There are few songs as ubiquitously adored as Joy Division’s career-defining masterpiece, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” released in 1980 as a single, didn't appear on an album until the Substance compilation in 1988. Fun fact: The song was still so revered in 1989, almost a decade after it was first released, that "Love Will Tear Us Apart" topped the first-ever Triple J’s Hottest 100 countdown, and resonated with listeners so much that also it won the following year's countdown. Not long after, the station changed the rules so that listeners could only vote for their favourite tunes from the past 12 months. Who knows how long the “Love Will Tear Us Apart” winning streak could have continued!
Joy Division | “Love Will Tear Us Apart”
You’d be hard-pressed to find a musician who isn’t a fan of "Love Will Tear Us Apart"; its popularity transcends eras and genres; but, the Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan is easily one of its greatest advocates. He’s been very open in the past about the long love affair he has had with the group since he was a teen. So, when Peter Hook, bassist in both Joy Division and their successor New Order, asked Corgan to perform it with him at the Metro Cabaret in his hometown of Chicago, the singer, of course, jumped at the opportunity.
Watch Billy Corgan Perform “Love Will Tear Us Apart” with Peter Hook & the Light at the Metro Cabaret below:
Hook invited Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan and Jeff Schroeder to join him on stage for an encore performance of the iconic song during his 2014 Peter Hook & the Light tour. While no one is ever going to be able to match the hypnotically emotive monotone delivery of the late Ian Curtis, Corgan does deliver one of the most uncharacteristically uplifting performances you're likely to see – leading the crowd in a joyous celebration of one of the saddest songs of all time. It’s a perfect snapshot of the very duality that has made this song a timeless anthem, one will undoubtedly be celebrated for decades to come.
Listen to Joy Division’s Substance on Spotify:
Listen to Substance on Apple Music:
