Joy Division: Last News

Peter Hook has said there should be a permanent memorial to Ian Curtis in Manchester following the removal of a mural to the late Joy Division musician.Earlier this week, a advertisement for Manchester rapper Aitch was placed over a much loved mural of Curtis in the city’s Northern Quarter. Aitch said he would “fix” the issue saying he had no idea that the advertisement was being placed over the mural.The mural, based on a photo of Curtis taken by Philippe Carly, was painted by Manchester street artist Akse P19.

There was outrage in Manchester yesterday when a popular mural of late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis was painted over with an advert for the debut album by fellow local musician Aitch.Unveiled in 2020, the painting of Curtis on Port Street in the city centre by artist Akse P19 was originally created to mark the start of the Manchester music and mental wellbeing festival Headstock that year. As well as paying tribute to Curtis, it also promoted mental health support service Shout and has subsequently become a popular landmark.So there was anger yesterday as a picture circulated on social media showing that the mural was being replaced by an advert for Aitch, apparently commissioned by Amazon Music.“Absolutely gutted to see our Ian Curtis mural painted over”, said Headstock on Twitter.

Rapper Aitch has said he had no idea the iconic Ian Curtis mural in the Northern Quarter would be painted over with his album artwork.

Aitch has promised that he and his team are attempting to make things right after a mural of late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis, which had been a fan-favourite landmark in his hometown of Manchester, was painted over with an advertisement for Aitch’s forthcoming debut album.Late on Tuesday (August 16), the rapper retweeted an image of the mural – located on Port Street in Manchester’s Northern Quarter – being painted over, saying he had been previously unaware of his album ad being put there. “I don’t just choose locations for billboards, this is the first time I’ve seen it myself.

Mancunians have been left outraged after the iconic Northern Quarter mural of musician Ian Curtis was painted over on Tuesday (August 16). The wall painting, on Port Street in the city centre, depicted a black and white portrait painting of the Stretford Joy Division frontman and was first unveiled back in 2020.

Peter Hook and the Manchester Camerata have announced two ‘The Sound Of Joy Division Orchestrated’ UK concerts in the autumn.Hook collaborated with the chamber orchestra back in 2019 for a trio of gigs, including a show at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which saw the musicians “revisit the post punk elements that shaped Joy Division’s ground-breaking sound, aligned with a full orchestra to reflect and respect the spirt which defines their heritage”.‘The Sound Of Joy Division Orchestrated’ will return with shows at the O2 Apollo Manchester on October 14 and London Palladium the following night (October 15).Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased here.“Covid has given these events strange timings, but after touring and playing Joy Division normally shall we say, I am looking forward to this new working more than ever. It takes JD’s music to a whole different place, emotionally and aurally.

Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess and Joy Division star Peter Hook have led the tributes to Happy Mondays star Paul Ryder after his death aged 58.The Salford-raised bass player and Happy Mondays founding member died on Friday morning, a statement from the band confirmed.Breaking the news on their official Facebook page, the band wrote: ‘The Ryder family and Happy Mondays band members are deeply saddened and shocked to say that Paul Ryder passed away this morning.‘A true pioneer and legend. He will be forever missed.

Half way through a blistering set by The Killers at the packed Emirates Old Trafford it abruptly stopped. Vocalist Brandon Flowers was anxious that someone had fallen in the bobbing sea of bodies in front of him at the eagerly anticipated show.

Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis yesterday (May 18), two of his surviving bandmates – Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris of New Order – appeared in Parliament to discuss mental health and suicide prevention.Curtis took his own life in May 1980 after battling depression and epilepsy in his final years. In an event that was originally due to take place in 2020 to mark 40 years since his passing, but was delayed due to the COVID pandemic, a special talk and panel titled Suicide Prevention: Breaking The Silence took place in the Speaker’s House in Parliament.NME were invited along to the event hosted by Kerry McCarthy MP that was chaired by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham.

An original passport picture of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis is thought to have been the last picture taken before his death.

Joy Division, Sex Pistols, New Order and more bands integral to the city’s musical history, the BPA promises to “celebrate and preserve British popular music and other aspects of popular culture, recognising its pivotal influence on the world stage.”The BPA’s first exhibit will come in the form of ‘Collection’, launching on May 19. A statement describes it as “a distinctively Manchester-flavoured exhibition, underlining why the city is the perfect home for the British Pop Archive.

Peter Hook helped unveil a new mural of Joy Division bandmate Ian Curtis in Macclesfield town centre this afternoon (March 26).The bassist and co-founder of New Order cut the ribbon alongside Akse, the Manchester-based street artist who painted the mural, telling those in attendance: “I am actually very honoured to be here, and to do this, because to me it’s about time Ian came home.”The mural, funded by Cheshire East Council, is based on an original photograph taken by Kevin Cummins at The Factory/Russell Club in Hulme, Manchester on 13 July 1979. It adorns a building on Mill Street opposite Macclesfield bus station.Ahead of the unveiling, Curtis said earlier in the week: “I’m watching all the people going down the street and every single one of them is drawn to it.“Some young kids walking down had no idea who he was but now they do. Hopefully they’ll listen to the music and get the gist of what we were trying to do as kids.”Some of Akse’s other recent works include murals of the late British army officer and fundraiser Captain Tom Moore and Manchester United footballer Marcus Rashford.He said it was an honour to paint the portrait of Curtis and hoped local people were excited about it.“Although I’ve been working on murals most of my life, it’s still always an incredible feeling to get to the end of the journey – well the end of my journey at least,” Akse said.

Peaky Blinders director Anthony Byrne has revealed that Radiohead‘s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood have contributed some new and original music to the upcoming sixth and final season of the show.The Birmingham period crime-noir drama will premiere its final season this weekend (Sunday February 27), and, as usual, fans are eager to hear what music will feature in the show.Alongside Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds‘ theme tune of ‘Red Right Hand’, the show has famously featured music by the likes of Arctic Monkeys, David Bowie, PJ Harvey, Iggy Pop, Royal Blood, Laura Marling, IDLES, Savages and Foals – as well as an original score by Anna Calvi on the last season.With Radiohead’s music having previously featured in key scenes, it has now been revealed that bandmates Yorke and Greenwood have penned new pieces for the upcoming series.“Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood contributed some original stuff,” director Anthony Bryne told NME. “I’m over the moon about all of that.

Peter Hook has discussed the Joy Division biopic Control in an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit, calling it “TOO accurate”.The film was directed by Anton Corbijn, who worked closely with the band as a photographer, and was released in 2007.A fan on the Joy Division subreddit asked Hook what he thought about the movie and whether he thought it gave an accurate portrayal of his former band. “To be honest it was TOO accurate!” the bassist replied.“I recognised my ex-bandmates very well in the film. Anton knew us very well and schooled the actors religiously to capture all of our little quirks.

Peter Hook, the ‘100% Venues’ database aims to address the “outdated and unfair” practice of performance spaces charging acts a commission to sell their merch at gigs.“When fans buy merchandise from artists that they love, they want and expect that their money will go to supporting that artist,” the FAC explained, adding that the relationship between acts and venues is “essential and inseparable”.It states that the sale of official merch is “one of the key revenue sources” for musicians, and has launched the new directory “to ensure the current system is made fairer for touring artists”.Venue bosses can sign up by completing a one-minute form, with the FAC also encouraging acts to share the spreadsheet with their fanbase and the wider music community. You can find more information here.“Using a collective voice will be the way to promote change which will subsequently support live artists in the future,” the FAC wrote.

The Charlatans’ Tim Burgess and former New Order member Peter Hook have spoken out about venues that take an unfair cut of merch sales, with Burgess saying “​​the whole system needs addressing”.On Thursday (December 9), Burgess took to Twitter to pay “big respect to those venues that don’t take a percentage of a band’s merch sales”.“This isn’t about The Charlatans,” he explained. “It’s about those bands who need merch income to survive.

Joy Division‘s ‘Unknown Pleasures’ has been turned into a climate mural to raise funds for Music Declares Emergency’s No Music On A Dead Planet.The sleeve was originally based on an image of radio waves from pulsar CP 1919, but it now shows the waves as flat and lifeless to “symbolise the eternal silence of a dead planet”.The work in Withington, in Manchester is part of a wider campaign calling for “urgent action on climate” ahead of the COP26 UN Climate Conference in Glasgow.It is close to a mural of Saville himself and footballer Marcus Rashford.It comes after MDE launched a t-shirt campaign earlier this year with the logo.

Madonna is spending lockdown socially distanced from her clothes, if her latest Instagram post is anything to go by.

Julian Casablancas is set to curate a radio station for the forthcoming Grand Theft Auto Online game, The Cayo Perico Heist.The Strokes frontman will feature as part of an update due to drop on December 15, which will bring the game’s classic car-jacking mischief to a lavish island.The station – K.U.L.T.

Johnny Marr has praised New Order‘s synth player Gillian Gilbert, and said the appointment of a female musician was a monumental if not “overlooked” part of the band’s history.The former The Smiths guitarist, who last released a solo album in 2017, ‘Call The Comet‘, said that Gilbert was role model for young people – particularly girls – in the early ’80s when the Manchester band had formed from the ashes of Joy Division.Speaking on New Order’s new Transmissions podcast, Marr said people may wonder why having Gilbert in the band was such a big deal, but he highlighted that “this was 30 odd years ago” when there were far fewer female musicians in world famous bands.“She was very enigmatic,” Marr said of Gilbert.

Damon Albarn has spoken of his love for Joy Division during a guest appearance on the new Joy Division and New Order podcast Transmissions: The Definitive Story.Launched late last month, the official podcast is an eight-part series which includes interviews with members of the two bands and a number of special guests, such as Bono, Johnny Marr, Liam Gallagher and Radiohead‘s Jonny Greenwood.Albarn is another one of the guests who features on the Transmissions podcast, during which he spoke about his enduring admiration for Joy Division.“It’s the sum of the parts as well as the atmosphere that they create, you know? It shouldn’t work but it does,” he said of the band.“There’s nothing like it, no one else sounds like Joy Division.