This post has been upgraded to include a lossless (FLAC) version of the gig - many thanks to yesican for the upgrade.
During my recent sojourn in hospital, at the point where I felt well enough to indulge in some light entertainment... what did I choose? Well, first of I watched 'Boys From The Blackstuff' a famous 1982 TV drama that I have been promising myself for many years now, followed by a documentary on the frontline confrontations of the Miner's Strike. When my eyes tired, I switched from iPlayer to Spotify for a dose of Joy Division. I guess after, at that point in time, two and a half weeks in a hospital bed, my choices were entirely a reflection of my state of mind... angry and a little forelorn!
So, staying on a Joy Division theme, here is a little bit of history. As we are all aware, The Stranglers were booked for two nights at the Rainbow Theatre to mark, along with other bands, the 50th anniversary of North London's most iconic music venues. In the event, a Stranglers' shaped spanner was launched into the works when Hugh Cornwell was convicted of possession of a number of illicit pharmaceuticals and carted off to serve time at Her Majesties' Pleasure in Pentonville Prison, a mere stone's throw from The Rainbow. It was decided that the show must go on and famously a host of guest musicians deputised for poor old Hugh. There were conventional support bands too over the two night stand. One of these was Joy Division.
Joy Division's star was in the ascendancy. Their debut album 'Unknown Pleasures' was almost universally lauded by the critics as was the intensity of their live performances. On stage, all eyes were fixed in the tall, lanky and awkward singer Ian Curtis. Audiences were transfixed by his movements and total immersion in the songs that he was performing. However, the situation with the singer's precarious health was seemingly a closely guarded secret within the band's inner circle. Curtis suffered from epilepsy and his violent grand mal seizures were becoming increasingly frequent. More concerning was the fact that by the Spring of 1980, as the bands live commitments increased, Ian was fitting on stage too.
Despite his doctor's recommendations that he should slow down and ensure that he got rest, the band's gig diary was crammed, none more so than in the first week of April when Factory Records organised a three night showcase of the labels roster over the nights of 2nd to 4th April at the Moonlight Club in West Hampstead. The line up included, Section 25, John Dowie, A Certain Ratio and Durutti Column. Joy Division weren't mentioned on the bill, but in fact played sets on all three nights.
On the night that this Factory 'residency' concluded (4th April), Joy Division supported a Hughless Stranglers in Finsbury Park before hot footing it across North London to the Moonlight Club to play a second set. The singer was exhausted and six songs into the band's set he suffered a sever seizure. A punter can be heard to shout 'Fuck Off' as the band carried the stricken singer off the stage and announced that the show was over.
Within little over a month of this gig, Ian Curtis was dead, having taken his own life at the family home in Macclesfield on the eve of Joy Division's first US tour.
The recording is not the best but it has a place in the history of The Stranglers. Thanks to the original uploader.
MP3: https://we.tl/t-Ld4pTBT74O
FLAC: https://we.tl/t-pZnTE104ub
Artwork: https://we.tl/t-4FfzLHVnON
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