Ode To Joy Division

Paul Morley was in Belfast last night to talk about Joy Division. For this Belfast Festival event, he was partnered by Kevin Cummins, another NME veteran. The music writer and the photographer helped to document the days of Ian Curtis, the enveloping gloom of his last moments and Manchester's unique musical print on the culture.

The talk was severe, flippant and funny by degrees. One of the mad revelations was that bassist Peter Hook was envious of a London band called The Men They Couldn't Hang. Hooky joked that it would have been a better name than New Order. Meantime, Kevin talked us through the mythical photo shoot of January 1979 when the snow was lying thick up north and the photographer lined the band across the Hulme Bridge, framed by the severe architecture.

Morley talked about Ian's reading material, particularly JG Ballard. There would be no 'Atrocity Exhibition' without the author, and it prompted Morley to talk about the lack of literary awareness in music these days. For his generation, it was a constant cross-reference. When David Bowie sang 'Jean Genie', it spurred many young people to read up on Jean Genet. But after the age of Oasis, when reading was scorned, the habit fell away. In Paul's mind, bands that simply reference other bands tend to be dull.

It reminded me of that time at school, when you carried a record bag for your albums, but also had a Penguin Modern Classic in your blazer pocket. It informed who you were and how your mind vibrated. I do miss that.