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Joy Division + New Order: Decades
First, there was Joy Division. Their music reflected both the barren urban landscape of their native Manchester in the late 1970s and singer Ian Curtis’s heart of darkness. They remain forever defined by both the suicide of their extraordinary and extraordinarily volatile singer and two albums as close to perfection as music can come. From the ashes of Joy Division came New Order - their globally popular music bridged the chasm between indie and dance and inspired a generation. Having conquered the world and maintained their credibility, they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and imploded in a tsunami of recrimination, while still making fabulous music. It’s a tale of death, destroyed friendships and bungled finances, but the story of Joy Division and New Order is also the saga of two bands who made extraordinary music which defined their times and overturned the musical landscape.
- GenresMusic
240 pages, Hardcover
Published November 16, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 23, 2021
Many fans of the erstwhile Warsaw will pick this up and dismiss it as far too pictorial to contain anything like the full narrative. Well, for me, a person who played their double cassette of Substance to death, this was perfectly fine – meaning that yes, there will be people who played their five-CD, longbox version of Retro to death and will think this too slight. To me all that the narrative missed was the audience – the outsider's appreciation; one chapter the band have a crowd of one person, the next a four-hundred head venue is 50% over capacity, and there's no look at things from their point of view. Clearly the audience would have been there, otherwise they would never have been making record after record, non-album single after non-album single, and so on, but it would have been nice to get their take on things.
As it is the story comes across very concisely, with a lot that will perhaps be new, at least to several eager readers. I don't think it's that common knowledge that one of the band was talked to in relation to a serial killer case. And what do you mean you didn't know what Tony Wilson's parents did for a job?! That last does bring me on to the fact that some of the minutiae are not fully relevant – so many places, from the estates they were born in to recording studios of old, and every magazine where relevant gets the date they were bulldozed or were last in print, as if NO must be congratulated for outliving them.
But on the whole the book is judged finely – and yes, those wonderful pictures do add a lightness and quickness to the pace of the page-turning. I think this succeeds at what it wants to do, which is be accessible, while toning down the side and bias regarding certain people and events. The calamitous rock band story can be told in many different ways, and I would always read a hundred pages about Fleetwood Mac shagging around as opposed to six hundred; in a world where both possibilities are on the market I don't think we need worry about this being too pusillanimous or slender a telling. A strong four stars.
As it is the story comes across very concisely, with a lot that will perhaps be new, at least to several eager readers. I don't think it's that common knowledge that one of the band was talked to in relation to a serial killer case. And what do you mean you didn't know what Tony Wilson's parents did for a job?! That last does bring me on to the fact that some of the minutiae are not fully relevant – so many places, from the estates they were born in to recording studios of old, and every magazine where relevant gets the date they were bulldozed or were last in print, as if NO must be congratulated for outliving them.
But on the whole the book is judged finely – and yes, those wonderful pictures do add a lightness and quickness to the pace of the page-turning. I think this succeeds at what it wants to do, which is be accessible, while toning down the side and bias regarding certain people and events. The calamitous rock band story can be told in many different ways, and I would always read a hundred pages about Fleetwood Mac shagging around as opposed to six hundred; in a world where both possibilities are on the market I don't think we need worry about this being too pusillanimous or slender a telling. A strong four stars.
January 19, 2024
The history of Joy Division & New Order is fraught with poor decisions, acrimony, and just a few genuinely good times. They also happened to produce generation defining music across a wide sonic spectrum. Both bands have been mainstays in my musical life, and I was excited to pick up a copy of Joy Division + New Order: Decades. The author is a music journalist, and that style of writing is the foundation for the book, which takes a chronological approach with the bands' albums taking center stage.
If you're familiar with Manchester, and in particular Salford c.a. the 1960's, it's easy to imagine how Joy Division's brooding aggression came to be. Unsurprisingly, I found myself halfway through by the time New Order's first "proper" album, Power, Corruption & Lies, was released. There's just so much to tell about the early years, in particular the time surrounding the death of Ian Curtis. It's amazing and a blessing to any music fan that Bernard, Hooky & Stephen carried on, though far from calmly.
The latest 40 years of the bandmates travails were recounted in the same amount of space as the first 10. This is telling. Bernard and Hooky went from frienemies to straight up enemies. Stephen & Gillian being a couple with kids, and Gillian dealing with illness resulted in significant time away from the band. The unraveling of the bandmates' relationships perfectly tracks along with the fact that they produced less and less interesting music as time wore on. I'll take my own stand on Technique (1989) being the last interesting full length New Order ever released. Sure there are great tracks after that, but they unfortunately proved the exception to the rule.
It's for this reason I also lost some steam reading the last half of the book. I felt the author produced a very well detailed, fair treatment of that era. The band and what they got up to in the 1990s onward were just less compelling. All told, Joy Division + New Order: Decades is a very well crafted band bio. The slick presentation and incredible photography alone are worth the price of admission. This book definitely has a place in any fan's library!
P.S. - I would also recommend any of the related books written by Peter Hook. He has one each about Joy Division, New Order, and the Hacienda. He is a hilariously engaging storyteller. A word of warning though: he has an array of axes to grind and must be taken with some grains of salt. I've yet to read any of the books by the other bandmates, though may visit their work later.
If you're familiar with Manchester, and in particular Salford c.a. the 1960's, it's easy to imagine how Joy Division's brooding aggression came to be. Unsurprisingly, I found myself halfway through by the time New Order's first "proper" album, Power, Corruption & Lies, was released. There's just so much to tell about the early years, in particular the time surrounding the death of Ian Curtis. It's amazing and a blessing to any music fan that Bernard, Hooky & Stephen carried on, though far from calmly.
The latest 40 years of the bandmates travails were recounted in the same amount of space as the first 10. This is telling. Bernard and Hooky went from frienemies to straight up enemies. Stephen & Gillian being a couple with kids, and Gillian dealing with illness resulted in significant time away from the band. The unraveling of the bandmates' relationships perfectly tracks along with the fact that they produced less and less interesting music as time wore on. I'll take my own stand on Technique (1989) being the last interesting full length New Order ever released. Sure there are great tracks after that, but they unfortunately proved the exception to the rule.
It's for this reason I also lost some steam reading the last half of the book. I felt the author produced a very well detailed, fair treatment of that era. The band and what they got up to in the 1990s onward were just less compelling. All told, Joy Division + New Order: Decades is a very well crafted band bio. The slick presentation and incredible photography alone are worth the price of admission. This book definitely has a place in any fan's library!
P.S. - I would also recommend any of the related books written by Peter Hook. He has one each about Joy Division, New Order, and the Hacienda. He is a hilariously engaging storyteller. A word of warning though: he has an array of axes to grind and must be taken with some grains of salt. I've yet to read any of the books by the other bandmates, though may visit their work later.
December 28, 2021
Loved this look back at two amazing bands - tons of photographs; the information presented in shortish chapters that cut out the extraneous and highlight the important bits; the whole thing just thoroughly engrossing.
September 15, 2021
Full disclosure - I don’t really like Joy Division or New Order, but if ever a book was going to make me like them, then “Decades” by John Aizlewood would be the closest thing to it.
Forever the darlings of the music critics, there has always been a sense that both groups are bulletproof and beyond true criticism. Like Berlin-era Bowie, Morrissey and The Smiths, someone has decided that THEY ARE IMPORTANT, and we need to keep talking about them, even when they’re being rubbish. Luckily, John Aizlewood is very good at talking about Joy Division and New Order. This book is for both hardcore fans and those whose knowledge extends only to knowing that Joy Division did “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and New Order did that surprisingly good World Cup song.
As author John Aizlewood maintains in his history of the two bands, Ian Curtis “meant it”. Indeed, I think this is a crucial factor in their lasting importance. Dying young, ostensibly on the cusp of greatness, his legend remains preserved in aspic because he didn’t live long enough to become rubbish. Aizlewood writes vividly and economically on the early years of the band members and offers insightful analyses on each album and single; this is a real fan speaking. Lucid “sleeve notes” sidebars accompany the dissection of each album.
Emerging from the “dirty old town” of postwar Manchester, a deprived yet indomitable city, grammar school boys Bernard Dicken (later Albrecht then Sumner) and Peter “Hooky” Woodhead bonded at school (sort of) over a shared love of music and misbehaviour. On meeting the intense and married Ian Curtis, the band Warsaw was formed, to some acclaim, with Stephen Morris eventually warming the drum stool. As Aizlewood memorably puts it, only death would change the lineup. After a necessary name-change, Joy Division were born, honing their dystopian music as a reaction to the post-industrial surroundings of Manchester. Aizlewood writes unsensationally on the suicide of Ian Curtis, quoting music press obits of the time, one of which claimed Ian’s death “froze” Joy Division in an eternal moment of almost making it. To do that, they would have to reinvent themselves as New Order, recruiting Stephen Morris’ girlfriend, Gillian Gilbert, on keyboards.
All of that band’s hits & misses, highs & lows, splits & reunions, solo projects of varying quality and nightclub-owning shenanigans are examined by Aizlewood as New Order initially struggle to exorcise the ghosts of Ian Curtis and Joy Division. The biggest-selling 12” record (remember them?) of all time, “Blue Monday”, would change all that. New Order’s latter years are a litany of strained inter-band relationships, financial mismanagement and Hooky’s alcoholism; painful to read but sadly essential when discussing this particular band’s history.
Saturated with cultural references from one of the greatest ever music eras and fully illustrated with photographs, (complete with irreverent captions), “Decades” is erudite but also incredibly funny; John Aizlewood eschews the usual pretentiousness that Joy Division engender in favour of a writing style which borders on satire. But his admiration for the music comes through strongly. The result is as good a history of Joy Division and New Order (including all the awkward things associated with them) that we could ever hope for. “Decades” is an outstanding, coffee-table-friendly history of two of the most interesting bands ever to come out of Britain.
Forever the darlings of the music critics, there has always been a sense that both groups are bulletproof and beyond true criticism. Like Berlin-era Bowie, Morrissey and The Smiths, someone has decided that THEY ARE IMPORTANT, and we need to keep talking about them, even when they’re being rubbish. Luckily, John Aizlewood is very good at talking about Joy Division and New Order. This book is for both hardcore fans and those whose knowledge extends only to knowing that Joy Division did “Love Will Tear Us Apart” and New Order did that surprisingly good World Cup song.
As author John Aizlewood maintains in his history of the two bands, Ian Curtis “meant it”. Indeed, I think this is a crucial factor in their lasting importance. Dying young, ostensibly on the cusp of greatness, his legend remains preserved in aspic because he didn’t live long enough to become rubbish. Aizlewood writes vividly and economically on the early years of the band members and offers insightful analyses on each album and single; this is a real fan speaking. Lucid “sleeve notes” sidebars accompany the dissection of each album.
Emerging from the “dirty old town” of postwar Manchester, a deprived yet indomitable city, grammar school boys Bernard Dicken (later Albrecht then Sumner) and Peter “Hooky” Woodhead bonded at school (sort of) over a shared love of music and misbehaviour. On meeting the intense and married Ian Curtis, the band Warsaw was formed, to some acclaim, with Stephen Morris eventually warming the drum stool. As Aizlewood memorably puts it, only death would change the lineup. After a necessary name-change, Joy Division were born, honing their dystopian music as a reaction to the post-industrial surroundings of Manchester. Aizlewood writes unsensationally on the suicide of Ian Curtis, quoting music press obits of the time, one of which claimed Ian’s death “froze” Joy Division in an eternal moment of almost making it. To do that, they would have to reinvent themselves as New Order, recruiting Stephen Morris’ girlfriend, Gillian Gilbert, on keyboards.
All of that band’s hits & misses, highs & lows, splits & reunions, solo projects of varying quality and nightclub-owning shenanigans are examined by Aizlewood as New Order initially struggle to exorcise the ghosts of Ian Curtis and Joy Division. The biggest-selling 12” record (remember them?) of all time, “Blue Monday”, would change all that. New Order’s latter years are a litany of strained inter-band relationships, financial mismanagement and Hooky’s alcoholism; painful to read but sadly essential when discussing this particular band’s history.
Saturated with cultural references from one of the greatest ever music eras and fully illustrated with photographs, (complete with irreverent captions), “Decades” is erudite but also incredibly funny; John Aizlewood eschews the usual pretentiousness that Joy Division engender in favour of a writing style which borders on satire. But his admiration for the music comes through strongly. The result is as good a history of Joy Division and New Order (including all the awkward things associated with them) that we could ever hope for. “Decades” is an outstanding, coffee-table-friendly history of two of the most interesting bands ever to come out of Britain.
November 27, 2021
Joy Division + New Order: Decades
John Aizlewood
Published November 15th, 2021
Palazzo Editions
Manchester in the late 1970’s: Bleak, cold, post-industrial, a moonscape. From this barren landscape emerges the punk band Warsaw, which was composed of four local chaps: Ian Curtis, Peter Hook (Hooky), Bernard (Albrecht) Sumner, and Tony Tabac (1977). Aizlewood’s book is a comprehensive look at the band’s development, the harshness and demands of the music business, and the relationships that influenced, manipulated, and eventually, destroyed the band.
Seems there was another band called the Warsaw Pact and so they decided to change their name so people wouldn’t get the bands confused. They decided on Joy Division, the name taken from the sex slave wing of the Nazi concentration camps and mentioned in the book, House of Dolls (1955). Aizlewood writes about the slighted detail so the reader can feel the grime on the streets and the coldness in the air. In 1979, Joy Division wrote She’s Lost Control, which John Peel showcased on his national radio show and soon, the band was getting some recognition.
After their lead singer Ian Curtis committed suicide, the band broke free from the Joy Division’s raw, punk sound. They added synthesizers to the mix and started creating electric dance music in the modified band, New Order. The band’s name was snatched from “…a Guardian headline about the Khmer Rouge, ‘The People’s New Order of Kampuchea.’” Perhaps the addition of Gillian Gilbert on keyboards brought some luck because they were soon touring in the USA and became a worldwide sensation.
The book delves into how the band eventually fell apart. A loss to all of us fans.
I recommend Decades and give it 4 stars.
My honest review from an ARC made available by the @Palazzo Editions via @NetGalley. Thank you.
John Aizlewood
Published November 15th, 2021
Palazzo Editions
Manchester in the late 1970’s: Bleak, cold, post-industrial, a moonscape. From this barren landscape emerges the punk band Warsaw, which was composed of four local chaps: Ian Curtis, Peter Hook (Hooky), Bernard (Albrecht) Sumner, and Tony Tabac (1977). Aizlewood’s book is a comprehensive look at the band’s development, the harshness and demands of the music business, and the relationships that influenced, manipulated, and eventually, destroyed the band.
Seems there was another band called the Warsaw Pact and so they decided to change their name so people wouldn’t get the bands confused. They decided on Joy Division, the name taken from the sex slave wing of the Nazi concentration camps and mentioned in the book, House of Dolls (1955). Aizlewood writes about the slighted detail so the reader can feel the grime on the streets and the coldness in the air. In 1979, Joy Division wrote She’s Lost Control, which John Peel showcased on his national radio show and soon, the band was getting some recognition.
After their lead singer Ian Curtis committed suicide, the band broke free from the Joy Division’s raw, punk sound. They added synthesizers to the mix and started creating electric dance music in the modified band, New Order. The band’s name was snatched from “…a Guardian headline about the Khmer Rouge, ‘The People’s New Order of Kampuchea.’” Perhaps the addition of Gillian Gilbert on keyboards brought some luck because they were soon touring in the USA and became a worldwide sensation.
The book delves into how the band eventually fell apart. A loss to all of us fans.
I recommend Decades and give it 4 stars.
My honest review from an ARC made available by the @Palazzo Editions via @NetGalley. Thank you.
October 11, 2021
Joy Division + New Order: Decades by John Aizlewood is an excellent look at the story of these bands/this band.
I liked Joy Division the first time I heard them but I do remember being unable to put my finger on exactly why. Like so many US listeners, I first heard them either just before or just after Ian Curtis' death, I can't remember which. By the time New Order began getting US airplay I knew all of Joy Division's songs pretty well. I won't say I was disappointed at first with New Order but it did take a while to separate them from Joy Division in my mind, after which I could appreciate them for what they were.
It was painful reading the first part of the book, if you know what is going to happen to Curtis you can't help but feel like you want to intervene. Not to mention it showed in detail what always seemed the case from the distance of fanhood, Peter Hook was a completely self-absorbed misogynist sphincter. A talented one but totally classless nonetheless. There, I feel better now.
While this is essential for any fan, casual or otherwise, I also think this would be a fascinating read for anyone interested in the music scene of the period. Whether the Manchester scene, the UK scene in general, or, particularly with New Order, the worldwide scene. Coupled with excellent photographs and excellent writing, this will be a pleasant addition for any such reader.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
I liked Joy Division the first time I heard them but I do remember being unable to put my finger on exactly why. Like so many US listeners, I first heard them either just before or just after Ian Curtis' death, I can't remember which. By the time New Order began getting US airplay I knew all of Joy Division's songs pretty well. I won't say I was disappointed at first with New Order but it did take a while to separate them from Joy Division in my mind, after which I could appreciate them for what they were.
It was painful reading the first part of the book, if you know what is going to happen to Curtis you can't help but feel like you want to intervene. Not to mention it showed in detail what always seemed the case from the distance of fanhood, Peter Hook was a completely self-absorbed misogynist sphincter. A talented one but totally classless nonetheless. There, I feel better now.
While this is essential for any fan, casual or otherwise, I also think this would be a fascinating read for anyone interested in the music scene of the period. Whether the Manchester scene, the UK scene in general, or, particularly with New Order, the worldwide scene. Coupled with excellent photographs and excellent writing, this will be a pleasant addition for any such reader.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
January 21, 2023
Much like A Perfect Dream did for The Cure, Decades explores the unlikely double success, tragedy, and eventual falling out of New Order's key players.
Also like Dream, Decades balances prose and photographs with expertise. The stories are truly enlightening.
The early lives of Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook read like the script to a lost season of Shane Meadows' This Is England (This Is England '56?)
Later on, band shenanigans take up most of the text, along with insight into their creative process. What happens when New Order are fed endless lager before a festival slot?
Or when they spent £700,000 and went through nine producers making their 2005 album Waiting For The Sirens' Call? You'll have to read for those excerpts. 😜
Ultimately, Ian Curtis is the great spectre casting a pallor over the entire story. His death at age 23 was something that New Order were never entirely able to shake, even as they moved in exciting and innovative new directions.
In this sense, New Order are almost like Pink Floyd trying to move on from the downward spiral of their enigmatic leader Syd Barrett. And much like Floyd, their guitarist and bassist fell out in spectacular fashion.
Decades doesn't get hung up on the drama, but it does address it properly without sweeping it under the rug. It is to Aizlewood's credit as a writer that he is able to walk this thin line. Highly recommended.
Also like Dream, Decades balances prose and photographs with expertise. The stories are truly enlightening.
The early lives of Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook read like the script to a lost season of Shane Meadows' This Is England (This Is England '56?)
Later on, band shenanigans take up most of the text, along with insight into their creative process. What happens when New Order are fed endless lager before a festival slot?
Or when they spent £700,000 and went through nine producers making their 2005 album Waiting For The Sirens' Call? You'll have to read for those excerpts. 😜
Ultimately, Ian Curtis is the great spectre casting a pallor over the entire story. His death at age 23 was something that New Order were never entirely able to shake, even as they moved in exciting and innovative new directions.
In this sense, New Order are almost like Pink Floyd trying to move on from the downward spiral of their enigmatic leader Syd Barrett. And much like Floyd, their guitarist and bassist fell out in spectacular fashion.
Decades doesn't get hung up on the drama, but it does address it properly without sweeping it under the rug. It is to Aizlewood's credit as a writer that he is able to walk this thin line. Highly recommended.
February 5, 2022
The weird thing with a coffee table book is sometimes you don't want a great deal of text. What it really should be is a delivery system for lots of art with a little bit of supporting text. Anything beyond that is really gilding the lily.
That's where this book excels. There are anecdotes and some discussion of each album etc. The photographs, the layout, the design etc all absolutely nail it.
There's not going to be a great deal that's surprising for any hardcore fans and this era is pretty extensively covered already. There's a Legion - like Deborah Curtis' Touching from a Distance, Tony Wilson's 24 Hour Party People or even Peter Hook's own Unknown Pleasures and Substance. There's dozens more, too, that I'll probably never get around to.
That's not the point though. As a coffee table this is perfect, really. Unlikely to blow your mind but definitely fulfils the brief.
That's where this book excels. There are anecdotes and some discussion of each album etc. The photographs, the layout, the design etc all absolutely nail it.
There's not going to be a great deal that's surprising for any hardcore fans and this era is pretty extensively covered already. There's a Legion - like Deborah Curtis' Touching from a Distance, Tony Wilson's 24 Hour Party People or even Peter Hook's own Unknown Pleasures and Substance. There's dozens more, too, that I'll probably never get around to.
That's not the point though. As a coffee table this is perfect, really. Unlikely to blow your mind but definitely fulfils the brief.
October 10, 2021
Even if I was a goth in the 80s I wasn't a huge fan of Joy Division (even if Decades is in my top ten of fav songs) and didn't like New Order. I started to listen to them later in my life and appreciating their sounds.
This is an interesting biography that analyses the band, their story and talks about some aspects that are not so well known or remembered.
I appreciated the style of writing and how the author deals with a sort of "untouchable and seminal" band.
Well researched and well written, it's was also a lot of fun to read.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
This is an interesting biography that analyses the band, their story and talks about some aspects that are not so well known or remembered.
I appreciated the style of writing and how the author deals with a sort of "untouchable and seminal" band.
Well researched and well written, it's was also a lot of fun to read.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
January 12, 2022
Definitely not a book that can be read on a standard kindle!
Absolutely packed with pictures and information both known and the unknown of these bands.
Reading it digitally is ok but this is a book that is meant to be read, real book in hand!
This is a must for fans of not only these bands but of music in general.
I will be buying this book when it is released for my stepdad as I just know he will absolutely love it as he has always had a passion for music and this is his era!
Absolutely packed with pictures and information both known and the unknown of these bands.
Reading it digitally is ok but this is a book that is meant to be read, real book in hand!
This is a must for fans of not only these bands but of music in general.
I will be buying this book when it is released for my stepdad as I just know he will absolutely love it as he has always had a passion for music and this is his era!
January 3, 2023
Yes, if like me you are a Joy Division/New Order fan, then you will have all the other books/biographies about the bands but don't let that put you off buying this. It is a more than nice addition to your collection. Granted it probably isn't going to attract new fans however it will definitely appeal to those who love them.
January 27, 2024
gorgeous and informative, great companion to all the new order and joy division books written by the members.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews