Put The Needle On The Record - Week #25

Put The Needle On The Record Week #25 Joy Division - Closer

For this weeks feature we go back to July 1980 and the Joy Division album "Closer".

"Closer" was only the 2nd album released by Joy Division and yet over the decades it is an album that still inspires musicians, the album was released a couple of month's after lead singer Ian Curtis took his own life, at the time nobody, not even the band realized that "Closer" was a collection of songs about his struggles in life and in someways a music suicide note. It is in my top 3 albums of all time, everytime I listen to the album you can feel the torture that Ian Curtis is going through, it has had a massive impact on me from a music perspective and in my life. It is a stunning collection of songs.

In 1980 I got the chance to speak to Anthony H Wilson around the time the single "Love Will Tear Us Apart", was released and his passion for the music of Joy Division was very evident, he was more than happy to speak to me about Joy Division, something that I really respected, lovely man too.

On a side note, if you haven't seen the film "Control" about the life of Ian Curtis and Joy Division, go and get the DVD, it is a remarkable film and Sam Riley who plays Ian Curtis, is unbelievable, it is a very moving film and one of my all time favourite films, with "Love Will Tear Us Apart" being my all time favourite single and "Closer" in my all time Top 3 albums, you can understand my passion for Joy Division.

The whole album is a highlight, but if I had to pick my 3 favourite tracks off the album, I would go for "Decades" (a haunting yet beautiful song, Ian's lyrics definitely has an impact on you emotionally), "Isolation" (again lyrically stunning) and "The Eternal" (the mood of the track really hits you!).

No singles were released off the album and they didn't include "Love Will Tear Us Apart" on the album either.

The album peaked at number 6 in the UK Album Chart.

Track Listing

Atrocity Exhibition
Isolation
Passover
Colony
A Means To An End
Heart And Soul
Twenty Four Hours
The Eternal
Decades

So if you have the album in your collection and have n't played it in a while, dig it out and give it a spin!