Joy Division began in Salford in 1976. Guitarist Bernard Sumner (also known by the surnames Albrecht and Dicken) and bass player Peter Hook formed the band after attending one of the Sex Pistols gigs at Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1976. The day following the gig, Hook borrowed £35 from his mother and bought a bass guitar from Mazel Radio on London Road, Manchester. Sumner already had a guitar. The pair rehearsed in Sumner’s grandparents’ house in Salford, their instruments wired into a gramophone instead of an amplifier. Sumner and Hook formed their first band with schoolfriend Terry Mason on drums. They tried to persuade another schoolfriend, Martin Gresty, to join as vocalist. When he declined, the band placed an advert for a singer in the Manchester branch of Virgin Records. Ian Curtis responded to the advert and was hired without an audition. Sumner, Hook and Mason knew Curtis from attending gigs in Manchester and got on well with him. The band was billed as Stiff Kittens on flyers for their first gig at the Electric Circus in Collyhurst, Manchester. The band was supporting Buzzcocks, and guitarist Pete Shelley and Buzzcocks manager Richard Boon suggested the name. The band changed the name to Warsaw shortly before the gig on 29 May 1977. This was a reference to the David Bowie song ‘Warszawa’ on his album Low. Two days before the gig, Tony Tabac joined Warsaw as drummer, with Terry Mason taking on the role of band manager. A month later, Steve Brotherdale replaced Tabac as drummer. Brotherdale also played in the punk band The Panik. Warsaw recorded five demo tracks at Pennine Sound Studios in Oldham, Lancashire in July 1977. Soon after the sessions, the band fired Brotherdale as drummer. The following month, Warsaw placed an advert for a drummer in Jones’ music shop in Macclesfield. Stephen Morris responded and met up with Curtis at his home. Curtis played Morris the demo tracks and the pair talked about their musical interests and the punk scene in Manchester. Morris joined Warsaw at a rehearsal at the Abraham Moss community centre in Crumpsall, Manchester the following week. Warsaw recorded tracks for a debut EP, An Ideal for Living, at Pennine Sound Studios in December 1977. They played the Swinging Apple in Liverpool on New Year’s Eve 1977, their last gig as Warsaw. A London punk band already had the name Warsaw Pakt and so, to avoid confusion, Warsaw renamed themselves Joy Division. The name came from the novel House of Dolls. Their first gig under the Joy Division name was at Pip’s Disco, Manchester, on 25 January 1978. In March 1978, RCA Records approached Joy Division to record a new wave cover version of a Northern Soul classic, ‘Keep on Keepin’ On’, for a compilation album. In April 1978, Joy Division met TV news reporter and broadcaster Tony Wilson and band manager Rob Gretton at a band contest, the Stiff/Chiswick Challenge, held at Rafters nightclub, Manchester. Gretton was also the house DJ at the nightclub. He was impressed by the band’s performance and offered to be their manager. Wilson was also impressed and, after being challenged by Curtis about why he had not yet put Joy Division onto his music show ‘So It Goes’, promised that they would be the next band he would showcase. Joy Division did not record the cover version for RCA Records. Instead the band recorded an album for RCA at Arrow Studios, Manchester in May 1978. They were not happy with the final mix and asked to be released from the RCA contract. Their debut record was the self-released EP ‘An Ideal for Living’, in June 1978. Tony Wilson’s late night music programme ‘So It Goes’ was cancelled before Joy Division was able to perform on it. In September 1978, the band made its television debut performing ‘Shadowplay’ on ‘What’s On’, Wilson’s music segment in the evening news magazine programme Granada Reports. In October 1978, Joy Division recorded two tracks for the Factory Records double 7-inch EP ‘A Factory Sample’. The band recorded with producer Martin Hannett at Cargo Recording Studios, Rochdale, Lancashire. They contributed two tracks, ‘Digital’ and ‘Glass’, to the EP. Joy Division then joined Factory's roster, with Gretton becoming a partner in the label to represent Joy Division’s interests. On 27 December, during the drive home from a gig in London, Curtis suffered his first recognised severe epileptic seizure and was hospitalised. He recovered in time to record a session for BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel in January 1979. In April 1979, Joy Division recorded their debut album ‘Unknown Pleasures’ at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, with Hannett again on production. Factory Records released the album in June 1979. The band performed on ‘What’s On’ the following month and made their only national TV appearance on BBC 2’s ‘Something Else’ in September 1979. From October 1979, they joined Buzzcocks on their UK tour. This allowed the band members to quit their regular jobs and become full time musicians. Joy Division is known for not releasing album tracks as singles. The band’s debut single was the track ‘Transmission’, released in November 1979. In January 1980, Joy Division toured Europe. The gig at Kant Kino in Berlin inspired the track ‘Komakino’, which Factory later gave away as a 7-inch flexi-disk in June 1980. Before that, in March 1980 Joy Division recorded their second album, ‘Closer’, at Pink Floyd’s Britannia Row studio in London. Hannett was the record’s producer. The same month they released two tracks recorded as part of the ‘Closer’ sessions, ‘Atmosphere’ and ‘Dead Souls’, as an art package called ‘Licht und Blindheit’ through the independent French record label Sordide Sentimental. Curtis’s health deteriorated during the recording of ‘Closer’. Depressed about the restrictions his epilepsy placed on his ability to perform live, he made his first suicide attempt in April 1980. The band was due to tour the USA in May 1980, to promote ‘Closer’. Curtis’s death by suicide the evening before the band was due to fly over to the USA prevented the tour taking place. In June 1980, Factory Records released Joy Division’s final single, ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’. The following month, the label released ‘Closer’. Following Curtis’s death, the remaining members of Joy Division re-formed as New Order.

Manager of Joy Division and later New Order, he was also involved with Tony Wilson and others in the running of Factory Records. Rob Gretton became involved in the Manchester music scene and especially the Punk music scene. Previously a DJ at Rafters, a local night club he eventually got a newly configured and named band Joy Division to appear there in 1978 in a battle of the bands competition. Shortly after this he took over the management of Joy Division and having met Tony Wilson who was managing the Durutti Column at the time. Tony Wilson also organised a club night, at the Russell Club in Hulme, called the Factory. Joy Division played there in 1978 and a little later featured on an EP released by Factory in 1979. Rob Gretton suggested to Tony Wilson that Factory should produce the first album for Joy Division, rather than one of the larger London based labels. This fitted in with Tony Wilsons vision of breaking up the monopoly which the larger record labels had and give the artists a greater say during the production of their music. Eventually Joy Division left Factory Records, their success had financed various projects at Factory. As well as managing Joy Division he also one of the Directors of the newly formed Factory (Communications) Ltd and was a driving force behind the Hacienda nightclub when it was opened by them in 1982. He had visited New York where he had seen the impact of the newly emerging dance and rave scene which were held in warehouse size dance clubs. It was these clubs which influenced how he wanted to see the Hacienda develop. By 1992 Joy Division had left the Factory label and had joined the London label, shortly after this Factory (Communications) Ltd went into receivership. The Hacienda continued until 1997 under the management of Rob Gretton until it too closed in 1997.