BURNING THE GROUND EXCLUSIVE 1980
Happy Valentine’s Day – BTG Week Of LOVE!
“Love Will Tear Us Apart” is a song by English post-punk band Joy Division. It was written in August 1979, and debuted when the band supported Buzzcocks on their UK tour from September to November of that same year. It is one of the few songs in which singer Ian Curtis played guitar (albeit somewhat minimally) on live versions. The lyrics ostensibly reflect the problems in his marriage to Deborah Curtis, as well as his general frame of mind in the time leading up to his suicide in May 1980. The title is an ironic reference to “Love Will Keep Us Together”. Deborah had the phrase “Love Will Tear Us Apart” inscribed on Ian’s memorial stone.
The song was first released as a single in June 1980 and became the band’s first chart hit, reaching number 13 in the UK Singles Chart. That October, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” peaked at number 42 on the American disco/dance chart. It also reached number 1 in New Zealand in June 1981. The band postponed their US tour after Curtis’s death, performed a few short sets as The No-Names, then finally renamed the group as New Order.
The song was originally recorded at Pennine Studios, Oldham on 8 January 1980 along with the B-side, “These Days”. This version was similar to the version the band played live. Ian Curtis and Martin Hannett, however, disliked this version, which has since become known as the “Pennine version”, and, as a consequence, the band reconvened at Strawberry Studios, Stockport in March to re-record it. Whilst Curtis, who generally did not play guitar at all, played guitar on the song live – the band taught him D major specifically – the guitar on the recording was a 12-string Eko guitar played by Sumner.
The 12″ cover photo is a detail of the Ribaudo family tomb in the Staglieno Cemetery in Genova, Italy. The sculpture was made by Onaroto Toso.
SIDE A:
Love Will Tear Us Apart 3:26
SIDE B:
These Days 3:26
Love Will Tear Us Apart (Pennine Version) 3:12
VINYL GRADE:
Vinyl: Near Mint
Sleeve: Near Mint
U.S. CHART HISTORY:
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Love Will Tear Us Apart | U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #42 |
RELEASE INFORMATION:
Label: Factory – FAC 23-12, Factory – FAC•XXIII•XII
Format: Vinyl, 12″, 45 RPM, Single
Country: UK
Released: Aug 1980
Genre: Rock
Style: New Wave
CREDITS:
Producer – Martin Hannett
NOTES:
A Fractured Music
A Factory Record
Find the 12″ on DISCOGS
EQUIPMENT USED:
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (DC)
Cartridge: Ortofon 2M
Stylus: Ortofon 2M Bronze
Isolation: Auralex Acoustics ISO-Tone Turntable Isolation Platform
Platter: Pro-Ject Acryl-It platter
Stabilizer: Pro-Ject Record Puck
Phono Pre-amp: Bellari VP130 Tube Phono Preamp
Tube: Tung-Sol 12AX7ECC803-S Gold Electron Tube
Soundcard: ESI Juli@
Record Cleaning: VPI HW 16.5 Record Cleaning Machine
Artwork Scans: Brother MFC-6490CW Professional Series Scanner
SOFTWARE USED:
Recording/Editing: Adobe Audition 3.0 (Recording)
Down Sampling: iZotope RX Advanced 2
Artwork Editor: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Click Removal: Manual
FLAC/MP3 Conversion: dBpoweramp
M3U Playlist: Playlist Creator
RESTORATION NOTES:
All vinyl rips are recorded @ 32bit/float
FLAC (Level Eight)
MP3 (320kbps)
Artwork scanned at 600dpi
