Art Design Cover Art Record Cover Design

Embarrassed to commit suicide to the lead singer, Joy Division bid farewell to Closer and sounded the death knell on the cover of the cemetery.

Book Sweet-May 2, 2020

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Rocker wrote melancholy words, but sang cheerful and light melodies. The title of the album is closer, and the title song says "Isolation". He confided that he was afraid day and night. He was too scared to protect himself. He just wants to isolate himself as an island, but the cover of the classical album is even more frightening. This is obviously a dying picture. Where does it fit Joy Division's concept of happiness? Before the birth of the new order, the world was always confusing.

▲ ian curtis and Bernard Sumner, founding members of Joy Division, taken at 1980.

On May 8th, 1980, ian curtis, the lead singer of Glee, hanged himself in his kitchen. He died at the age of 23. Two months later, the record company released the band's second and final studio album Closer, which was regarded as a groundbreaking masterpiece in the post-punk era. Because the band has an agreement, if any member must leave the band, the name of the band must be changed. Therefore, guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris formed a new order with new member keyboard player Gillian Gilbert.

Part of the creation of Closer is inspired by the novel Atrocities Exhibition published by British writer J.G. Ballard 1970, and the title of the title song is the same as that of the book. Bernard Sumner, one of the founding members of the two troupes, recalled in 2007: "As we got closer, Ian told me that he felt strange when writing this album. He said all the words himself. He also said that he had terrible claustrophobia and felt that he had been dragged down and drowned in a whirlpool. 」

▲▲▲ The cover of Joy Division1980 album "Closer" is the tombstone of Italian Appiani family.

The album cover of Closer was designed by Martyn Atkins and Peter Saville, and the picture was taken by photographer Bernard Pierre Wolff1978. The theme is the tombstone of the Appiani family in the memorial cemetery in the northern Italian city of Sta Greenough. Appiani family is an Italian aristocrat, who took charge of the Principality of Piombino from1early 5th century to 1628. The grave and meticulous marble carving on the tombstone was created by sculptor Dmitrio Parneo in 19 10. The theme should be the religious art "Lamentations of Christ", which depicts Jesus who has just been removed from the cross with a halo and the characters who witnessed Jesus being crucified. Common characters are "Three Marys". In order to echo the concept of sculpture, the album name on the black and white cover is specially expressed in marble carving style font.