Joy Division's Most Manic Gig - Ajanta Cinema, Derby (April 19th, 1980)
As Joy Division started the hypnotic bass riff to the legendary She's Lost Control they had no idea that it would be the last time they would be performing the song live. On the night of April 19th, 1980 in the dystopian city of Derby at the remote derelict Ajanta Cinema (also known as the Derby Playhouse) just outside of city centre, which screened adult movies, and had a run down, seedy atmosphere - which made it ideal for holding punk gigs. Underground filmmaker Fabrizio Federico now talks to the fans who were there that special night. At the Ajanta Cinema bands such as ATV, Stiff Little Fingers, The Lurkers, Manicured Noise, The Pop Group, The Slits, The Mekons had already played there but Joy Division were the biggest name band to enter its doors that Saturday.
The cinema still has most of its tatty seats fixed firmly in their rows, but some at the front had been removed to allow dancing.
Opening the gig were XL5, a local band from Derby who sounded like a 1977 thrashy punk style, which went down ok but they never got asked back to play an encore. Section 25 came on next. The three-piece band, who used modern electronic instruments, plus drums and guitars, sounded in the same school as The Pop Group, The Human League and Scritti Politti with their cutting edgy way. Titles like "Cambodia" set the mood for the evening in its apocalyptical fashion, incorporating jungle drumming and flickering, machine-gun bursts of wailing guitars as a background to the monotone vocals.
Joy Division came on stage to resounding applause, and kicked off with "Dead Souls". The magnificent, deep voice of Ian Curtis, deadpan and ultimately spine-chilling, contrasted sharply with his manic dancing during instrumental interludes. The bass guitar quietly set the beat, the drummer varied it, and the lead guitarist viciously attacked it in a way that seemed the songs would destroy themselves before they finished. The set progressed, and I mean progressed, and peaked with their rendition of "Transmission", their bitter attack upon the stagnation of live radio, in which Curtis repeatedly urges the listener to "Dance, dance, dance, dance, dance to the radio"; and "She's Lost Control", a track from their album "Unknown Pleasures" which on this night included an oddball keyboard solo performed by Ian. The frontman possessed by a menacing mentality, with a focused intensity, a flayed pale torso, a grey charity-shop shirt, alluding to a world beyond the material, facing down the birthday of eternity, staring through and over and around the lingering members of the crowd, beyond himself, pushing himself somewhere forever into the future.
Because of Ian's unhinged performance this night on the bootleg you can hear an audience member say ''Who's that spaz?" They came back for two encores, but it wasn't enough. There were so many songs, like "24 Hours", or the future single, "Love Will Tear Us Apart" (a masterpiece indeed), which they didn't play, that the audience was left unsatisfied, still tense and expectant. Perhaps this is what the group wanted to achieve, a desire to see the band again. Joy Division are a reminder that the eighties had now arrived. There was a sense of relief among the band knowing that this would be one of their last gigs for a bit, so that they could get some rest. It would also be the penultimate time Ian would see his mistress Annik, which coincidentally also occured on Joy Division's penultimate gig that they would ever play.
By all accounts Ian Cutis' dancing in Derby was the most memorable and maniacle of any other gig Joy Division ever played. On previous occasions he was fairly lively and eye-catching, but this time he was almost scary. His dance moves were similar to autistic and the mentally-handicapped movements, very edgy and puppet like with a violent edge. Some of the audience were amused and maybe even a little embarrassed. Ian was the only member of the band in a spotlight (white), the rest of the band in almost total darkness.
Wearing a brown dress shirt open showing a
white vest, Ian stormed though the set in his crazed twitching persona that audience members still remember to this day for its intensity. Here are the audience member recollections.
Darrell Buxton: It was 44 years ago and I was only 17. But I remember it being amazing. It was Joy Division's last gig on their last-ever tour (they only played one more show after this, a few weeks later in Birmingham as a warm-up for a planned US tour that obviously never went ahead...) Section 25 supported and were excellent. Ian took his time coming out on stage, the band played the intro to 'Dead Souls' for what seemed like an agonisingly long wait before the vocalist stepped into the spotlight. Despite his troubles, which probably led to the long delay that night, he was immediately commanding and magnetic, a real presence. There were probably about 150 people there (the venue had a short but glittering history and I think the same few dozen people turned up to most gigs - I saw Magazine, Bauhaus, Psychedelic Furs, Soft Boys, Monochrome Set, Killing Joke, Au Pairs, and other bands there). I wasn't a seasoned gig-goer at that time, and my brother aged just 15 was with me too, but early shows like this one really cemented our love of live music. Crass had played there a few days earlier (I didn't see them but my brother did) and I remember a local punk saying "not as good as Crass!" as everyone left the venue and stepped out into the cold night. The gig recreations in Michael Winterbottom's film 24 Hour Party People are pretty accurate, if that's any guideline. Ian did his trademark jerky dancing and intense forward stare throughout the whole gig, or much of it. The support band Section 25, who were excellent, came back on stage during the encores and I think Ian may have lightened up a little then, but I really can't recall. It's probably more likely that he sat it out backstage while Barney, Peter and Steven played with the other band.
Rob Hodgkinson: I remember that they played a lot of material from ‘closer’, which ( I may be wrong!) hadn’t been released …..it was much more energetic live than on the album, which is often the case with bands live compared to in the studio. The show was recorded, and I know that Rees Lewis, which was in both Medium Medium and CCat Trance, had the tape many years ago, but he seems to have dropped off the radar in recent years unfortunately. It was a superb gig…..there was a tension and energy that you could cut with a knife coming from the band, and Ian in particular.
David Symonds: I remember that the Ajanta used to show Bollywood movies and occasionally one would appear behind the band during the set. There wasn’t any sense that it would be their second to last gig . Joy Division projected quite a foreboding image anyway so there were rarely any smiles or laughs. I can’t remember too much about the performance - I think they did an encore with Section 25 but honestly we might have left by then as we had to get the last bus to Nottingham. I remember being impressed by Section 25 spending their whole performance with their back to the audience. But overall Ian was mesmerising. Actually so was Stephen the drummer who was the real workhorse of the band. At the time only those of us who were into ‘alternative’ music had come through punk and hated the idea of rock ‘legends’ of any sort. It’s easy to forget that while the music press loved them, they were still playing only 2-300 seat venues (such as the Adjanta). Onstage they were quite a strange combination. I think we were quite close but I can’t remember. As for the sound - it was loud but Ian vocals were quite buried - I saw JD twice neither time was the sound particularly good. Their live sound was quite patchy with drums often dominating. Bernie concentrated so hard on playing that he was virtually motionless most of the time. Hooky appeared to playing in an entirely different band and Ian’s voice , to be honest, needed more control. His seizure-inspired dancing was in equal parts comical and disturbing. But there was something about them. They were more than the sum of their parts.
Stephen Fletcher: It was 40 years ago to the day, me Daz, Chris and Kerry went to what would be the penultimate Joy Division gig. This isn't my ticket stub or poster, I found these on another site. I can't even remember whether we bought tickets or paid on the door. I remember queing outside to get in and there was derelict wasteland opposite the venue, which was rough. Daggy Mills (RIP) was also there. It was dark and dingy inside which was quite apt for a JD gig. It was the first time I'd seen them play a headline gig, having seen them previously support John Cooper Clarke and Buzzcocks.
I'd guess there were probably about 80 people there tops. Forget social media exposure: anyone there had probably already seen them and knew how good they were or they'd caught the word of mouth buzz about them.
There was no merchandise for this T-shirt wanker to buy, as per Rob Gretton's management policy! Great days and a bootleg CD to remember it by.
Adi Murfin: It was a very full house that night. I was only 14 and went along for something to on a Saturday night ..I'd heard Unknown Pleasures my brother had it and played it on repeat. I remember coming away from the gig very impressed with what I'd seen and heard. It was the 2nd to last gig Joy Division ever did ..so hearing Ian had committed suicide shortly after really kind of phased me, it mad me very sad and confused. The atmosphere was very good that night, and the sound was brilliant. I remember standing at the back so I didn't get down to near the stage, I was kind of transfixed on his dancing I'd never seen anything like it, his dancing was manic. The audience was a mixed bag of punks, alternatives and ordinary people.
Martin Rockley: I can remember it was very dark, very loud, and very earnest. Lots of serious young men in long coats and suits grabbed from charity shops. The vibe to me seemed to be either absolute devotion, or curious cynicism. They didn't play for that long, but they were so good. A lot tighter and more powerful than I thought they'd be. My favourite was 'Dead Souls' which I think they started with. The Ajanta was great because it was a scruffy old cinema, owned by a really friendly Asian family, and they only put on pretty obscure indie bands - at least for the times. I'd already seen them at The Assembly Rooms in Derby (supporting Buzzcocks) so I knew what to expect. His dancing was quite startling, like part of him was having a fit, or he needed to get something out of himself. His aura did seem a little sad. He was a captivating frontman because it felt you were watching something private and dangerous, rather than him putting on a 'show'. They do a jam at the end with the support band though. Thas was a bit un-Joy Division like I thought.
Mark Etchells: It seems as long ago as it was. However, I remember it being one of those moments when watching live music when the hair stands up on the back of your neck, testament to witnessing something special. I saw alot of bands back then, and that feeling didn't happen very often.
Curtis was enigmatic, his lost persona reaching a new level of gauntness coupled with his now famous dance moves during Transmission, and She's Lost Control's lyrics to the latter exploding forth with spit and sweat through the arc of the stage front lights. A memory that has stayed with me since, burnt into my mind.
There's a live bootleg from this gig online, sure you've probably heard it. Quality isn't good obviously but I still listen to it now. A few tickets I saved from back in the days of cheap gigs and great choice. Small venues often never gave tickets so there's many missing, lost in sweat and late night bus journeys. The gig was pretty uneventful unlike a few more Ajanta gigs, the first four rows of seats were removed I think at an early SLF gig. But no strange events at this one. Ajanta gigs were always pretty special as it was so small, you were really on top of each other. Saw Bauhaus there too and Throbbing Gristle, so many bands, The Fall. Between me and my brother we had the singles and the albums that were out, we used to catch the bus in and out of Derby leaving some gigs early to get the last bus, sometimes school in the morning. A pretty cool English teacher would often ask me what I thought of the gigs, he'd be there too but never let on. And yes my brother was there too. The vibe of the crowd was good, proper fans even that early on. We were all in shock, somehow aware that we had witnessed something special for sure, no inkling that Curtis would end it all so quickly. Thinking back to She's Lost Control it was certainly a performance on the edge of madness and pain.
