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Baker's Dozen

Unknown Pleasures At 40: Our Favourite Artists On Joy Division's Debut
Patrick Clarke , June 14th, 2019 06:42

As Joy Division's still-staggering debut album turns 40, we present a Baker's Dozen of Baker's Dozens featuring artists and writers who picked Unknown Pleasures among their favourites of all time

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Brett Anderson, Suede

“It's another record that I grew up with. Whenever I listen to it I'm transported back into my bedroom when I was 16. Again, I love its mystery and how it doesn't let you know what it's about. It was hard to choose between this and Closer, and though there are some tracks on Closer that I really love, this did it for me, tracks like 'She's Lost Control' and 'New Dawn Fades'.

“I think it's a groundbreaking record, and I suppose like The Smiths, they became more relevant after they split up than when they were around. They inspired so much modern music and sound incredibly relevant now. If you heard Joy Division now in 2011 and had never heard them before, you wouldn't think it was dated. The production is great. There are lots of mistakes on there, it's really nicely under-produced. Even though there's this bleak, icy electronic feel to the music, it's not programmed or anything, it's very human.”