| An Ideal for Living | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | 3 June 1978 [1] | |||
| Recorded | 14 December 1977 | |||
| Studio | Pennine, Oldham, England | |||
| Genre | Punk rock [2] | |||
| Length | 12:47 | |||
| Label |
| |||
| Producer | Joy Division | |||
| Joy Division chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 12" cover | ||||
An Ideal for Living is the first EP by the English rock band Joy Division. It was released on 3 June 1978 by the band's own label, Enigma, shortly after the group changed their name from Warsaw.
All songs were recorded at Pennine Sound Studios in Oldham on 14 December 1977. The recording sessions were self-financed by the group, on a budget of £400. [3] The release reflects the band's early punk influences, [4] as opposed to the post-punk style they later developed. In an interview with Uncut magazine in 2001, drummer Stephen Morris stated that when making the EP, the band requested the engineer make the drums sound like "Speed of Life", the opening track on David Bowie's 1977 album Low . "Strangely enough he couldn't". [5] Low featured a unique drum sound that became widely imitated following its release, although producer Tony Visconti refused to explain how he made it for many years. [6]
The cover has a black-and-white picture of a blond Hitler Youth member beating a drum, which was drawn by guitarist Bernard Sumner (called "Bernard Albrecht" on the poster sleeve) and the words "Joy! Division" printed in a blackletter font. The cover design, coupled with the nature of the band's name, fuelled controversy over whether the band had Nazi sympathies. The foldout of the EP contains pasted cutouts of both the band and the Warsaw Ghetto boy, with a lyrical excerpt from 'Leaders of Men'. When the EP was re-released on 12-inch vinyl, the original cover was replaced by artwork featuring scaffolding. [7]
A 7" version of An Ideal for Living was released in June on the band's own Enigma label, which was sold out by September and was subsequently followed by a 12" version on 10 October on the band's own Anonymous Records label.
All four tracks were re-released on the 1988 singles compilation, Substance . A remastered version of the EP was reissued by Rhino Entertainment to coincide with Record Store Day 2014. [7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Melody Maker | (favourable) [8] |
In a retrospective review, David Cleary of AllMusic wrote that "[the] sound quality and production values on this release are extremely primitive", while describing the release as "a mildly interesting, if not great EP". He also noted that with the re-release of "Warsaw" and "Leaders of Men" on the rarities album Substance (the other two were originally only included on CD and cassette versions of the album), the need for diehard Joy Division fans to obtain this EP had notably decreased. [4]
Trouser Press described the EP as "skillful but rather unexceptional" and noted the strong influence of Bowie's music on the band. [9]
The EP's title subsequently inspired the Manic Street Preachers' single "A Design for Life". [10]
All songs written by Joy Division.
| Vinyl | Date | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 7" | 3 June 1978 | Enigma Records |
| 12" | 10 October 1978 | Anonymous Records [11] |
Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.
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Bernard Sumner is an English musician. He is a founding member of the bands Joy Division, New Order, Electronic, and Bad Lieutenant. Sumner was an early force in several areas, including the post-punk, synth-pop, and techno music scenes, as well as their various related genres, and was an early influence on the Manchester music scene that presaged the Madchester movement of the late 1980s centred on Factory Records and The Haçienda club in Manchester.
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Spiral Scratch is an EP and the first release by the English punk rock band Buzzcocks. It was released on 29 January 1977. It is one of the earliest releases by a British punk band. Spiral Scratch and the album Time's Up are the only Buzzcocks studio releases with original singer Howard Devoto, who left shortly after the EP's release to form one of the first post-punk bands, Magazine.
"Being Boiled" was the debut single by the British synth-pop band the Human League. Composed by Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, with lyrics by Philip Oakey, it is regarded as a seminal work in early synth-pop.
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"Warsaw" is the opening song on the EP An Ideal for Living, written and performed by the British band Joy Division. It was slated for release on the planned debut album which was scrapped, although bootlegged under the name Warsaw. The song references Rudolf Hess, Hitler's Deputy Führer, who flew to Great Britain in 1941 in an attempt to negotiate a peace between Germany and the UK.
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