From Atrocity Exhibition to World In Motion...

     

      A few months ago it was the 40th anniversary of Joy Division's seminal post-punk masterpiece Closer and then last month the 30th anniversary of New Order's great World Cup Italia '90 song World In Motion, which got me thinking....has there ever been a better 10 year musical arc than this?

In 1980, on the eve of the release of Closer, Joy Division's second and final album on 18th July 1980, it would have been inconceivable that the same band - for that is what Joy Division and New Order effectively are - would have written a bright catchy pop song with a house beat and a rap less than a decade later but that is exactly what happened when World In Motion, was released on 21st May 1990:

      

Closer is just about as far away from World In Motion as you can get, a melancholic and powerful thought-provoking album. It proved to be their swansong but of course they didn't know it at the time; nine great songs, the first five, written and debuted live in late '79, the last four followed rather neatly at the turn of the new year. These last four showed a willingness to use synthesizers and general electronic gloom. Indeed it was this last side that would be the precursor to New Order's path in Electronic music - just listen to the similarities between Closer's Heart & Soul and the New Order song Senses on their debut Movement. Sadly on the eve of their first American tour, Joy Division's train came to a sudden halt with the shocking suicide of their lead singer Ian Curtis which understandably was a gut-wrenching sucker punch to the remaining band members and their manager Tony Wilson: "I think all of us made the mistake of not thinking his suicide was going to happen ... We all completely underestimated the danger. We didn't take it seriously. That's how stupid we were."

      We'll never know if it had an impact musically - there was already talk of how long Joy Division could continue long before Curtis' untimely death - but regardless it meant that a pre-agreed pact whereby if any member left they would change the group's name was subsequently honoured. The initial path was tough, not just emotionally but musically too as the existing members filled their new shoes - for example who should sing? - and new member Gillian Gilbert, drummer Stephen Morris' girlfriend, found her feet. A trip to New York and listening to Italian disco to cheer themselves up, meant that New Order strived to do what no other British band had done, indeed what few others had done at the time anywhere, write original electronic music, with heart and soul and a beat. And ultimately this culminated in a series of classic British singles, from Temptation and Blue Monday, to True Faith and Fine Time. World In Motion followed Fine Time and the house feel of its parent album Technique and turned it into a universal anthem (albeit originally entitled 'E for England' until record bosses got wind and quickly moved to ensure the subsequent name change).

      From a dark song about witnessing something potentially awful ("this is the way, step inside") to an euphoric song about being an England player and fan. What an amazing decade in the world of music.