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Closer
Studio album by Joy Division
Released	July 18, 1980 (1980-07-18)
Recorded	March 18–30, 1980 at Britannia Row Studios, Islington, London
Genre	Post-Punk
Length	44:16
Label	Factory - FACT 25
Producer	Martin Hannett, Joy Division
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Music Emissions (Classic) link Robert Christgau (A-) link Rolling Stone link Uncut Scene Point Blank (10.0/10) link Pitchfork Media (10.0/10) link
Joy Division chronology
Unknown Pleasures (1979) Closer (1980) Still (1981)

Closer is a 1980 album by Joy Division. It was the band's second and final album, after Unknown Pleasures. It is considered an important album in the post-punk movement. The album was originally scheduled to be released on May 8, 1980, but ended up arriving in stores in July, shortly after lead singer Ian Curtis' suicide. The record was originally released on the Factory Records label as a 12" LP and reached #6 on the UK Albums Chart.

Closer, produced by Martin Hannett, has a sound which is both lusher and more sombre than Unknown Pleasures, with more use of synthesizers and studio effects. Many of its songs have a despairing, funereal feel, and its cover art appears to reflect this, although it was chosen by Peter Saville before he had heard any of the music; both the photo and the bleakness of the music and lyrics amplified the already strong mystique surrounding the album after Curtis's suicide.

The opening track, "Atrocity Exhibition", shares its name with The Atrocity Exhibition by J.G. Ballard, a book that Curtis read and loved, but only after writing the bulk of the song. It was ranked 10th on Pitchfork Media's Top 100 Albums of the 1980s, 72nd on NME's 100 Greatest British Albums Ever. Music site Digital Dream Door placed it #30 on their list of the '100 Greatest Alternative Albums'^[1].In 2003, the album was ranked number 157 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

This album, along with Unknown Pleasures and Still has been remastered and was released September 17, 2007 (2007-09-17). As with Unknown Pleasures and Still, the remaster comes packaged with a bonus live disc, recorded at the University of London.

The album cover was designed by Martyn Atkins and Peter Saville, with photography from Bernard Pierre Wolff. The photograph on the cover is of the Appiani family tomb in the Cimitero Monumentale di Staglieno in Genoa, Italy, by Demetrio Paernio.

Contents 1 Track listing 1.1 Side one 1.2 Side two 1.3 2007 remaster: Warner / 2564697791 (UK) 1.3.1 CD One: Closer 1.3.2 CD Two: Live at ULU 2 Personnel 3 External links

All songs composed by Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner.

1. "Atrocity Exhibition" – 6:06
2. "Isolation" – 2:53
3. "Passover" – 4:46
4. "Colony" – 3:55
5. "A Means to an End" – 4:07

1. "Heart and Soul" – 5:51
2. "Twenty Four Hours" – 4:26
3. "The Eternal" – 6:07
4. "Decades" – 6:10

1. "Atrocity Exhibition" – 6:06
2. "Isolation" – 2:53
3. "Passover" – 4:46
4. "Colony" – 3:55
5. "A Means to an End" – 4:07
6. "Heart and Soul" – 5:51
7. "Twenty Four Hours" – 4:26
8. "The Eternal" – 6:07
9. "Decades" – 6:10

1. "Dead Souls"
2. "Glass"
3. "A Means To An End"
4. "Twenty Four Hours"
5. "Passover"
6. "Insight"
7. "Colony"
8. "These Days"
9. "Love Will Tear Us Apart"
10. "Isolation"
11. "The Eternal"
12. "Digital"

• Ian Curtis - vocals, guitar on "Heart and Soul"
• Bernard Sumner - guitar, synthesizers, bass on "Atrocity Exhibition"
• Peter Hook - bass, guitar on "Atrocity Exhibition"
• Stephen Morris - drums
• Martin Hannett - producer, engineer
• Michael Johnson - assistant engineer
• Bernard Pierre Wolff - photography
• John Caffery - engineer

• All details about Closer
• Every version of 'Closer' available worldwide
• for detailed release info

v • d • e Joy Division
Ian Curtis | Bernard Sumner | Peter Hook | Stephen Morris Former members: Terry Mason | Tony Tabac | Steve Brotherdale
Discography
Albums: Unknown Pleasures | Closer
Compilation Albums: Still | Substance | Warsaw | Permanent | Heart and Soul
Live Albums: Preston Warehouse | Les Bains Douches | Let The Movie Begin
Radio Albums: The Peel Sessions | Joy Division The Complete BBC Recordings
Singles & EPs: An Ideal for Living | Transmission | Licht und Blindheit | Komakino | Love Will Tear Us Apart | Atmosphere/She's Lost Control
Related articles
Factory Records | The Haçienda | 24 Hour Party People | Martin Hannett | Peter Saville | Tony Wilson | Rob Gretton | Alan Erasmus | New Order | Control