Joy Division's 'Closer' getting 40th anniversary vinyl reissue
Joy Division‘s debut album Unknown Pleasures got 40th anniversary vinyl reissue last year and they’re following suit this year with 1980’s Closer. The Closer 40th anniversary edition comes on clear vinyl, using a previous remaster of the audio.
They’re also reissuing three crucial non-album Joy Division singles — “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” “Transmission” and “Atmosphere” — on 12″ vinyl with reproductions of the original, Peter Saville-designed sleeves and pressed on clear vinyl. The “Transmission” 12″ comes with an embossed sleeve and the audio on three singles have all been newly remastered.
These reissues will be out July 17, which is one day shy of Closer‘s actual 40th anniversary. You can pre-order them individually or as a bundle.
Closer, which came out two months after the death of frontman Ian Curtis, feels forever intertwined with that tragic event, a more spare, distant, lonely album but also one that shows the growing confidence of Joy Division and producer Martin Hannett, with increased use of synthesizers and studio effects. A chilling masterpiece. Listen to Closer, and watch videos for “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” “Transmission” and “Atmosphere,” below.
In other news, May 18 marks the 40th anniversary of Ian Curtis’ death and the band’s Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris will take part in an online event, ‘Moving Through the Silence: Celebrating The Life and Legacy of Ian Curtis’ on 5/18 from 3-5 PM Eastern. It also features The Killers’ Brandon Flowers, Elbow, and more.
Closer tracklist:
Side A
1. Atrocity Exhibition
2. Isolation
3. Passover
4. Colony
5. A Means To An End
Side B
1. Heart And Soul
2. Twenty Four Hours
3. The Eternal
4. Decades
Transmission tracklist:
A. Transmission
B. Novelty
Love Will Tear Us Apart tracklist:
A. Love Will Tear Us Apart
B. These Days
Atmosphere tracklist:
A. Atmosphere
B. She’s Lost Control
