Joy Division - Lyceum Concert

A week ago I posted a copy of JD's concert at the Lyceum.

Somebody left a comment asking whether it was "Duncan's version", and shortly afterwards I received a mail.
The person mailing, who very kindly supplied a list of all bootlegs ever made of JD concerts (there were four bootleggers at the Lyceum concert!) was also interested in the origin of the copy I had posted.

Apparently, the bits of the concert which appeared on the H&S compilation are from a different copy than this "Duncan" copy. The mailer expressed the view that it was "not good" to post this particular concert; it having been done without the mysterious Duncan's agreement...

Well: to be fair I had never seen this Lyceum concert anywhere in its entirity, so it seems there is some unwritten rule out there not to let it out into the "digital world" unchallenged.

The excellent quality of the bits of the concert on H&S, combined with the sudden interest in my posting? The mailer offered no opinion, but as this is the best JD concert not commercially available, I have my own views...

So the posting is gone, and apologies to those part way through downloading it, or who did not get to download it at all.

The essence of this blog is to make music available to fans both old and new. I am sure JD songs will never go out of fashion, and will thus always attract new fans: for me, who was "away" for by gone 20 years, their songs sound just as good as in the early 1980's: no better, no worse. The band members created this music, and have the right to their money. This is why I have (as far as I know) not posted any music which they/their record companies have made commercially available. Should they decide to clean up and release any of the concerts posted here, it goes without saying that I would remove them. Just as long as people get to hear their music....surely in the true pure spirit of Factory Records?

I think the surviving members of JD should see how much of a difference modern computers can make to scratchy old concert recordings, and release them. But most of all, they should make any other stuff available commercially that they have, whether demos, practice sessions etc. Listeners get to hear what they want, and the band members get their money. Who cares if the quality is crap (I happen to think Peter Hook's MySpace Reaction is a cracker) - it all takes its place in a timeline, apparently starting with the Sex Pistols and concluding with New Order.

What does not fit into the timeline is Substance, Permanent and, as a conclusive abandonment of Indie principles, The Best of Joy Division!