UNKNOWN PLEASURES - Joy Division - 1980 LP Factory Records (US) FACTUS 1 VG+/VG+

$

50

Unknown Pleasures is the debut studio album by the English rock band Joy Division. It was released on 15 June 1979 through Factory Records. The album was recorded and mixed in April 1979, with producer Martin Hannett contributing a number of unconventional recording techniques to the group's sound. The cover artwork was designed by artist Peter Saville, using a data plot of signals from a radio pulsar. It is the only Joy Division album released during lead singer Ian Curtis's lifetime.

Factory Records did not release any singles from Unknown Pleasures. In January 1980 the album placed at No. 2 on the first publication of the Indie Albums Chart. It reached No. 71 on the Albums Chart when reissued in July 1980 just after the release of the subsequent album Closer, eventually reaching No. 5 in 2019 upon a later reissue. It has since received sustained critical acclaim as an influential post-punk album, and has been named as one of the best albums of all time by publications such as NME, AllMusic, Select, Rolling Stone, and Spin.

FUN FACT: The inner sleeve features a black-and-white photograph of a door with a hand near the handle. It was some years later before it was discovered that the photograph was Hand Through a Doorway, a well-known picture by Ralph Gibson.

In 2000, it was voted number 249 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

THIS COPY is the 1980 first U.S. release on Factory Records (U.S.) (See Notes, below).

The vinyl has only some light marks; per a test listen, none affect playback, which was perfect. The vinyl is in Very Good Plus [VG+] condition.

The original cover has light ring wear and signs of handling, but overall it remains in Very Good Plus [VG+] condition [per Goldmine record grading guidelines, as usual].

The original inner sleeve has virtually no flaws. It is in Excellent [EX] or better condition.

Notes

Heavy card sleeve constructed differently to the UK (and other) issues.
This cover has a smooth finish. A version with a textured cover was also released.
Correctly applied labels are black on side A, white side B.
Some copies were mispressed with white labels on A side, black on B side.

Issued with printed inner sleeve with tracklist and credits.

Sleeve spine notation:
"JOY DIVISION UNKNOWN PLEASURES FACTUS1 · A Factory Records (U.S.) Product"

Side 2 ends in locked groove – not sure what this means: both sides seem to end the same [??]

Vinyl is either solid black or may look translucent when held against a strong light source: it could be dark purple, reddish-brown or olive green.

RTI numbers (9838 / 9839): The "+" has 1 (top left), 2 (upper), 3 (left and upper right) or 4 dots in its corners. – on this copy, the “+” has a small 1 in the top left quadrant on both sides.

Recorded at Strawberry Studios, Stockport.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

Rights Society: ASCAP

Matrix / Runout (Runout side A, variant 1): SACC 008A Factus 1 LKulka ⊏◯⊐ 9838+ L-1835

Matrix / Runout (Runout side B, variant 1): SACC 008B FACTUS 1. L-1835-X 9839 + I've been looking for a guide

ENJOY!