Today, exactly 46 ago, Joy Division made their live debut at the Pips Disco in Manchester. Only a few years later it became clear they would become one of the most influential British bands in music history.

Originally, the gentlemen Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and Stephen Morris were announced as Warsaw, their original band name, taken from one of Ian Curtis’ favorite albums, Low by David Bowie. However, when the concert was announced, it became clear there was already another band that called themselves Warsaw Packt. So to avoid confusion, a new name was quickly sought and it was singer Ian Curtis who came up with the name Joy Division. He found the name in a book that he was reading at the time. The book was called 'The House Of Dolls', written by Holocaust survivor Ka-Tsetnik 135633 alias Yehiel De-Nur. The number in the author's name refers to the number that was tattooed in his arm by the Nazis during the second world war. In this book, the author describes a brothel the Nazis installed in the concentration camp and wherein Jewish women were forced into prostitution to serve the camp guards and the nearby stationed and passing German troops. The Nazis called the brothel mockingly the Joy Division.

As a matter of fact, The House of Dolls topic is also mentioned in the Warsaw song No Love Lost, a song that would later be featured on the Joy Division debut EP ‘An Ideal For A Living'.

This sudden change of name right before their first performance on 25 January 1978 did not help the draw for this show. The public therefore mainly consisted of friends, something common for debut show. Witnesses described the atmosphere as very intense, even so intense Ian Curtis himself was thrown out of the venue, for breaking some beer glasses, and this happened even before their show had started. So the other band members had the greatest difficulty convincing the security people to let their singer back in. When they started playing eventually the tension was so high a massive pogo broke out which, according to witnesses, ended in one big fight.

During their short existence the band managed to build a bridge between 70's Punk and the emerging 80’s electronic music. Joy Division is also one of those few bands who still sees their fanbase grow and still appeal to the younger generations.

After the suicide of singer Ian Curtis (RIP 18.05.1980), the remaining band members, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and Stephen Morris continued as New Order with Sumner becomming their singer. Bass player Peter Hook left New Order in 2007 to found his own band Monaco but in 2010 he changed the name to Peter Hook & The Light. With this project he successfully paid tribute to Ian Curtis & Joy Division since, playing Joy Division albums in their entirety, live.

Below the setlist of Joy Division's debut performance on 25 January 1978

• Exercise One
• Leaders of Men
• Warsaw
• Failures
• Reaction
• Inside the Line
• Ice Age
• Day of the Lords
• Novelty

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Het is vandaag precies 46 jaar geleden dat Joy Division zijn live-debuut maakte in de Pips Disco te Manchester. Enkele jaren later zou blijken dat zij één van de meest invloedrijke Britse bands uit de muziek geschiedenis zouden worden.

Oorspronkelijk werden de heren Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook en Stephen Morris aangekondigd als Warsaw, hun oorspronkelijke band naam. Die naam hadden ze genomen van één van Ian Curtis favorite platen, Low van David Bowie. Maar toen het concert werd aangekondigd bleek er al een band te bestaan die Warschau Packt heette. Om verwarring te voorkomen werd dus snel naar een nieuwe naam gezocht en het was alweer zanger Ian Curtis die met de naam Joy Division op de proppen kwam. Deze keer haalde hij de naam uit een boek dat hij op dat moment aan het lezen was. Dit boek was ‘The House Of Dolls’, geschreven door holocaust overlever Ka-Tsetnik 135633 alias Yehiel De-Nur. Het nummer in zijn auteursnaam verwijst naar het nummer dat in zijn arm werd getatoeëerd door de Nazi’s tijdens de tweede wereld oorlog. In dat boek beschrijft de auteur een bordeel dat de Nazi’s hadden opgericht in het concentratiekamp waarin Joodse vrouwen tot prostitutie werden gedwongen ten dienste van de kampbewakers en voor de nabij gelegerde en doortrekkende Duitsers. De Nazi’s noemden het bordeel spottend de Joy Division.

Het House of Dolls topic wordt trouwens ook aangehaald in het Warsaw nummer No Love Lost, een song die wat later ook op Joy Division's debuut EP ‘An Ideal For A Living’ zou prijken.

Deze plotse naamsverandering net voor dit eerste optreden op 25 januari 1978 droeg natuurlijk niet bij aan de opkomst voor deze debuut show. Het publiek bestond dan ook voornamelijk uit vrienden zoals dat meestal bij een debut optreden gaat. De sfeer was zeer gespannen, zo gespannen dat Ian Curtis zelf al uit de zaal gegooid werd voor het breken van enkele glazen, nog vóór het optreden moest aanvangen. De andere bandleden hadden de grootste moeite om de veiligheidsmensen te overtuigen hun zanger terug binnen te laten. Al van bij de eerste noten brak een massale pogo uit die, volgens getuigen, eindigde in één grote vechtpartij.

Met hun muziek slaagde de groep er in een brug te leggen tussen 70’s Punk en de opkomende elektronische muziek van het volgende decennium. Joy Division is één van die weinige bands, die postuum haar aanhang nog steeds ziet groeien en het ook nog steeds zeer goed doet bij nieuwe en jongere generaties.

Na de zelfmoord van Ian Curtis (18.05.1980) gingen de overgebleven bandleden Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook en Stephen Morris verder onder de naam New Order en werd Sumner de zanger van de groep. Bassist Peter Hook verliet in 2007 New Order en richtte zijn eigen band Monaco op.

In 2010 doopte diezelfde Hook zijn band om naar Peter Hook & The Light waarmee hij sindsdien succesvol een hommage brengt aan Ian Curtis & Joy Division door alle albums in hun volledigheid live te brengen.

Hieronder de setlist van Joy Division’s debuut optreden op 25 Januari 1978

• Exercise One
• Leaders of Men
• Warsaw
• Failures
• Reaction
• Inside the Line
• Ice Age
• Day of the Lords
• Novelty

Mark E. Smith was born in the UK 1957 and founded The Fall in 1976 together with Tony Friel and Martin Bramah. Smith remained the only original member of the band to this day. During the 38 years of their existence, the group seemed to be more of a pigeon-loft than a coherent rock band as Smith hired and sacked musicians as if it was a sweet delight, so more than sixty musicians passed through The Fall.

It was already clear for a while now the singer had serious health problems since a number of planned shows were cancelled late 2017. Still, he didn’t seem willing to give up and even performed one of their latest shows in a wheelchair.

One of the hallmarks of The Fall was the unmistakable voice and manner of singing by Mark E. Smith. He rather mumbled his lyrics through the microphone than he was singing and therefore it was not always clear what he was singing.

The Fall was a very productive band, releasing nearly 80 albums in less than 39 years. Probably one of their most influential albums is the Hex Enduction Hour, released in 1982. To date, the band has been cited as a source of inspiration by musicians around the world.

A message on The Fall website was posted on January 24, 2018 …

RIP Chief - "The Only Band in the world"

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Mark E. Smith, zanger van de legendarische post-punk The Fall overleden op 60 jarige leeftijd

Mark E. Smith werd geboren in UK in 1957 en richtte The Fall op in 1976 samen met Tony Friel en Martin Bramah. Smith bleef het enige origineel lid van de band tot op vandaag. Gedurende de 38 jaar van hun bestaan leek de groep ook eerder op een duiventil dan op een coherente rock groep want Smith huurde en ontsloeg muzikanten alsof het een lieve lust was, meer dan zestig muzikanten passeerden zo de revue bij The Fall.

Het ging al een tijdje niet goed met de gezondheid van de zanger en mede daardoor werden een aantal geplande shows in het na jaar van 2017 afgelast. Toch wist hij van geen ophouden en werkte zelf een show af gezeten in een rolstoel.

Eén van de kenmerken van The Fall was het onmiskenbare stemgeluid en manier van zingen van Mark E. Smith. Hij mompelde zijn teksten eerder door de microfoon en daardoor was niet altijd duidelijk wat hij precies zong.

The Fall was een zeer productive groep en bracht bijna 80 albums uit op nog geen 39 jaar tijd. Waarschijnlijk één van hun meest invloedrijke albums is het in 1982 verschenen Hex Enduction Hour. Tot op heden wordt de band aangehaald als inspiratiebron door muzikanten over heel de wereld.

Op de The Fall website werd er op 24 Januari gepost - RIP Chief - “The Only Band in the world”

Today it is exactly 33 years since one of the most succesful EBM bands and founders Front 242 released Tyranny ▶For You◀ (24-01-1991).
Tyranny ▶For You◀ is Front 242's fifth studio album and featured twelve tracks. Three of those tracks were released as separate CD/12" singles; Rhythm Of Time, Mixed By Fear and Tragedy ▶For You◀. Both music videos for Tragedy ▶For You◀ (Directed by Anthon Corbijn) and Rhythm Of Time (Directed by Peter Christopherson of Coil) got a frequent rotation on MTV. The video of Rhythm Of Time also appeared briefly on a TV-set in the background during a scene of the film Single White Female.

Enjoy the music videos of Tragedy ▶For You◀ and Rhythm Of Time below!

Tracklist:

Sacrifice
Rhythm Of Time
Moldavia
Trigger 2 (Anatomy Of A Shot)
Gripped By Fear
Tragedy >For You<
The Untold
Neurobashing
Leitmotiv 136
Soul Manager

DISCOGS

www.front242.com

On this day 48 ago, on 23 January 1976, David Bowie released his 10th studio album, Station to Station. The album is regarded as one of his most significant works and introduced one of Bowie's best known alter egos, ‘The Thin White Duke’, which was based on character David played in ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’, a movie by Thomas Jerome Newton. The album cover art features a still from the film. During the sessions, Bowie was mostly drugs, especially cocaine, and stated in later interviews that he recalled barely anything of the recording and production sessions. Due to the success of his previous album, Young Americans, released the year before, Bowie gained more financial and thus artistic freedom. While the previous album featured mainly Funk and Soul elements, Station To Station introduced Bowie’s German electronic and Krautrock influences from the likes as for instance Kraftwerk and Neu!. Also lyrically he wandered off from the mainstream ‘pop’ path and was inspired by mythology, religion and figures like Friedrich Nietzsche & Aleister Crowley. Preceded by the single `Golden Years`, Station to Station was a commercial success, reaching the top five on the UK and US charts.

During the Isolar Tour, supporting the release of this album, he attracted controversy with statements suggesting support for fascism. Things became even worst when 'The Victoria Station Incident' happened. When NME photographer Chalkie Davies, shot a picture of David Bowie standing upright in a convertible Mercedes, seemingly bringing a nazi salute while waving to his fans. But in fact it just was, what we would call it these days, a hasty, improvident and bad photoshop job by an NME employee. Because of the fact the photographer used a flash light and bright sky backlight, David’s waving hand was not visible due to the light over exposure. So the editors decided to quickly fix it by drawing a fake hand on top of the picture … Of course the badly chosen headline “Heil and farewell” didn’t help either. No need to say the press picked up on this and put it together with some quotes on fascism he had made in Europe and behold David was vilified as a Nazi.

“That didn’t happen. THAT DID NOT HAPPEN. I waved. I just WAVED. Believe me. On the life of my child, I waved. And the bastard caught me. In MID-WAVE, man. And, God, did that photo get some coverage… As if I’d be foolish enough to pull a stunt like that. I died when I saw the photo. And even the people who were with me said, ‘David! How could you?’ The bastards. I didn’t… GOD, I just don’t believe in all that. (David Bowie, Melody Maker, 29 October 1977)

At the end of the tour, he moved to Europe, mainly to escape from the L.A. drug culture. Bowie lived in West Berlin for almost two years, during which time he moved on both musically and personally with his "Berlin Trilogy" albums; Low, Heroes and Lodger.

Positively received by music critics on its release, Station to Station has appeared on several lists of the greatest albums of all time.

David Bowie - Station To Station (LP)

DISCOGS

Industrial Complex is the sixth and latest up to date studio album from British Industrial-electro-EBM band Nitzer Ebb. It was initially intended and released as a limited tour edition (2009) only but was soon after picked up by the German Major Records who released the album in Europe on 22 January 2010, fifteen years after the band's last studio album Big Hit. This is the band's first release after leaving Mute Records following its 2006 retrospective, Body of Work. The Major Records version also came with a bonus CD containing remixes by Terence Fixmer and Depeche Mode's Alan Wilder amongst others.

Martin Gore of Depeche Mode—himself a fellow Essex boy—has contributed backing vocals on both 'Once You Say' and 'Payroll'. While the track 'Never Known' was featured on the soundtrack of Saw IV. The album was produced by the renown English producer Flood.

Although this comeback album could not please all their old school fans it generally received positive critics by the music press. NME gave the album a 4/5 star rating stating Nitzer Ebb "proves to be far from obsolete". Other magazines wrote critics like "Industrial Complex is a real stormer" or "Industrial Complex sounded like nothing I've ever expected, it's sure one great album."

Industrial Complex

Basic/tour edition (Red background cover, single disc, Artists' Addiction Records)

1 "Promises" 3:48
2 "Once You Say" 3:41
3 "Never Known" 3:58
4 "Going Away" 4:10
5 "Hit You Back" 4:19
6 "Payroll" 2:57
7 "Down On Your Knees" 3:52
8 "I Don´t Know You" 3:12
9 "My Door Is Open" 3:15
10 "I Am Undone" 3:51
11 "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" 2:57
12 "Traveling" 3:13 (bonus track)

Belgian edition bonus tracks (White cover background with $ sign, Alfa Matrix)

13. "Once You Say" (Komor Kommando Mix)
14. "Once You Say" (Leæther Strip Mix)
15. "Once You Say" (Essence Of Mind Mix)
16. "Once You Say" (Implant Mix)
17. "Once You Say" (Pouppée Fabrikk Mix)

Limited edition (Double CD - Tracks CD2, Major Records)
1 "I Am Undone" (Alan Wilder Remix) 5:29
2 "I Am Undone" (Christopher Kah Remix) 5:17
3 "My Door Is Open" (Terence Fixmer Remix) 5:48
4 "Once You Say" (Tom Furse Remix) 6:07
5 "Once You Say" (Celluloide Mix) 4:46
6 "Once You Say" (Orphee-Eeproh Remix) 4:29
7 "Once You Say" (People Theatre Remix) 4:24
8 "Once You Say" (Collapsed System Mix) 4:44
9 "Once You Say" (Suessenborn Sinessence Remix) 4:10

USA edition tracks (White cover background with $ sign, single disc, Artists' Addiction Records, AAR 001)
Same as Basic/tour edition, then additional tracks:
13 "On The Road"
14 "I Am Undone" (Alan Wilder Remix) 5:29
15 "I Am Undone" (Christopher Kah Remix) 5:17
16 "My Door Is Open" (Terence Fixmer Remix) 5:48
17 "Once You Say" (Tom Furse Remix) 6:07

DISCOGS