Joy Division's career has often been shrouded by myths. But the truth is surprisingly simple: over a period of several months, Joy Division transformed themselves from run-of-the-mill punk wannabes into the creators of one of the most atmospheric, disturbing, and influential debut albums ever recorded. Chris Ott carefully picks apart fact from fiction to show how Unknown Pleasures came into being, and how it still resonates so strongly today.

EXCERPT
The urgent, alien thwack of Stephen Morris' processed snare drum as it bounced from the left to right channel was so arresting in 1979, one could have listened to that opening bar for hours trying to figure how on earth someone made such sounds. Like John Bonham's ludicrous, mansion-backed stomp at the start of "When The Levee Breaks"-only far less expensive-the crisp, trebly snare sound with which Martin Hannett would make his career announced Unknown Pleasures as a finessed, foreboding masterpiece. Peter Hook's compressed bass rides up front as "Disorder" comes together, but it's not until the hugely reverbed, minor note guitar line crashes through that you can understand the need for such a muted, analog treatment to Hook's line. Layering a few tracks together to create a six-string shriek, Hannett's equalization cuts the brunt of Sumner's fuller live sound down to an echoing squeal, revealing a desperation born of longing rather than rage. This is the way, step inside.

Klaus Malling Olsen is one of Denmark's foremost ornithologists. He is a widely travelled field birder and tour leader with a particular interest in seabirds. He has written numerous papers on field identification and is the author of Terns of Europe and North America (1995), which was also illustrated by Hans Larsson, and of a guide to the northern skuas that was translated into Swedish (1988) and Dutch (1992). He compiled the official Danish list, Danmarks Fugle - en oversigt (1992) and contributed to Where to Watch Birds in Scandinavia (1996). He is currently serving his second term as a member of the Danish Rarities Committee.

Hans Larsson was born in The Gambia but lives in Sweden. His work has been published in Terns of Europe and North America (1995), and he was voted Bird Artist of the Year 1994 by Vår Fågelvärld, the leading Swedish ornithological journal. In 1996 the Swedish Ornithological Union honoured him as their Birder of the Year, and he is a member of his local Rarities and Records Committee in Scania, southern Sweden.