History Trivia / JoyDivision

** The band's label, Creator/FactoryRecords, went bankrupt in 1992 after just 14 years of operation, which despite spanning a generation's worth of time is still remarkably short compared to other indie labels of similar success (e.g. Creator/MuteRecords and Creator/FourADRecords, both of which are still active to this day).

** Lead singer Ian Curtis hung himself in 1980 at 23.

** Joy Division ''could'' have gone in the direction Music/NewOrder went had Ian not died. Ian became a fan of artists like Music/{{Kraftwerk}} and introduced them to the other members, which ''would have'' resulted in Joy Division going more in a synthpop-based direction and probably emphasizing dance elements more too, though likely still keeping their Gothic core to a more overt degree than the more sardonically-inclined New Order. This also fits considering how New Order's debut ''Music/{{Movement}}'' sounds like Joy Division with Bernard and Peter on vocals.

** Despite their close association with Factory, Joy Division was briefly associated with other labels. In 1978, they signed with Creator/RCARecords, but the deal didn't work out and the material the band recorded there wasn't released until 1994 on the semi-official compilation ''Warsaw'' (some of it had already been included on the ''An Ideal for Living'' EP, and other songs were re-recorded on Factory, but the full sessions didn't emerge until ''Warsaw''). The group also came close to signing with Creator/RadarRecords (via Genetic, a sublabel owned by produced Martin Rushent); they recorded a few demos before deciding to stay with Factory.

* UrbanLegendOfZelda: Because Ian never wrote down the lyrics to "Ceremony" and because his vocals are near-inaudible on all surviving recordings of it, Bernard had to use a graphic equalizer to approximate the lyrics for New Order's re-recordings. This has fueled quite a bit of speculation over the years regarding how Ian had originally envisioned the song's lyrics, especially in light of reports indicating that Curtis was constantly changing up the lyrics as time went on (itself corroborated by the fact that the sole live recording of the song features an audibly different chorus from the studio tape).

** Lead singer Ian Curtis took his own life in 1980 at 23.

** Despite their close association with Factory, Joy Division was briefly associated with other labels. In 1978, they signed with Creator/RCARecords, but the deal didn't work out and the material the band recorded there wasn't released until years later. The group also came close to signing with Creator/RadarRecords (via Genetic, a sublabel owned by produced Martin Rushent); they recorded a few demos before deciding to stay with Factory.

* ColbertBump: Not strictly accurate (they were gone before anyone noticed) but just about the only high quality recordings of live performances are from guest spots on TV shows.

** Despite their close association with Factory, Joy Division was briefly associated with other labels. In 1978, they signed with Creator/RCARecords, but the deal didn't work out and the material the band recorded there wasn't released until years later. The group also came close to signing with Creator/RadarRecords (via Genetic, a sublabel owned by produced Martin Rushent) before deciding to stay with Factory.

* AuthorExistenceFailure: Which caused the band to cease, leading to the foundation of Music/NewOrder.

* BigNameFan: Music/GeorgeMichael, of all people, was a fan of the band, and ''Music/{{Closer}}'' in particular, praising the album in interviews. Music/KurtCobain was also a fan, and his life and Ian Curtis' had a lot of dark parallels. Other artists who've cited the band as an influence include Music/{{U2}}, Music/TheCure, Music/HenryRollins, Music/{{Interpol}} and Music/BlocParty.

** Curtis himself professed a wish to someday own a bookstore. Given everything mentioned above, it's likely that even if he hadn't committed suicide, he'd still retire from the band relatively early as a result of his health issues (assuming they didn't try some some of Music/BrianWilson-style arrangement where Curtis still wrote and recorded with them in the studio; the band ''was'' already known to bring substitute vocalists on-stage or StepUpToTheMicrophone whenever necessary), focusing on the bookstore instead. Thus, New Order would've still come about, but under much less emotionally strenuous circumstances.

** Lead singer Ian Curtis hanged himself in 1980 at 23.

** Factory itself went bankrupt in 1992 after just 14 years of operation, which despite spanning a generation's worth of time is still remarkably short compared to other indie labels of similar success (e.g. Creator/MuteRecords and Creator/FourADRecords, both of which are still active to this day).

* FanNickname: Japanese fans nickname Bernard as "Bernie" (バーニー) & Peter as "Hooky" (フッキー).

** The band was due to start their first [[UsefulNotes/TheUnitedStates American]] tour the day after Ian Curtis killed himself.

** Joy Division ''could'' have gone in the direction Music/NewOrder went had Ian not died. Ian became a fan of artists like Music/{{Kraftwerk}} and introduced them to the other members, which ''would have'' resulted in Joy Division going more in a synthpop-based direction and probably emphasizing dance elements more too, though likely still keeping their Gothic core. This also fits considering how New Order's debut ''Music/{{Movement}}'' sounds like Joy Division with Bernard and Peter on vocals.

** Curtis himself professed a wish to someday own a bookstore. Given everything mentioned above, it's likely that even if he hadn't committed suicide, he'd still retire from the band relatively early, assuming they didn't try some some of Music/BrianWilson-style arrangement where Curtis still wrote and recorded with them in the studio, as a result of his health issues, focusing on the bookstore instead. Thus, New Order would've still come about, but under much less emotionally strenuous circumstances.

** Curtis himself professed a wish to someday own a bookstore. Given everything mentioned above, it's likely that even if he hadn't committed suicide, he'd still retire from the band relatively early as a result of his health issues, focusing on the bookstore instead. Thus, New Order would've still come about, but under much less emotionally strenuous circumstances.

** Curtis himself professed a wish to someday own a bookstore.

* UrbanLegendOfZelda: Because Ian never wrote down the lyrics to "Ceremony" and because his vocals are near-inaudible on all surviving recordings of it, Bernard had to use a graphic equalizer to approximate the lyrics for New Order's re-recordings. This has fueled quite a bit of speculation over the years regarding how Ian had originally envisioned the song's lyrics.

** The fact that "Ceremony" only exists in a variety of poorly-mixed live and rehearsal recordings (wherein Ian's vocals are so muted you can hardly make them out) has raised quite a bit of speculation about how it might've turned out had Ian lived long enough to see it completed. The March 1981 recording by Music/NewOrder is considered the closest official approximation to what Joy Division's "Ceremony" might've sounded like in a finished form, but even then it's not exact given Ian's obvious absence.
** Joy Division ''could'' have gone in the direction Music/NewOrder went had Ian not died. Ian became a fan of artists like Music/{{Kraftwerk}} and introduced them to the other members, which ''would have'' resulted in Joy Division going more synthpop and probably more emphasis on dance music too. This also fits considering how New Order's debut ''Music/{{Movement}}'' sounds like Joy Division with Bernard/Peter on vocals.

----

* ExecutiveMeddling: To the opposite extreme. Curtis committed suicide only weeks before ''Closer'' was due for release, but Tony Wilson decided to keep Creator/PeterSaville's cover which depicted the front of the Appiani Family tomb in UsefulNotes/{{Italy}] (itself a sculpture of Christ being laid to rest).

* ExecutiveMeddling: To the opposite extreme. Curtis committed suicide only weeks before ''Closer'' was due for release, but ''Tony Wilson'' decided to keep Creator/PeterSaville's cover which depicted the front of the Appiani Family tomb in Italy (itself a sculpture of Christ being laid to rest).

* ProductionPosse: The band's Factory releases were produced by Martin Hannett and the covert art designed by Peter Saville.

* BigNameFan: Music/GeorgeMichael, of all people, was a fan of the band, and ''Music/{{Closer}}'' in particular, praising the album in interviews. Music/KurtCobain was also a fan, and his life and Ian Curtis' had a lot of dark parallels.

** Joy Division ''could'' have gone in the direction Music/NewOrder went had Ian not died. Ian became a fan of artists like Music/{{Kraftwerk}} and introduced them to the other members, which ''would have'' resulted in Joy Division going more synthpop and probably more emphasis on dance music too. This also fits considering how New Order's debut ''Movement'' sounds like Joy Division with Bernard/Peter on vocals.

* BigNameFan: Music/GeorgeMichael, of all people, was a fan of the band, and ''Music/{{Closer}}'' in particular, praising the album in interviews. Music/KurtCobain was a fan, and his life and Ian Curtis' had a lot of dark parallels.

* BigNameFan: Music/GeorgeMichael, of all people, was a fan of the band, and ''Music/{{Closer}}'' in particular, praising the album in interviews.