Closer (Joy Division album)

Closer is a July 1980 (see 1980 in music) album by Joy Division. It was their second album, after Unknown Pleasures, and their last before the band became New Order after the suicide of their singer Ian Curtis. The album was supposed to come out on 8 May of 1980, but ended up arriving in stars in July, only just after Curtis' suicide by hanging, shortly before the band was to leave for a North American tour. The album hit the Top Ten in the United Kingdom. The producer was Martin Hannett, and the record was originally released on the Factory Records label.

File:JoyDivisionCloseralbumcover.jpg

The album cover was designed by Martyn Atkins and Peter Saville, with photography from Bernard Pierre Wolf. The cemetery on the cover is Staglieno Cemetery in Genova, Italy.

Joy Division was partially inspired by the Gothic rock tradition, exemplified by bands like The Cure and Siouxsie & the Banshees. The song "Isolation", with its sunny pop-tune and angst-ridden, macabre lyrics, shows the relationship between Joy Division's hardcore punk origin, Gothic rock influences, as well as showing a rare synth pop influence in Joy Division's work.

Personnel

• Bernard Albrecht - Guitar, Keyboards
• Ian Curtis - Vocals
• Martin Hannett - Producer, Engineer
• Peter Hook - Bass guitar
• Stephen Morris - Drums
• Michael Johnson - Assistant Engineer
• Bernard Pierre Wolfe - Photography
• John Cafferty - Engineer

Track listing

1. Atrocity Exhibition
2. Isolation
3. Passover
4. Colony
5. A Means to an End
6. Heart and Soul
7. Twenty Four Hours
8. The Eternal
9. Decades

(The Track Listing is from the CD Release. This album was originally released on LP and cassette.)

External links

• for detailed release info

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Closer is also the name of a 2002 album by Better Than Ezra; see Closer (Better Than Ezra album).