Unknown Pleasures

the long version

Godfathers of alternative rock, Joy Division reinvented music in the post-punk era, creating a new sound--dark, hypnotic, and intense--that would influence U2, Morrissey, R.E.M., Radiohead, and numerous others. The story is now legendary: in 1980, on the heels of their groundbreaking debut, Unknown Pleasures, and on the eve of their first U.S. tour, the band was rent asunder by the tragic death of their enigmatic lead singer, Ian Curtis. Yet in the mere three years they were together, Joy Division produced two landmark albums and a handful of singles--including the iconic anthem "Love Will Tear Us Apart"--that continue to have a powerful resonance. Now, for the first time, their story is told by one of their own. Founding member and bass player Peter Hook recounts how four young men from Manchester and Salisbury, with makeshift instruments and a broken-down van, rose from the punk scene to create a haunting, atmospheric music that would define a generation.--From publisher description.