Welcome back to a new appointment with Musical Disclosure. This week is dedicated to one of the bands that made punk history: Joy Division.

The group was formed in 1976 in Salford, England, by schoolmates Bernard Summer and Peter Hook, who, after attending a Sex Pistols concert, developed the desire to create their own band, with the former picking up the guitar and the latter the bass. Through an ad, they found singer Ian Curtis and, feeling an immediate connection, decided to include him in the group. Several drummers followed before the arrival of Stephen Morris in 1977, with whom Joy Division (known as Warsaw until 1978, from Bowie's song "Warszawa") reached their historic lineup. The band's name was chosen by Curtis and refers to the women prisoners in Nazi camps destined for the sexual entertainment of German soldiers. This detail, along with the cover of their debut EP "An Ideal For Living" (1978) depicting a member of the Hitler Youth, sparked speculations about the band's political orientation, which they saw as a provocation consistent with their spirit. The EP includes four of the band's most representative tracks: "Warsaw," "No Love Lost," "Leaders Of Men," and "Failures." In the first, Curtis starts with the satirical countdown “3 5 0 1 2 5 Go!", where the numbers refer to the serial number assigned to Rudolf Hess, Hitler's deputy, captured in Scotland during World War II. At a concert in Manchester, Joy Division met Rob Gretton, the group's future manager and, according to many, the architect of their success. In January 1979, they appeared on the cover of NME (New Musical Express, a renowned English music magazine) and recorded for BBC Radio 1. But already the previous month, Ian Curtis experienced his first diagnosed acute epileptic seizure and was hospitalized, alarming his bandmates and wife Deborah. 1979 and 1980 saw the release of the band's next two albums, “Unknown Pleasures” and “Closer,” but Curtis's epilepsy and emotional state showed no signs of improvement, the latter also compromised by his troubled relationship with his wife. The chain of these events proved fatal for Curtis, who, on the evening of May 18, 1980, committed suicide in his home in Macclesfield, the day before the band's departure for their American tour.

We leave you today with the listening of “Warsaw,” which coincides with the band's most primitive yet no less impactful phase.