#BBCRadio6Music #IanCurtis #JoyDivision #SongStuckInOurHeads
38 years ago today, the world lost one of its most enigmatic & impassioned artists - Ian Curtis of Joy Division.
RIP
Albumism presents
Song Stuck In Our Heads
Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
* The song was written in August 1979, and debuted when the band supported Buzzcocks on their UK tour from September to November of that year. It is one of the few songs in which singer Ian Curtis played guitar (albeit somewhat minimally) on live versions.
* His lyrics ostensibly reflect the problems in his marriage to Deborah Curtis, as well as his general frame of mind in the time leading up to his suicide in May 1980.
* The title is an ironic reference to Neil Sedaka's "Love Will Keep Us Together". Following Curtis's suicide, Deborah had the phrase "Love Will Tear Us Apart" inscribed on Ian's memorial stone.
* "Love Will Tear Us Apart" appears on the Substance compilation album. It was first recorded for a John Peel session in November 1979, then re-recorded in January 1980 and March 1980. It is the latter version that appears on Substance. The January 1980 version, which has since become known as the "Pennine version", originally appeared as one of the single's B-sides.
* The song was originally recorded at Pennine Studios, Oldham on 8 January 1980 along with the B-side, "These Days". This version was similar to the version the band played live. Ian Curtis and Martin Hannett, however, disliked this version, which has since become known as the "Pennine version", and, as a consequence, the band reconvened at Strawberry Studios, Stockport in March to re-record it. Whilst Curtis, who generally did not play guitar at all, played guitar on the song live – the band taught him D major specifically – the guitar on the recording was a 12-string Eko guitar played by Sumner.
* While Joy Division were recording "Love Will Tear Us Apart", U2 were in the studio to see Martin Hannett about producing their first album, Boy. Lead singer Bono said of the encounter:
Talking to Ian Curtis is ... or was a strange experience because he's very warm ... he talked—it was like two people inside of him—he talked very light, and he talked very well-mannered, and very polite. But when he got behind the microphone he really surged forth; there was another energy. It seemed like he was just two people and, you know, "Love Will Tear Us Apart", it was like when that record was released ... it was like, as if, there were the personalities, separate; there they were, torn apart.
Bono has since often sung snippets of the song during live performances, often during extended versions of "With or Without You".
* "Love Will Tear Us Apart" has remained popular and was listed by NME as the best single of all time in 2002. In 2004, the song was listed by Rolling Stone magazine at number 179 in its list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
* In May 2007, NME placed it at number 19 in its list of the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever, one place ahead of another Joy Division song, "Transmission". The song is also listed as being one of the 5 best indie songs of all time in the "All Time Indie Top 50".
* In 2015, the online magazine Pitchfork listed "Love Will Tear Us Apart" as number 7 upon their "200 best songs of the 1980s" compilation.
