Joy Division's debut EP An Ideal For Living was released 40 years ago today. The self-produced four track EP was issued on June 3rd, 1978 as a 7" release; later that year it was issued on 12" with new and less controversial artwork (industrial image pictured below replaced Bernard Albrecht's [aka Bernard Sumner] Hitler Youth drumming image found on the original 7" version). An Ideal For Living was most recently reissued in 2014 as a Record Store Day release, though all four songs contained on the EP are featured on the Joy Division compilation Substance.
The EP is an impressive introduction to a band that is arguably one of the most important and influential bands in music history. Standout tracks are "Warsaw" and "Failures" though all four songs are classics, despite the production sonics.
Stream An Ideal For Living below:
Published June 3rd, 2018