“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 in September to November 1979. 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. (More from Wikipedia)
I think of Joy Division as being a really extreme rock band, and one that could only have come from England. Suicide is sadly quite common among rock musicians and artists in other endeavors as well, but it is not hard to see that the intensity and extraordinary conviction found in the songs of Joy Division could lead someone to end their life. Lead singer and lyricist Ian Curtis also suffered from ill health for many years, including epileptic seizures while performing. In the summer of 1980, the band finally began to find commercial success when the re-release of their magnificent signature song “Love Will Tear Us Apart” went to #13 on the U.K. charts. Just two days before Joy Division was to begin its U.S. tour, Ian Curtis was found dead.
(June 2014)
