The surviving members of Joy Division are commemorating the 40th anniversaries of both the band’s final album, Closer, and the death of late frontman Ian Curtis in a number of ways. Today, Peter Hook & The Light get things started with the digital premiere of a never-before-seen concert film capturing their performance of Joy Division’s entire catalog.
Dubbed So This Is Permanent, the film was recorded during Hook & The Light’s special 2015 performance at the 500-capacity Christ Church in Macclesfield, England, Curtis’ hometown. The gig came in celebration of Joy Division’s 35th anniversary, and saw the band play every single song by the iconic post-punk outfit.
Speaking to Consequence of Sound for a recent interview, Hook recalled the momentous show. “We played every Joy Division song. It was such a crazy thing to do to. I can’t believe it — four hours,” he said. “There were 450 tickets, and it was subscribed. In fact, over-subscribed by 10,000. That’s how many people wanted to see it. It was such a wonderful thing to do.”
So This Is Permanent is streaming free for 24 hours as of May 18th at 7:00 a.m. ET on Joy Division’s YouTube and Facebook pages, as well as The Lights’ Facebook. Though there’s no paywall, Peter Hook and company are encouraging viewers to donate to the Epilepsy Society in honor of Curtis, who suffered from the disease. Watch the film below.
After the stream is over, fans will have a chance to take home So This Is Permanent. A DVD and 3-CD set of performance is scheduled for release by Live Here Now sometime in mid-June. Proceeds will again benefit the Epilepsy Society, and pre-orders are going on now.
In related news, Consequence of Sound is marking the anniversary of Ian Curtis’ passing with a new ranking of the band’s songs and interviews with Hook and Bernard Sumner.
