In Pictures: Joy Division by Kevin Cummins

I guess I saw Joy Division about 30 years ago at The Lyceum. For the time, they created a huge, slow, spacious, and utterly alien sound. That night felt like most of London was there trying to absorb them like a sponge. Killing Joke co-headlined. They were as good as they could be, but it became obvious to everyone that night that punk as we’d known it had run out of steam - to be replaced by strange, uncomfortable, original sounds that weren’t from an existing cultural template.

So we were really happy to see this beautifully made in Manchester hand-finished postcard boxset of photos by Kevin Cummins. For the few short years they were around, he was given closer access than any other photographer and these pictures capture them both offstage as well as Ian Curtis’s famous live performances. These would make a great present and you can buy them direct from the supplier