Joy Division’s debut album Unknown Pleasures gets 40th anniversary reissue

One of the all-time classic British debut albums, Joy Division‘s Unknown Pleasures, is to get a reissue on its 40th anniversary next month.

Its release in June 1979 pushed Joy Division and their label Factory Records to the forefront of post-punk, its angular, straight-edged sound and often haunting lyrical content representing a painfully authentic insight into the troubled mind of frontman Ian Curtis.

A limited edition LP version will be pressed on 180g ruby red vinyl, featuring an alternate white version of the iconic sleeve. It’s set to be released on June 14th. Peter Hook recalled these early days with Joy Division during an interview with Live4ever upon the release of his book ‘Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division’.

“In the book I talk about when we played Transmission at the Mayflower and all the other bands stopped what they were doing, gathered round and watched us,” he said. “But it’s like when you’re writing a great article and you’re thinking, ‘It’s all right that, yeah pretty good’ but you know it’s for other people to say how great it is, and that’s what the Mayflower gig felt like.”

“You write it and hope people appreciate it, and we were writing music that people were really getting into and knocking their socks off with it.”

A limited edition 40th anniversary version of Unknown Pleasures will be released on June 14th. The LP will be pressed on 180g ruby red vinyl with an alternative white sleeve resembling the original design idea.

Order here: https://t.co/sd4yHHFeqG pic.twitter.com/fpwktJVJXn

— Joy Division (@joydivision) 7 May 2019