Cover to Cover: Love will tear us apart

Henry Irving

Shamelessly stolen from the Robert Elms show today.

It appears that a cover of this song appeared in the TV show "Normal People" and that prompted the Cover to Cover today on the Robert Elms show.

Normal rules, listen to both without prejudice and say which you prefer. No other versions considered.

First the 1980 Joy Division original

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuuObGsB0No

Then the 2007 cover used in the TV show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ_Rz49imWw

Pedro45

JD

SuedeAdidas

In this instance I don't need to listen.........Joy Division.

Henry Irving

SuedeAdidas said:

In this instance I don't need to listen.........Joy Division.

I did listen to both and thought the same as I did in 1980 ie what a terrible dirge this is and what a terrible singer.

NP for me.

Alwaysneil

Oh dear @Henry Irving, no accounting for taste and generally your taste in music seems pretty good but to not like Joy Division 😱. 

Croydon

Both are great in my opinion, but will side with JD just as it's the original and has always been one of my favourites.

Briston_Addick

Interesting cover version.

Still, Joy Division wins by the length of Hangar Straight.

Cafc43v3r

Joy Division for me. 

At a tangent isn't 2007 about the time it became a popular football/cricket song?

killerandflash

The NP cover is pleasant, but lacks emotion

Joy Division were a great band, but I'm not a great fan of Ian Curtis's signing. Atmosphere is a great song and track for example, but I don't like Curtis's vocals

johnny73

Joy Division. Easy.

acidlee

JD All day long love that tune.

Stig

Easiest C2C ever. A truly great original version versus a woman on a piano auditioning for the next Waitrose xmas ad. The real contest should have been Joy Division versus Yat Kha, the result would have been the same, but the ride would have been more interesting.

seth plum

I like the drama of the piano on the cover version, but the original is my preference.

charltonbob

Sorry Henry, no other versions considered fair enough but can I suggest people listen to the Swans versions. Red is best but black is pretty good as well. As to this thread Joy Division of course 👍

Covered End

I heard the other version on Normal People and thought it was quite good.
It was good enough for me to Shazam it and see who it was.
But Love will Tear Us Apart by Joy Division is an all time classic for anyone with music taste and so it wins by a country mile.
Strangely, I was only listening to it about an hour ago.
RIP Ian Curtis.

golfaddick

There can be only one version. Nothing else comes close. As a pp said, her version sounds like a xmas ad for Waitrose.

PopIcon

The lady has a nice voice, but her piano is void of any life. Joy Division a clear winner for me.

Henry Irving

Unsurprising response but the new version won on Radio London which did shock me.

Great chorus but on the original the drum sound is horrible, the singers voice is buried in the mix, not that I like his voice, and you can't hear the words.

And the cover really isn't Waitrose Xmas.  There's more to it than that. 

Henry Irving

PS and the name Joy Division is very dodgy too.

Shrew

JD by a country mile, I know ..no other versions considered.... but the alternative on this thread is more like a bad version of Susanna and the Magical Orchestra's cover which is quite excellent.

stonemuse

This is not even a contest ... Joy Division without a doubt. 

Stig

Henry Irving said:

Unsurprising response but the new version won on Radio London which did shock me.

Great chorus but on the original the drum sound is horrible, the singers voice is buried in the mix, not that I like his voice, and you can't hear the words.

And the cover really isn't Waitrose Xmas.  There's more to it than that. 

Lidl?

charltonbob

Henry Irving said:

PS and the name Joy Division is very dodgy too.

Maybe they chose that name to shock, that's what youngsters do like the ex royal bloke dressing in an SS uniform for a party. Having said that I doubt the general public had the faintest idea on Joy Division

Karim_myBagheri

Joy Division 

Friend Or Defoe

charltonbob said:

Henry Irving said:

PS and the name Joy Division is very dodgy too.

Maybe they chose that name to shock, that's what youngsters do like the ex royal bloke dressing in an SS uniform for a party. Having said that I doubt the general public had the faintest idea on Joy Division

They used to attract a dodgy crowd, likewise when they were called Warsaw. 

Another vote for Joy Division, seems only the OP doesn't like them.

lordromford

Friend Or Defoe said:

charltonbob said:

Henry Irving said:

PS and the name Joy Division is very dodgy too.

Maybe they chose that name to shock, that's what youngsters do like the ex royal bloke dressing in an SS uniform for a party. Having said that I doubt the general public had the faintest idea on Joy Division

They used to attract a dodgy crowd, likewise when they were called Warsaw. 

Another vote for Joy Division, seems only the OP doesn't like them.

Not Joy Division for me. I think it’s dreadful.
Ive always found music snobs get really aggressively upset when someone says they don’t like this song. “You don’t have any taste” “You don’t know music” etc. Piss off. I have my own opinion. I’ve never seen what’s supposed to be so good about it. There’s some interesting stuff in there, but it’s overshadowed by the dreary singing and other noises. Maybe I’m not appreciating some subtle nuances, but I don’t care, I still think it’s shit. And I’m pretty sure a lot of people think it’s good because they think they ‘should’ think it’s good.

Having said all that, if you like it - good for you.
😎👍🏼

KettsJohn

Joy Division

charltonbob

lordromford said:

Friend Or Defoe said:

charltonbob said:

Henry Irving said:

PS and the name Joy Division is very dodgy too.

Maybe they chose that name to shock, that's what youngsters do like the ex royal bloke dressing in an SS uniform for a party. Having said that I doubt the general public had the faintest idea on Joy Division

They used to attract a dodgy crowd, likewise when they were called Warsaw. 

Another vote for Joy Division, seems only the OP doesn't like them.

Not Joy Division for me. I think it’s dreadful.
Ive always found music snobs get really aggressively upset when someone says they don’t like this song. “You don’t have any taste” “You don’t know music” etc. Piss off. I have my own opinion. I’ve never seen what’s supposed to be so good about it. There’s some interesting stuff in there, but it’s overshadowed by the dreary singing and other noises. Maybe I’m not appreciating some subtle nuances, but I don’t care, I still think it’s shit. And I’m pretty sure a lot of people think it’s good because they think they ‘should’ think it’s good.

Having said all that, if you like it - good for you.
😎👍🏼

Dreary singing ? Well the bloke suffered from severe epilepsy & in turn terrible depression because of his illness & managed to take his own life at the third attempt. It may go some way to explain why he wasn't the life & soul of the party & caused him to sound "dreary". Music was a get out for him until it all became too much. First time I heard LWTUA I knew nothing of this< just thought it sounded brilliant & wanted more so bought either Closer or Unknown pleasures can't remember which but bought the other one soon after. I wasn't disappointed.

End of the day as you say if you like it good for you. We all have our own taste wouldn't life be bloody boring if we all liked the same thing :-)

lordromford

charltonbob said:

lordromford said:

Friend Or Defoe said:

charltonbob said:

Henry Irving said:

PS and the name Joy Division is very dodgy too.

Maybe they chose that name to shock, that's what youngsters do like the ex royal bloke dressing in an SS uniform for a party. Having said that I doubt the general public had the faintest idea on Joy Division

They used to attract a dodgy crowd, likewise when they were called Warsaw. 

Another vote for Joy Division, seems only the OP doesn't like them.

Not Joy Division for me. I think it’s dreadful.
Ive always found music snobs get really aggressively upset when someone says they don’t like this song. “You don’t have any taste” “You don’t know music” etc. Piss off. I have my own opinion. I’ve never seen what’s supposed to be so good about it. There’s some interesting stuff in there, but it’s overshadowed by the dreary singing and other noises. Maybe I’m not appreciating some subtle nuances, but I don’t care, I still think it’s shit. And I’m pretty sure a lot of people think it’s good because they think they ‘should’ think it’s good.

Having said all that, if you like it - good for you.
😎👍🏼

Dreary singing ? Well the bloke suffered from severe epilepsy & in turn terrible depression because of his illness & managed to take his own life at the third attempt. It may go some way to explain why he wasn't the life & soul of the party & caused him to sound "dreary". Music was a get out for him until it all became too much. First time I heard LWTUA I knew nothing of this< just thought it sounded brilliant & wanted more so bought either Closer or Unknown pleasures can't remember which but bought the other one soon after. I wasn't disappointed.

Yeah, dreary.
His story is sad, no doubt. But that doesn’t make his singing better.

In my opinion of course. You’re entitled to yours too.

church-lane

Joy Division all day long. One of my top 10 favourite songs and one if my favourite bands. The NP version is incredibly dreary in my opinion but then I really do hate these cover versions that are slowed to a crawl, sung by a female singer, accompanied only by a piano or guitar.  Do something original for crying out loud.

Henry Irving

So I think Joy Division just about edged that vote.

Next up Led Zeppelin v Rolf Harris doing Stairway to Heaven 🤔