Joy Division is best known as one of the most revered post-punk bands of all time, as well as for hits like “Love Will Tear Us Apart”. Unfortunately, the band is also known for the sudden and untimely death of their frontman, Ian Curtis, at the age of 23.
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For a band so well-known for their dark, gloomy, and sadly relatable subject matter, it’s interesting that they went with the name “Joy Division”. Is there a deeper meaning there? Interestingly enough, there’s actually a whole story behind the name of this legendary rock band.
However, they didn’t come to choose their name easily. Joy Division had a hard time choosing a relevant monicker when they first formed back in 1976.
Guitarist Bernard Sumner once said that the original group was heavily inspired by seeing Sex Pistols perform live for the first time, and wanted their name to reflect a group that “destroyed the myth of being a pop star, of a musician being some kind of god that you had to worship.”
The band was already set to start performing, and the decision to name their band seemingly came last on the checklist.
Where Did Joy Division Get The Idea For Their Name?
The young band knew that they needed something eye-catching and attention-attracting. The band’s promoter, Richard Boon, suggested the pretty rough name of “Stiff Kittens”. Sure, it was memorable. It was a bit too morbid for the band’s taste.
Ahead of performing their very first live set in 1977, the band decided to go with “Warsaw”, based on a David Bowie Song. Curtis was, as most fans know, a huge Bowie fan.
Unfortunately, “Warsaw” clashed with another band based in Ladbroke Grove called “Warsaw Pakt”. To avoid confusion, “Warsaw” decided to go back to the drawing table and figure out a new band name.
By 1978, they found the name that would soon become legendary in post-punk English music circles: “Joy Division”. The name was based on morbid history, though it wasn’t as tacky as “Stiff Kittens”.
Joy Divison’s name came from a well-known prostitution wing of a number of concentration camps during World War II. The name was discovered in holocaust survivor Yehiel De-Nur’s book “House Of Dolls”. Obviously, there was a bit of controversy over the decision to name their band after something so dark.
However, Joy Division was a dark band. The name was fitting enough. When Ian Curtis died in 1980, the remaining band members stuck to a pact they made in the band’s early years: If just one member of the band walked out, they would stop using the Joy Division name. When Ian Curtis died, they retired Joy Division and formed New Order.
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