Joy Division were an English rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris.
New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by vocalist and guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook, and drummer Stephen Morris. The members regrouped after the disbandment of their previous band Joy Division due to the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis. They were joined by Gillian Gilbert on keyboards later that year. New Order's integration of post-punk with electronic and dance music made them one of the most acclaimed and influential bands of the 1980s. They were the flagship band for Manchester-based independent record label Factory Records and its nightclub The Haçienda, and they worked in long-term collaboration with graphic designer Peter Saville.
Ian Kevin Curtis was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was best known as the lead singer, lyricist and occasional guitarist of the post-punk band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums Unknown Pleasures (1979) and Closer (1980). He was noted for his unique dancing style influenced by his experiences with epilepsy, as well as his dark baritone voice. Retrospectively viewed as "one of the finest songwriters of a generation," his intensely introspective and dark lyricism has provoked "visceral and raw emotions" among fans. He was also noted for his distinct on-stage behaviour.
Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus.
Peter Hook is an English musician, best known as the bassist and co-founder of the rock bands Joy Division and New Order. Hook often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings with a signature heavy chorus effect. In New Order, he would do this, leaving the actual basslines to keyboards or sequencers.
Unknown Pleasures is the debut studio album by the English rock band Joy Division, released on 15 June 1979 by Factory Records. The album was recorded and mixed over three successive weekends at Stockport's Strawberry Studios in April 1979, with producer Martin Hannett contributing a number of unconventional recording techniques to the group's sound. The cover artwork was designed by artist Peter Saville, using a data plot of signals from a radio pulsar. It is the only Joy Division album released during lead singer Ian Curtis's lifetime.
Slaughter and the Dogs are an English punk rock band formed in 1975 in Wythenshawe, Manchester. Their original line-up consisted of singer Wayne Barrett McGrath, rhythm guitar Mick Rossi, drummer Brian "Mad Muffet" Grantham, lead guitarist Mike Day and bassist Howard Bates.
Manchester's music scene produced successful bands in the 1960s including the Hollies, the Bee Gees and Herman's Hermits. After the punk rock era, Manchester produced popular bands including Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths and Simply Red. In the late 1980s, the ecstasy-fuelled dance club scene played a part in the rise of Madchester with bands like the Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets and Happy Mondays. In the 1990s, Manchester saw the rise of Britpop bands, notably Oasis.
Heart and Soul is a box set by English rock band Joy Division containing nearly every track the band recorded between 1977 and 1980. The first two discs contain almost their entire studio output, including the albums Unknown Pleasures and Closer, along with singles and compilation appearances. Discs three and four collect rare demos and live recordings, many of which were previously unreleased. All tracks are digitally remastered. It reached #70 in the UK.
Robert Leo Gretton was the manager of Joy Division and New Order. He was partner in and co-director of Factory Records and a founding partner of The Haçienda. For ten years until his death in 1999, Gretton ran his own label, Rob’s Records.
Rob's Records was a British, Manchester-based independent record label founded by Rob Gretton, former manager of Joy Division and New Order, and a co-director of Factory Records.
Control is a 2007 British biographical film about the life of Ian Curtis, singer of the late-1970s English post-punk band Joy Division. It is the first feature film directed by Anton Corbijn, who had worked with Joy Division as a photographer. The screenplay by Matt Greenhalgh, was based on the biography Touching from a Distance by Curtis's widow Deborah, who served as a co-producer on the film. Tony Wilson, who released Joy Division's records through his Factory Records label, also served as a co-producer. Curtis' bandmates Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and Stephen Morris provided incidental music for the soundtrack via their post-Joy Division incarnation New Order. Control was filmed partly on location in Nottingham, Manchester, and Macclesfield, including areas where Curtis lived, and was shot in colour and then printed to black-and-white. Its title comes from the Joy Division song "She's Lost Control", and alludes to the fact that much of the plot deals with the notion that Curtis tried to remain in control of his own life, and yet had no control over his epilepsy and pharmaceutical side effects.
Short Circuit: Live at the Electric Circus is a compilation album of songs recorded live at the Electric Circus, Manchester, on 1 and 2 October 1977, two concerts marking the last nights of the venue before it closed. Released by Virgin Records in June 1978, the album was originally only available on 10-inch blue, black, and yellow vinyl.
Warsaw was the planned debut album by the English post-punk band Joy Division, while they were briefly associated with RCA Records. Recorded in May 1978, it comprised eleven tracks now known collectively as the "RCA Sessions". However, the band were disappointed with the label's post-production work and the deal fell through, the album being scrapped.
Damnation Festival is an annual one-day heavy metal music festival currently held at Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester. It was held at Jilly's Rockworld in Manchester from 2005 to 2006 and then University of Leeds from 2007 until 2021. It is organised by Gavin McInally and Paul Farrington.
Lawrence John Cassidy was an English musician, best known for being the singer and bassist of post-punk and electronic band Section 25.
Grand Central is a rock/metal pub and music venue at 80 Oxford Street, near Oxford Road railway station and opposite The Principal Manchester hotel in Manchester, England. It is a four storey building which is typical of buildings that were originally houses in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Wakefield Street on the southside leads to the railway station via a pedestrian stairway.
Minny Pops is a Dutch, Amsterdam-based new wave/electronic/art punk band, associated with the Ultra post-punk movement in the Netherlands and the Factory Records label in the UK.
This is a timeline of music in Greater Manchester
The Electric Circus was a music venue in Collyhurst, Manchester, England, situated at the corner of Teignmouth Street and Collyhurst Street. It was an iconic and seminal venue for punk rock in 1970s Manchester.
