Transmission
A 1979 single that the band first recorded in 1978 and then re-cut at a faster tempo.
Joy Division, from Substance (1979)
- Written by
- Joy Division
- Released
- 1979
- Album
- Substance
Transmission was first recorded in 1978 for an album the band abandoned. They re-recorded it in 1979 at a faster tempo, and Factory put it out as a 7-inch single backed with Novelty. Hook recalled, in words quoted by Greil Marcus, that at a soundcheck in May people stopped moving about to listen, and that he realised then it was their first great song.
The band played it once on television, on the BBC programme Something Else. NME placed it at number 20 among the 50 Greatest Indie Anthems Ever in May 2007, one place below Love Will Tear Us Apart, and Pitchfork put it at number 10 on its 2016 list of the 200 best songs of the 1970s. Marcus gave it a chapter in his book The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs.
Low, Bauhaus and Hot Chip are among those who have covered it. The Smashing Pumpkins played it on their 1998 Adore tour.
On stage
- 1979-09-15, BBC2, Something Else The band's only nationwide television appearance, on which they played the song.
Covers and versions
- Low Recorded it for their EP Transmission.
- Hot Chip (2009) On the War Child album Heroes.
- Bauhaus Covered the song.
More songs by Joy Division
Disorder, She's Lost Control, Atmosphere, Love Will Tear Us Apart, Atrocity Exhibition
Sources
- Transmission (song), Wikipedia
- Joy Division: 10 of the Best, The Guardian (2015-07-15)
- Joy Division, Wikipedia