JON SAVAGE
THIS SEARING LIGHT, THE SUN AND EVERYTHING ELSE – JOY DIVISION: THE ORAL HISTORY
FABER AND FABER
★★★★
Almost four decades on from the tragic death of Ian Curtis, it’s hard to think of a band that hasn’t had every aspect of its life and work written about and dissected more concisely than that of post-punk pioneers Joy Division. This begs the question, what more is there to say? As well as Curtis’wife Deborah, all of his fellow band members have published their own autobiographies, providing conflicting accounts of what actually happened. Which leads to the main draw of Jon Savage’s oral history of the band. As it collates countless interviews with numerous sources, it pieces together the story of the group with an impartiality and balance that has largely been lacking in previous works. Drawing on three decades of interviews, Savage’s perspective paints a picture containing splashes of colour, capturing humour and portraying the good times that the band had as they climbed the ranks of the music scene in the 70s – an aspect which is oft-forgotten by writers falling into the trap of dwelling on a gloom-laden narrative. A refreshing take on a familiar story.