Joy Division formed in June 1976 following childhood friends Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook attending a now-legendary SexPistols gig in Manchester.Inspired by the raw energy of the performance, the pair decided to form a band, soon joined byvocalist Ian Curtis and drummer Stephen Morris.Initially performing under the name Warsaw, the group fused punk aggressionwith a darker, more introspective edge, led by Curtis’s hypnotic presence as frontman.In January 1978, they renamedthemselves Joy Division, borrowing the name from the sexual slavery wing of a Nazi concentration camp mentioned in the 1955novel House of Dolls.Joy Division disbanded in 1980 following Ian Curtis’s tragic suicide.Throughout their all-too-brief existence, both Stephen Morris and manager Rob Gretton recorded the band’s rehearsals,intended as a means of promotion and preservation.Captured between 1977 and 1980, these recordings offer an unfilteredglimpse into the band’s formative stages.The tapes are intimate portraits of a group honing their craft.They demonstrate theband working through both new ideas and now-familiar material characterised by Curtis’s commanding vocals, Sumner’s jaggedguitar work, Hook’s melodic basslines, and Morris’s crisp, driving rhythms.• Spanning the entirety of Joy Division’s lifespan, these rehearsal tapes are collated here on CD for the first time.• From the earliest 1977 sessions as Warsaw to rehearsals just weeks before Curtis’s death in 1980, this collection chartsthe band’s creative evolution and offers rare insight into the genesis of tracks that would go on to define a generation.• For collectors and fans alike, these early versions are not mere curiosities – they are vital artefacts that capture the rawintensity and enduring brilliance of Joy Division’s legacy.
