"Brian Eno once said of the Velvet Underground that their first album sold only 30,000 copies, but everyone who bought one started a band. Joy Division's debut Unknown Pleasures sold only 20,000 copies in its initial period of release, but the T‑shirt emblazoned with its cover art - an image of radio waves emanating from a pulsar taken from an astronomy encyclopedia - has long since constituted a commercial-semiotic empire unto itself."
"Less than a year after the 1979 release of Unknown Pleasures, Joy Division's lead singer Ian Curtis committed suicide. The band had already recorded Closer, their second and last album (at least before the subsequent, more successful reformation as New Order). Scant though it may be, their studio discography has only drawn more and more critical acclaim over the decades."
"Still, fans who weren't around to witness the rise of Joy Division first-hand will suspect they've missed out on something essential. 'Live, Joy Division were heavy,' remembers band historian Jon Savage. 'Performers - and David Bowie is a good example - know exactly what to give and what to withhold, but Ian Curtis didn't have that stagecraft. He just came on and gave everything.'"
Joy Division's debut Unknown Pleasures initially sold about 20,000 copies, while the Velvet Underground's first album sold 30,000 and inspired many bands. The Unknown Pleasures cover image of pulsar radio waves became a pervasive commercial and semiotic symbol, notably on T-shirts. Less than a year after Unknown Pleasures, lead singer Ian Curtis committed suicide; the band had already recorded Closer, their second and final album before the later reformation as New Order. The limited studio output has accrued increasing critical acclaim over decades. Live performances exhibited raw, uncompromising intensity, with Ian Curtis delivering everything without conventional stagecraft.
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