The Birth of Joy Division: What Really Happened
Not enough people talk about Joy Division’s origin story. Sure, they released one of the most important albums of the 20th Century. But before that was a famed Sex Pistols show, a messy beginning, punk rock ethos, and a cascade of chance events that brought it all together. This is the truth behind the origin that brought Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and Stephen Morris together and changed rock music as we know it.
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CHAPTERS:
0:00 The Most Legendary Gig In Rock History
2:45 Bernard Sumner & Peter Hook Start A Band
5:59 Before Joy Division There Was Warsaw (and Stiff Kittens)
8:58 The Controvercial Name That Still Cuts
12:01 A Post Punk Sound That Refuses to Die
14:49 What Came After
CLIP REFERENCES
Tony Wilson “So It Goes” Granada TV (1976): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIxgpjb8JHU
Word In Your Ear Podcast feat. Peter Hook: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5STa3yfs7g
Joy Division: Song & Dance Interviews (Weinstein Extras) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jANCuDlaPqQ
24 Hour Party People (Tony Doesn’t Sell Out Scene): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwkzz6A_Qv4
Great Dulcie Street, Manchester, 1973: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax6cN1J4-Ic
Joy Division On Recording Unknown Pleasures https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBklD89yOxo
#joydivision #warsaw #neworder #postpunk #peterhook #iancurtis #bernardsumner #stephenmorris #manchester #punkrock #vinylcommunity #vinylrecords #vinylcollection #andyfenstermaker #fensepost #vinylchannel #poeticwax #musicessay #musicstory #albumstory #musichistory #albumhistory #musicdocumentary
@damianlewis7550
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Salford is pronounced Solfud by Mancunains or Solfod if you’re actually from Salford.
@Bl4cKs0u7
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Joy Division are definitely one of my favourite bands of all time, their sound and depth make them a must listen for anyone who is into music
@damnspynovels
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
"Not enough people talk about Joy Division's origin story" – have you tried searching YouTube?
@animalblack8482
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Very awesome thxu. Had the unknown pleasure of seeing Hookie and his Light 👍 this past spring (coming up on a year in June I think) at the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC USA. Great show, made me feel alive again 🥊
@bangrakhouse3175
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Brilliant both versions saves my life everytime they come to mind.tks so much & rip much love
@Reprodestruxion
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Shout out to Tony Wilson , Rob Gretton and Martin Hannet
@davidfox7983
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Good video.. Hannett made them
@iggysoup6865
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
I do love some of the pronunciations in this.
@Jamie1780
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Terrible, terrible name for a band.
@taketheredpill1452
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
bravo
@geoffbardell8872
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Nicely done Andy
@neilaspin008
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
It's pronounced, 'Sol-ferd.'
@LuciferSam2024
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Oops. I thought it was an interview. You ever do that?
@dlawlis
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
May 2 1980 was one of the worst days of my life as it was the day that my grandfather was killed in a car accident. I didn't know it at the time, but it was also the day that Joy Division would play their last gig (I became a fan later that decade).
That day also happened to be my 13th birthday.
@MichaelAguila
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Excellent video. Thanks
@dameonerichathway2298
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Bro. No.🙄
@mamamia6925
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
What is so important about that album?
@Sorina_S_1981
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Good job,sir! Oh,I wish you could contact Terry Mason and interview him! I mean a proper longer interview! He worked many years for them! Mr. Mason is a very kind man,a sweet gentleman!
@GiovanniPaolo
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Imagine what would have been if Ian had not taken his life? I think the song Ceremony shed some light on the musical path they were heading.
@cmdrcriton
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Love to see all these young people finding the music of my youth.
@stavrosp1154
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
I couldn't stand New Order when I first heard them. I think it was in 84? Me and my punk rock/death rock friends went to a lot of "under 21" clubs here in SoCal(Orange county and Hollywood), and when I first heard them, which would have to have been Blue Monday, I was like wait, Joy Division went disco? Haha, not disco in the pure sense, but in the fact that it was very upbeat and danceable. I had been a huge Joy Division fan (as well as Bauhaus and Siouxsie and the Banshees), and was not a big fan of what Joy Division had become. It wasn't until 1987 I think when I saw them live that changed everything for me. I still to this day listen to New Order. I remember my dad asking me when I was about 17(1984), why I listened to such depressing music when I was listening to Joy Division. My response was, "well, I don't know, maybe because I'm f'ing depressed?" I think that's why I rarely listen to Joy Division these days, sometimes it's not good to drudge up old feelings. LoL. Oh the nostalgia. Great video by the way. Even though I already knew all this stuff, it's always great watching and remembering when music was so f'ing great and their humble beginnings.
@av17bestchannelonyoutube66
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
LOVE JOY DIVISION 🎉🎉🎉
@ianmcelwee5678
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
I Hooky I watched him last week
@PartChimpVinyl
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Great video, a couple of nuances.
It’s Ducie Street, not Dulcie Street and it’s pronounced SOLford, not SALford
@VilifyBane
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
I can tell you really love what you do. Thank you for this.
@sglloyd100
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Johnny Marr was 12, hmm….
@dangermouse2235
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
NB. Regarding Hulme.The name is not pronounced Hulm but Hyoom.
@TheRealPodgy
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Please please do the place names the justice they deserve…..
@Wearenotreallyhere
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Johnny Marr definitely wasn’t at either Pistols gig, he’d have been about 12 and it’s Buzzcocks not THE Buzzcocks.
@chrisdorgan8802
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
My mate danced like Ian Curtis, even though he has no idea who Ian was or joy division ,makes me laugh when I think of it cos his face was so serious like he could really dance , back when we were young seems like only yesterday . Ecstasy had a lot to answer for 😂
@michaelmattes1951
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
So many incorrect facts I had to turn it off. ‘Wilson had them on his show before seeing them live’. Bernard grew up in council estate. at least two more I would have let go, but too many to continue watching.
@georgedalgleish6384
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Barny didn't grow up on a council estate, he was very much middle class. Good video.
@j4mm3d
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Me mum was in the holly
@lakmeister
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
This septic is a tool,the pistols were a attitude and energy….the music is fabulous and lyrics are 2nd to none!!! The Bollocks album is iconic and going nowhere….bodies is better than any other punk songs
Mr Men chester
@travism1974
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Great video! Glad I found your channel or it found me.
@Dave__f
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Not to downgrade anything, but the difference between new order and other bands who "go on" they actually changed their name but there is only natural progression progression it was still joy division with a new name which is rad cause they had so much respect for ian to admit it was not the same. Nice video peace. Im too young to experience joy division but seeing new order at an amusement park in 89 at 15 years old was a great show. Probably felt like they did seeing the pistols but i was experiencing the birth of rave which acted like a grateful dead concert.
@weirdplanet1082
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
The thing is the Sex Pistols could actually play & if you listen to their music you'll see how melodic they were.
@llewellynGS1
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
I’m not sure how that guy saw Led Zeppelin in July 76 since they didn’t do any shows in 76.
@davidlewis2055
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Joy division/ new order were nazi groups 30s through 40s they were big with the national front so sad but so was Clapton that's why Robert Cray cut with him .jail boris , jail farage , jail trump
@Jah_Rastafari_ORIG
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
They pronounce it "BER-nid"; also, his pseudonym is Albrecht, not Albright.
@seanpaulfarnan5742
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
When Peter Hook and the light did the back catalogue of Joy Division, they took it on the road, I was in Dallas for Unknown Pleasures, but back for Closer, it was so damn good. I met A couple outside wanting a ticket, I bought 2 by mistake and printed them off at home, I offered the young lady my spare, they though there was a catch??!! I said it was a mistake, I bought 2 and as it was for a music charity I said it is yours. She was gobsmacked, could not believe it and insisted they recompense me – I said fine, the gig was at FAC451 Peter Hooks club and as you walk down the stairs there is a big picture of Tony Wilson smiling down, I turned and said to the couple, a bottle of cider, we are quits. Job done, I did a nice thing and what a concert. I waited for 30 mins sat down by the side of the stage as I was so emotional – that is Manchester, we do things differently.
@seanpaulfarnan5742
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
You name many so called studio sessions – there was also Strawberry Studios in Stockport, okay New Order were more associated with them, I met an air hostess for British airways who worked there, she had read one of Peter Hook's books but I had one she did not have. So I gave it to her – yes she was very gorgeous and I had a lot of wine on the way to Dallas from Heathrow.
@itsthefarrahmonster
February 23, 2026 at 1:07 am
Great video! I tried to get into Joy Division for years throughout high school and they never really clicked for me, but then my mid/late 20s hit a few years ago and it was like a lightbulb went off and I suddenly understood everything, it was cool to learn more about their origins.
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