But no one makes the claim that those lyrics are magnificently insightful poetry. I am quite aware also about how difficult it is to understand the words of early Ramones songs too if you don’t have the lyric sheet. Am sure you’ll get bored with lots of it like I did. As someone who finds they had a couple of great songs, New Dawn Fades, Atmosphere, Love Will Tear Us Apart, Transmission, in which I find the majority of the words impossible to distinguish, I can’t recommend this book to the casual or non-Joy Division fan. I had hoped for something more informative and I certainly wasn’t expecting him to frequently boast how brilliant Joy Division were and how so many of their songs were the best ever written. 33 years have passed since Curtis hanged himself, and perhaps those decades have. Peter Hook, bassist for Joy Division and New Order, has produced a satisfying, insightful account of the formation of Joy Division up until singer Ian Curtis’ suicide. I had hoped for something a little less laddish, and some of the childish stories of making fun of other bands were “you had to have been there” stories and sounded very childish (as they obviously were) coming from an older man now. Upon discovering Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division, I knew it was a book I needed to read. I am not a Joy Division fan beyond owning a couple of singles so maybe I went too far by thinking this book would appeal to me. Its a bygone age that brought us a wealth of music with a heart which is quite a depressing thought in itself. These guys did it for the love of doing it, their naivety of the industry and even making music is refreshing in a day of manufactured rubbish that is x factor and pop idol. I think as boys growing up thinking how cool it would be to be in a band and how you'd live the high life this book shows how wrong this perception can be. BIG MISTAKE I couldn't stop listening to it and ended up having to download another book for my journey I bought this book specifically to listen to durring a long journey I had to make and thought I'd have a sneaky listen the day before. I almost did and had to fight myself not to. Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting? Have you listened to any of Peter Hook’s other performances? How does this one compare? If you could sum up Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division in three words, what would they be?

A great listen regardless of being a fan or not

Unknown pleasures inside joy division