History YMMV / JoyDivision

** Joy Division has a strong cult following in Oceania. In UsefulNotes/NewZealand, when Ian Curtis died, a fan had painted a tribute to him [[http://i.imgur.com/duyIUBs.jpg on a wall]] in UsefulNotes/{{Wellington}}, which still remains today, although it had been relocated and re-painted a few times. Chart wise, the band's first album reached number 1 there (in comparison, it peaked at 5 in the uk) as well as two number 1 singles. The band is also popular in UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}, topping the Creator/TripleJ ''Hottest 100'' list in 1989 and 1990, when it was an all-time poll instead of focusing on music released that year.

** Most of Ian's lyrics are ominous but "In a Lonely Place" stand out. It never actually came out in Ian's lifetime, but New Order re-recorded it as a BSide. The verse that stands out "Hangman looks round as he waits / Cord stretches tight and it breaks / One day we will die in your dreams / How I wish you were here with me now" Yikes.

** Joy Division has a strong cult following in UsefulNotes/NewZealand. When Ian Curtis died, a fan had painted a tribute to him [[http://i.imgur.com/duyIUBs.jpg on a wall]] in UsefulNotes/{{Wellington}}, which still remains today, although it had been relocated and re-painted a few times. Chart wise, the band's first album reached number 1 there (in comparison, it peaked at 5 in the uk) as well as two number 1 singles. The band is also popular in UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}, topping the Creator/TripleJ ''Hottest 100'' list in 1989 and 1990, when it was an all-time poll instead of focusing on music released that year.

* FandomVIP: Music/GeorgeMichael, of all people, was a fan of the band, and ''Music/{{Closer}}'' in particular, praising the album in interviews. Music/KurtCobain was also a fan, and his life and Ian Curtis' had a lot of dark parallels. Other artists who've cited the band as an influence include Music/{{U2}}, Music/TheCure, Music/HenryRollins, Music/{{Interpol}} and Music/BlocParty.

* {{Mondegreen}}: Many hear "Disorder's" opening line as [[HoYay "I'm just waiting for a guy to come and take me by the hand"]]. It's actually "guide" instead of "guy".

* OvershadowedByControversy: In their own time, they saw discussion of them eclipsed by the fact that their name came from the prostitution wings in Nazi concentration camps and that they themed their first EP around UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust. The band had to repeatedly explain that they were anti-fascist and were mainly just seeking to remind people of Britain's sacrifice in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII through {{trolling}} them with the Nazi references, but still saw the aesthetic overshadow them to the degree where actual Neo-Nazis would sometimes show up at their gigs (only to be attacked and driven off by the band themselves). Since May 1980, however, the band have become better-known for the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis in 1980 and the dark shadow it cast on their entire output. So heavily did Curtis' death come to define Joy Division and their material (in part because said material typically drew from Curtis' own mental health struggles) that nary a discussion of the band goes by without bringing up Curtis' death, which even bleeds over into discussion about AlternativeDance group Music/NewOrder, who were formed by the surviving members of Joy Division months after Curtis' suicide (in much the same way that it's difficult to discuss Music/FooFighters without bringing up the suicide of Music/KurtCobain and subsequent dissolution of Music/{{Nirvana}}).

** The production of Martin Hannett. Most people, including Ian Curtis, are fond of his sterile production style, while many fans who heard the band's live material are surprised by the raw energy and prefer Joy Division as a live band. In interviews Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook themselves that they only initially wanted ''Unknown Pleasures'' to sound how they sounded live and were initially unhappy with Hannett's style. [[TakeAThirdOption Some fans love both styles of the band, the studio style and the live concert style.]]

* OvershadowedByControversy: Early in their career, the band were known less for their actual work and more for the Nazi connections in their name, something the band adamantly protested repeatedly during their lifetime (according to Bernard, the idea was to both remind listeners of the UK's sacrifices in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII and [[{{Troll}} get a rise out of people]]). Following the spring of 1980, however, the band would become even more greatly eclipsed by Ian's suicide, thanks to it heavily recontextualizing Joy Division's music and casting a pitch-black pall over their entire career.

* ShortLivedBigImpact: Only released two albums (and quite a few [=EPs=]) during their three-year run, and are nowadays considered the most influential PostPunk band.

* {{Mondegreen}}: Many hear Disorder's opening line as "I'm just waiting for a guy to come and take me by the hand". It's actually "guide" instead of "guy".

* {Mondegreen}: Many hear Disorder's opening line as "I'm just waiting for a guy to come and take me by the hand". It's actually "guide" instead of "guy".

* Mondegreen: Many hear Disorder's opening line as "I'm just waiting for a guy to come and take me by the hand". It's actually "guide" instead of "guy".

** The ''first two sentences'' of Melody Maker's review of ''Music/UnknownPleasures'': '"To talk of life today is like talking of rope in the house of a hanged man." Where will it end?'
** The tombstone on the cover of ''Closer'', which was released just weeks after Ian Curtis' suicide. (The art was created before his death.)
** Peter Saville, the artist responsible for the artwork for the "Love Will Tear Us Apart" single release (as well as the band's chief art director as a whole, carrying on into Music/NewOrder's career) said he only realized in retrospect that Curtis had intended the artwork to resemble a headstone. Likewise with Saville's cover art for ''Closer'', which he expressed disdain about after Curtis' death out of a belief that the tombstone imagery had fallen into bad taste.

** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-KvyKNSV7U ian curtis rides a roller coaster]]", consisting of a roller coaster drop with the clip of "I Remember Nothing" playing when said drop happens. "WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-"

* NarmCharm: Okay, maybe "narm" is too a harsh word to describe a band of this caliber, but let's be honest: Ian couldn't sing well. ''At all.'' He was by no means a trained vocalist, having been admitted into Joy Division without even auditioning, and it shows with how limited his range is and how frequently he goes off-key in the band's songs. However, fans will gladly attest that despite Ian's general lack of singing skills, his voice still adds quite heavily to the haunting, cavernous style of Joy Division's music, and none of the band's work would sound anywhere near the same without him (incidentally, this was a major factor in New Order's decision to shift to AlternativeDance, feeling that without Ian at the helm, their attempt at a PostPunk album with ''Music/{{Movement}}'' was just a pale imitation of Joy Division).

* PeripheryDemographic: Joy Division maintains a surprisingly strong following among the black hip-hop community, due to a combination of [[Music/NewOrder their successors']] equally-large presence among the urban dance scene and the fact that a large number of rappers consider Ian Curtis' highly personal lyrics emblematic of a kind of emotional honesty that strikes a deeply personal chord with black listeners.

* OvershadowedByControversy: Ian Curtis' suicide cast a long shadow over the band's music. That and the Nazi connotations to the band's name.

** The artist responsible for the artwork for the "Love Will Tear Us Apart" single release said he only realized in retrospect that Curtis had intended the artwork to resemble a headstone.
** The surviving band members have straight up admitted they never thought too hard about the lyrical content of Ian’s song writing, and they have all expressed regret at never reaching out to him.

* {{Narm}}: Okay, maybe "narm" is too a harsh word to describe a band of this caliber, but let's be honest: Ian couldn't sing well. ''At all.'' If you can get past that, [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic though]]...

* JerkassWoobie: Ian Curtis. Yes, by many accounts, he wasn't the easiest person to deal with, and his wife recounted emotional abuse and controlling behavior, but given how much he suffered in life, it's nearly impossible not to feel sympathy for the guy. He had ''severe'' depression, very, ''very'' bad epilepsy (with regular tonic-clonic seizures), and of course, this was at a time when nobody understood it enough to effectively help him. The pills he was prescribed only exacerbated his depression, and the constant performing with the band only made his illness worse. There's also the fact that Curtis frequently felt like his audience [[DancingBear only came to shows to watch him have epileptic fits]] instead of trying to get the message of his band's music. [[TheChewToy His life was not a very good one]].

* {{Moe}}: Ian Curtis, a depressed yet kind if suicidally unstable young man whose lyrics showed boundless understanding of the human condition. [[https://i.postimg.cc/vBxptRx0/5f10852391dc9.jpg He really needed a hug]].

* SophomoreSlump: ''Closer'' is a notable aversion, being considered the band's masterpiece.

* TooCoolToLive: Ian Curtis. A supreme wordsmith with a uniquely captivating stage presence, who took his own life at only 23.

*** Or, more specifically, one he made to Genesis P-Orridge (who had himself written the song as a kind of suicide note) mere days before killing himself. [[MadnessMantra Just singing "Weeping" into the phone before hanging up]]. [[NightmareFuel There really are no words...]]

* JerkassWoobie: Ian Curtis. Yes, by many accounts, he wasn't the easiest person to deal with, but given how much he suffered in life, it's nearly impossible not to feel sympathy for the guy. He had ''severe'' depression, very, ''very'' bad epilepsy (with regular tonic-clonic seizures), and of course, this was at a time when nobody understood it enough to effectively help him. His widow recounted emotionally abusive and controlling behavior toward her. The pills he was prescribed only exacerbated his depression, and the constant performing with the band only made his illness worse. There's also the fact that Curtis frequently felt like his audience [[DancingBear only came to shows to watch him have epileptic fits]] instead of trying to get the message of his band's music. [[TheChewToy His life was not a very good one]].

* TheScrappy: Fans tend not to like Peter Hook due to his feuding with the other band members, seemingly being hell-bent on cashing in on the band's legacy and eradicating whatever mystique the band possessed.

* {{Moe}}: Ian Curtis, a depressed yet kind if suicidaly unstable young man whose lyrics showed boundless understanding of the human condition. [[https://i.postimg.cc/vBxptRx0/5f10852391dc9.jpg He really needed a hug]].

* {{Moe}}: Ian Curtis, a depressed yet kind if suicidaly unstable young man showed lyrics showed boundless understanding of the human condition. He really needed a hug.

* JerkassWoobie: Ian Curtis. Yes, by many accounts, he wasn't the easiest person to deal with, but given how much he suffered in life, it's nearly impossible not to feel sympathy for the guy. He had ''severe'' depression, very, ''very'' bad epilepsy (with regular tonic-clonic seizures), and of course, this was at a time when nobody understood it enough to effectively help him. His widow recounted emotionally abusive behavior toward her. The pills he was prescribed only exacerbated his depression, and the constant performing with the band only made his illness worse. There's also the fact that Curtis frequently felt like his audience [[DancingBear only came to shows to watch him have epileptic fits]] instead of trying to get the message of his band's music. [[TheChewToy His life was not a very good one]].

** Joy Division had a cult following almost immediately in America coming off [[DeadArtistsAreBetter the notoriety of Ian Curtis' suicide]], becoming a posthumous critical favorite and receiving coverage in prestigious publications like ''The New York Times'' and ''Magazine/RollingStone''. ''Closer'' and "Love Will Tear Us Apart" made ''The Village Voice'' 1980 [[https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres80.php Pazz & Jop Critic's poll]] as imports before their official U.S. releases the following year, as did "Atmosphere", which ''did'' have a U.S. release. "Love Will Tear Us Apart" also charted on Billboard's ''disco chart'', of all places. (New wave was mostly heard stateside in dance clubs at the time.) The band would prove a major influence on AlternativeRock on the other side of UsefulNotes/ThePond throughout the decade and beyond, with "Love Will Tear Us Apart" an airplay staple on CollegeRadio and early commercial alternative stations through the '80s.

** Joy Division has a strong cult following in UsefulNotes/NewZealand. When Ian Curtis died, a fan had painted a tribute to him [[http://i.imgur.com/duyIUBs.jpg on a wall]] in UsefulNotes/{{Wellington}}, which still remains today, although it had been relocated and re-painted a few times. Chart wise, the band's first album reached number 1 there (in comparison, it peaked at 5 in the uk) as well as two number 1 singles. The band is also popular in UsefulNotes/Australia, topping the Creator/TripleJ ''Hottest 100'' list in 1989 and 1990, when it was an all-time poll instead of focusing on music released that year.

** Joy Division had a cult following almost immediately in America coming off [[DeadArtistsAreBetter the notoriety of Ian Curtis' suicide]], becoming a critical favorite and receiving coverage in prestigious publications like ''The New York Times'' and ''Magazine/RollingStone''. ''Closer'' and "Love Will Tear Us Apart" made ''The Village Voice'' 1980 [[https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pjres80.php Pazz & Jop Critic's poll]] as imports before their official U.S. releases the following year, as did "Atmosphere", which ''did'' have a U.S. release. "Love Will Tear Us Apart" also charted on Billboard's ''disco chart'', of all places. (New wave was mostly heard stateside in dance clubs at the time.) The band would prove a major influence on AlternativeRock on the other side of UsefulNotes/ThePond throughout the decade and beyond, with "Love Will Tear Us Apart" an airplay staple on CollegeRadio and early commercial alternative stations through the '80s.

** In 2017, Music/ChrisCornell, former lead singer for Music/{{Soundgarden}} and Audioslave, also hung himself on May 18... the same date as Ian's suicide. Some fans do not think his choice of method and date was at all a coincidence.