Unknown Pleasures
Occupation
- Ian Curtis - vocals,
- Bernard Sumner - guitar, synthesizer
- Peter Hook - bass guitar
- Stephen Morris - drums
Unknown Pleasures is the first studio album by British post-punk band Joy Division.
History
The recording of the album took place in early to mid- April 1979 held in Stockport. Unknown Pleasures was finally published on 14 June 1979 on Factory Records.
In the initial period after release of the album the album was still granted no excessive success in the charts. The first edition of 10,000 sound recordings sold poorly. It was not until the band 's second album Closer, the single Love Will Tear Us Apart, as well as the death of singer Ian Curtis in 1980 was known, it could penetrate a week in the UK album charts. In the British indie charts, it remained even 136 weeks.
Later there were numerous reprints on MC ( from 1984), CD ( from 1986). Published in 2007 a deluxe edition with a live recording from Manchester on 13 July 1979 as a bonus disc.
Cover
The cover shows an illustration of several PSR B1919 21 from radio pulses, the first discovered pulsar. They were taken from the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Astronomy; The idea stemmed from drummer Stephen Morris. Compared to the original, however, the colors were inverted; on the cover can be seen so white lines on a black background instead of black lines on a white background.
On the original LP there was no track list and also the record pages were not labeled " Side One" and "Side two", but only " inside" and "outside ".
Reception
The album is considered as his successor Closer, a milestone in the history of music that has influenced many other bands. Both Joy Division albums appear in Robert Dimery 's reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. In addition, Unknown Pleasures shows up on lists like the 100 Greatest Albums of the 1970s ( Pitchfork Media, 9th place) or the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever (Q- Magazine, No. 19 ).
To mark the rerelease In 2007, Unknown Pleasures, Closer, as well as, in Album Review at Pitchfork Media, the maximum score of 10.0 points. Also Allmusic gives the album a perfect score.