19th April 1980: Ajanta Theatre, Derby
Supported by Section 25 and XL5
These photos from the concert were supplied by Steven
Pares and Gary Wood. They were taken by Charlie Kenny
- who owns the copyright. They are reproduced here with his
permission.
Steven Pares
who lived in the area gives this account of the venue:
For your interest I might
just mention that I've always seen this gig referred
to as the Ajanta Theatre, but back then we all knew it
as the Ajanta Cinema. The name is an Indian name
because it used to show Indian films, because Derby
had (and has) quite a large Indian and |
Pakistani community.
The cinema itself was just outside the town centre and
at that time pretty much stood on its own, as I
remember.
That remoteness - and the fact that it was a bit run
down and seedy - made it ideal for holding punk gigs.
I saw quite a few |
bands there between1978-80,
including ATV, Stiff Little Fingers, The Lurkers,
Manicured Noise, The Pop Group, The Slits, The Mekons.
I'd say Joy Division were the biggest name band that
played there (especially as it was so late in their
history) |
This gig was reviewed by George R
Ross in 'Bias' - the Nottingham University
Students' Union newspaper published May 7th 1980: |
It was to the Ajanta
Cinema in Derby on Saturday night that two of
Factory Records' bands, Joy Division and Section 25,
came.
The cinema still has most of its tatty seats fixed
firmly in their rows, but some at the front have
been removed to allow dancing.
The first on were XL5, a local band, who warmed up
the audience with their 1977 thrash-punk style,
which only impressed on the first song and didn't
get an encore.
Section 25 were next on stage. They are a
three-piece band, utilising some complex electronic
equipment, as well as drums and guitars, to produce
some fine songs similar to the Pop Group, The Human
League and Scritti Politti in their jagged, cutting
way. Titles like "Cambodia" set the mood for the
evening in its apocalyptical fashion, incorporating
jungle drumming and flickering, machine-gun bursts
of wailing guitars as a background to the monotone
vocals.
Joy Division came on stage to resounding applause,
and kicked off with "Dead Souls". The magnificent,
deep voice of Ian Curtis, deadpan and ultimately
spine-chilling, contrasted sharply with his manic
dancing during instrumental interludes. |
The bass guitar quietly
set the beat, the drummer varied it, and the lead
guitarist viciously attacked it in a way that seemed
the songs would destroy themselves before they
finished. The set progressed, and I mean progressed,
and peaked with their rendition of "Transmission",
their bitter attack upon the stagnation of live
radio, in which Curtis repeatedly urges the listener
to "Dance, dance, dance, dance, dance to the radio";
and "She's Lost Control", a track from their album
"Unknown Pleasures".
They came back for two encores, but it wasn't
enough. There were so many songs, like "24 Hours",
or the future single, "Love will tear us apart" (a
masterpiece indeed), which they didn't play, that
the audience was left unsatisfied, still tense and
expectant.
Perhaps this is what the group wanted to achieve, a
desire to see the band again. I certainly will
return to see them for a fourth time, when they come
round this area again, and I strongly recommend you
to do the same.
Joy Division are a reminder that we are now in the
eighties, and they are setting the pace for them.
(C) George R Ross and reproduced
here with his permission |
|
|
In 2004 George has the following
recollections to add to the above: The main
thing that I remember about the JD gig, aside from
the fact that I had been desparate to see them, was
Ian Cutis' dancing on stage. On the previous
occasions I had seen the band he had been fairly
lively and eye-catching, but this time he was almost
maniacal (as mentioned in the review). I had
previously spent some time working with autistic and
mentally-handicapped children and I could not help
but (subconciously perhaps) liken his movements to
some of them. I know that some of the audience, less
used to the band perhaps, were amused and maybe even
a little embarrassed. From what I remember the main
spotlight (white) was on him leaving the rest of the
band in almost total darkness. |
|