Joy Division hits 'first heard by rats' as band played in 'awful' conditions
EXCLUSIVE: Joy Division guitarist Bernard Sumner has revealed how squalid the conditions were where the band first played their hits
They are one of the most iconic British bands of all time but the early music made by Joy Division took place in “awful” surroundings and hits like Transmission were first heard by rats.
In a new podcast charting the history of the band, the remaining members tell how they first began in freezing rehearsal spaces in Manchester barely fit for human use in 1977.
Guitarist Bernard Sumner, 64, said: “I can't remember exactly where it was but I can guarantee one thing – that our rehearsal space would have been awful.
“Either rat infested or full of rubbish, certainly no heating of any kind whatsoever, apart from a Joy Division electric fire that we all used to fight to sit on top of.
“Big cold draughty rehearsal space. I remember once we tried sweeping all the rubbish on the floor to one end of the rehearsal room, this place was probably 60 or 70 feet long, so we swept it all up and set fire to it just to keep warm.”
Drummer Stephen Morris also said rehearsals were far from plane sailing in the beginning when it came to setting up equipment to make new music.
He added: “I would sit behind my drum kit which I had just set up because I used to take it home every night. Then two amps, bing bong, trying to get two guitars tuned before guitar tuners were invented. There was only Bernard who could tune guitars and so if Bernard didn't turn up we were knackered. We could make music but it would sound less like music.”
The poor initial set up did not stop the band going on to be successful.
Along with bass player Peter 'Hooky' Hook and singer Ian Curtis the band soon became popular in Manchester in 1978 and by January 1979 were on the cover of NME and on their way to huge success, although much of this came after the death of singer Ian Curtis in May 1980.
Speaking on the Transmissions podcast, which will chart the history and success of Joy Division and New Order, bass player Peter Hook also reveals the moment he knew Joy Division could be big, when they rehearsed in front of other bands ahead of a Manchester pub gig.
He said: “The first time I realised we had something special musically, we were down to do a gig in the Mayflower, which was a right dump, in Manchester. We were doing it as a favour actually.
“We had just written Transmission and we learnt it and played it and finished it off and were very happy with it and we were desperate to play it.
“At the soundcheck there were about 12 bands on so there were a lot of people like 60 or 80 people and Ian said 'come on come on let's soundcheck Transmission. So we soundchecked it.
“I was watching the room and everybody stopped and turned round and stopped talking whilst we played Transmission for the first time in public.
“It was then I got a massive chill up my spine and thought 'oh my god we might actually have something big here'.”
Referring to what happened next, Hooky added: “It seemed really really intense. Everything you were doing was the first time, so it was really exciting and there was no complacency or boredom.
“It was like climbing a magical ladder and every step was really exciting.”
The band's debut album Unknown Pleasure regularly appears in polls of the top 100 albums of all time, whilst Love Will Tear Us Apart, released after Curtis' suicide has been voted the greatest single of all time by NME.
After the death of Curtis, the remaining members regrouped under the name New Order.
They remain successful to this day, blending post-punk with electronic and dance music influences.
*Episode one of Transmissions The Definitive Story podcast is available to listen to from October 29 via Spotify, Apple Music and the other usual podcast providers.
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