Welcome to June!
As I turn to all things PETER HOOK & THE LIGHT ahead of this upcoming historic gig on June 4th, I have a dandy trivia question.
Who is the only musician who was ever on stage doing vocals for JOY DIVISION 🇬🇧 other than IAN CURTIS?
No cheating!
The night was April 8, 1980. The location was Derby Halls in Derby UK.
It is well documented that JOY DIVISION vocalist IAN CURTIS suffered from epilepsy. His condition was worsening and the medication prescribed was less than optimal. the day before this gig CURTIS had overdosed in an attempt to end his life.
It was decided to have another singer sit in for Ian that night. The crowd was not happy with this. After a few songs, Ian Curtis joined the stage sand the song “Decades” and then departed. The crowd went wild. A riot ensued ending the gig.
Here is a video from that night of JOY DIVISION performing one of their earlier tracks- “Glass.”
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IYFWDRzjMaY&ra=m
Now for the answer.
The singer was ALAN HEMPSALL. He was the vocalist for another FACTORY RECORDS band with one of my favourite names –
CRISPY AMBULANCE 🇬🇧
The band released a studio LP, a live LP and some singles in the early 80’s.
They reformed in the early 2000s.
I have this release along with the original “Plateau Phase LP.”
Today’s track is “Are You Ready?”
Perhaps HEMPSALL will be present Thursday night to revive his performance in a much more hospitable setting?
SPOTIFY-
https://open.spotify.com/track/7CpqM6o9SBVcBHfUPfEo73?si=y1jhtm5iR3682BLQ6_c9Yg
(SONG 1667)
Play Loud Or Perish
6/1/2026
underground365 
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