#5 of DJ Akhu's Top 100 80s Dance Hits Countdown!: 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' by Joy Division (1980)

We have reached the final 5 of the Top 100 80s Dance Hits Countdown. Now as a DJ, I am always coming across new great 80s music that is highly dance-able. I can honestly say that this countdown would probably change if I were to do it again today, with all of the new-to-me/forgotten 80s songs I have come across in the last year and a half (mush thanks to my DJ friends at Turntable.fm). That said, lets get to #5, which goes to English post-punk/rock band Joy Division, and their 1980  legendary hit song Love Will Tear Us Apart. Joy Division formed in 1976 out of  Salford, Lancashire, UK and consisted of members Ian Curtis (vocals/guitar), Bernard Sumner(guitar and keys), Peter Hook (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Stephen Morris (drums/percussion), and they were active until 1980 when lead singer Ian Curtis committed suicide. The band is known for their contributions to the early post-punk rock movement and many movies have been made about them including 24 Hour Party People (2002) and Control (2007). Love Will Tear Us Apart (one of their most well-known hits) was originally released on 7-inch vinyl in April of 1980 (one month before Curtis' death), and can now be found on the band's compilation album Substance. The song reached #1 in New Zealand, and #13 in the UK. Following the death of Ian Curtis the band renamed the band New Order, who released their first song under that name in 1983 and who are still active on the music scene to this day.