# In 1980, Joy Division were at the top of their game, but one song would point the way to New Order

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-1980-joy-division-were-at-the-top-of-their-game-but-one-song-would-point-the-way-to-new-order/
- Published: 2026-11-06T11:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-06T11:36:55+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/1980-joy-division-were-at-the-top-of-their-game-new-order/

## Key points

- ‘Isolation’ pointed towards New Order’s electronic sound.
- Joy Division were already experimenting with synths.
- Its upbeat music contrasts with Curtis’s bleak lyrics.

## Summary

Joy Division’s 1980 song ‘Isolation’ is presented as an early sign of the electronic and dance direction their successor, New Order, would later pursue. The track matters because it shows that the shift towards synths and danceable rhythms was already developing within Joy Division, rather than beginning as a clean break after Ian Curtis’s death.

Recorded for *Closer*, ‘Isolation’ was the first song the band built around synthesisers, according to drummer Stephen Morris, who recalled thinking it could be danced to. Its buoyant instrumentation sits in contrast with Curtis’s bleak lyrics, and the article links its sound to New Order’s 1981 debut *Movement* and, later, ‘Blue Monday’ in 1983. Curtis had introduced his bandmates to Kraftwerk, while Joy Division’s recordings also used equipment including an ARP 2600, an Omni-2 String synth, a Powertran Transcendent 2000 and Synare percussion effects.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.