I’ve been a fan since I don’t know when…2001, maybe?  ‘Quiet is the new loud’, anyway.  They have always occupied the area in my musical leanings that was vacated by EBTG when they went all ‘dance’ and filled it admirably.  It is just that the quantity was always lacking.  Imagine my surprise today then, at the discovery of new product from the Bergen (that the place, not the bread) boys….

I know that your ears are supposed to deteriorate as you get older but this relentless remixing of ‘old’ classics can’t help, can it? I’ve had iTunes playing through some random playlist today, and when it came to ‘Love will tear us apart’ by Joy Division, I swear I detected the hand of interference – the remixer at work – was I going mad, or was that version in the playlist altered from the version I knew and loved? It is a beautiful song – let the Paul Youngs of this world do their worst – the original is best. Was someone monkeying with perfection? Or were my ears on their way out?

Well, it turns out, no my ears didn’t deceive me – there is an original version (for reference, the one on ‘Substance’ is the one I regard as the norm) yet the two versions on ‘Permanent’ have indeed been fiddled with. Would Ian Curtis and Martin Hannant be turning in their graves? Or would they welcome the newer remixes?

Or…am I being cynical here (and borrowing lyrically from another famous Mancunian) – are we seeing a cynical repackaging – “on their hands, a dead star”, perhaps? And…is someone welcoming the incoming royalty-fest? Such is the way of things these days…..

On the subject of Warsaw/Joy Division tracks though, “At a Later Date” on the ‘Live at the Electric Circus’ captures everything you could want to know about Joy Division and their early roots. Hugely powerful, it will also introduce you to the weird and wonderful world of the 10″ LP. Mine is on blue vinyl, if you need to know…