash. Siouxsie and the Banshees.
They were punk.
Punk and New Wave were synonymous for a while.
When record companies staring signing safe crappy bands they began to use New Wave because it was less scary than punk.
My point is that the “post-punk” label for Joy Division seems like splitting hairs. All the members of the band knew of these other contemporaneous bands. But I’m thinking it was some influence happening, and some natural overlap.
But “rock journalists” can’t allow that, of course. Everything must be neatly compartmentalized.
But there are worse things than rock journalists. Try reading sports journalists. (But not on an empty stomach.)
Kind of.
Punk and New Wave were the same thing in 1977/8.
Later a distinction was made when the mainstream consumers became interested.
There’s no such thing as post-punk, really, but it would apply mainly to British bands that were punk but began experimenting more.
Like say after 1978.
I’d say post punk means after the Sex Pistols when things opened up in music and bands could do anything.
It means after breaking the msn monopoly on Rock Band crap like Journey, Led Zeppelin, Eagles, etc…ad nauseum.
Here’s the difference between punk and new wave back in the day.
Punk was tea party/Maga. New Wave was Rino/GOPe.
Early everyone was in the same boat. Differences became more apparent over time.
Punk was like the hippies, it really only lasted about a year, and then everybody became a “poser”.
Yeah it got mainstreamed.
I went to a lot of shows back then but I dressed like a normal college student that I was at the time. None of the outlandish dress bothered me much except at one show someone showed up and planted themselves right behind me and he was in a wheelchair dressed up like Dr. Strangelove. That made me do a double take. That era was like an endless Halloween.
I’ve only heard that one on Pumped Full of Drugs. It didn’t seem that the Nips cared for it.
Closer - what an album
https://thequietus.com/articles/28578-joy-division-closer-review-40th-anniversary
Whenever my son played “Tarantula” at his epic parties, it was time to go home. He only put it on when he was wasted, lol.
[...Ian Curtis a prisoner of his own body, and he took his own life at age 23.”
I believe he killed himself just before kicking off their North American tour. Love both Joy Division and New Order.
Coincidentally, I bought Pet Shop Boys/New Order tickets for a show in Chicago in 2020. The concert was cancelled due to Covid, and then delayed to 2021 and then to 2022.
My wife and I attended the show last summer, FINALLY, and it was amazing. You forget how much those two bands shaped the 80s and 90s.
Unforgettable show, and New Order ended with “Love will tear us apart.”
Winning!
That was a good read.
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