Joy Division are one of my favourite groups ever, and this is probably my favourite live performance of theirs! This performance was what got me really sold on in their music. I had been struggling somewhat to enjoy them beforehand, but this made me realize what a captivating band they were. This is one of the few television appearances they made, and it was originally broadcast on September 15th 1979. They performed two songs on the show, She's Lost Control and also Transmission and were briefly interviewed (although the only one that talks in the interview is drummer Stephen Morris). For me, this live version of She's Lost Control is the definitive version. I find it hard to listen to the album version on Unknown Pleasures so much because I don't like how diluted the guitar sounds on the album version. Here though the guitar is much punchier and it really makes the track. Really though, I think all aspects of the song sound superior here to the album version. The atmosphere here is much more creepy and foreboding than the album version too I find. Another plus point is]Ian's dancing here too, you get a far better sense of his distinctive dance style here in comparison to the likes of the Here Are The Young Men VHS tape which is very hard to watch in places because of the poor quality. Sadly, the video footage of their appearance on Something Else hasn't been officially released, although the audio of their two performances is on the special edition of the compilation The Best of Joy Division that comes with the bonus disc. The video footage can be found on a bootleg release called Substance though, that was released on VHS but can also be found on a DVDR with Here Are The Young Men as a bonus disc. The performance does seem popular though, I have seen it on two separate BBC broadcasts: Punk Britannia and Sounds of the 70's: Punk. Both are great compilations of live performances by various bands which are worth a watch. In any case, this is Joy Division at their best I think!
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