When it comes to pricey post-punk rarities, Manchester’s premier exponents seemingly have the market cornered. Here’s Joy Division’s top 10 vinyl collectables  

With just two studio albums and a clutch of matchless singles, Joy Division’s vinyl output was tragically meagre. However, backed by designer Peter Saville’s sublime aesthetic, a high-minded record label in Factory and some left-field release decisions, the band’s legacy on vinyl still resonates.     

Komakino
Factory
FAC 28
£10-15
This 7″ flexi disc was given away free in selected record shops in June 1980. The trio of tracks (Komakino, Incubation, As You Said) were recorded during the Closer sessions but unused on the album. All three are now available on the Substance compilation (FACT 250). 

Short Circuit
Virgin
VCL 5003
£30
The 10” coloured vinyl live recording marks the last few nights of Manchester’s iconic Electric Circus venue. The band actually performed as Warsaw on the night, but the track At A Later Date was eventually credited to Joy Division as the band had changed its name by the time it was released. Buzzcocks, Steel Pulse and The Fall also feature.

Les Bains Douches 18 December 1979
Get Back
get79
£50
Joy Division were a far heavier proposition live than in the studio, as this storming in-concert double album recorded in a Paris nightclub bears testament. Les Bains Douches first saw the light of day in the UK in 2001 but only on CD, those wanting a vinyl fix were drawn to this Italian import (released the same year). There’s also a 2015 reissue on DOL but that’s best avoided.

Closer
Factory
FACT 25
£90-£120
Joy Division’s second and final studio album was released in July 1980. The first pressing had a hard textured sleeve and an inner with rounded corners. Just like its forerunner, some of the earliest editions turned a translucent ruby red in the light and these are pricier than the solid black vinyl versions (£40-£50). 

Still
Factory
FACT 40
£100
An eclectic odds’n’sods compilation released in October 1981, Still consists of unreleased studio material and a live recording of the band’s last concert (Birmingham University, May 1980). The first 5,000 of this posthumous double was housed in a clothbound ‘hessian’ sleeve with card inners and a fetching ribbon. Runout groove messages across the four sides refer to the dancing chicken from Werner Herzog’s Stroszek – the last movie Ian Curtis watched before he died.

Unknown Pleasures
Factory
FACT 10
£150-£175
The band’s majestic debut was released on Factory Records in June 1979. Along with the textured sleeve, the vinyl of the first pressing turns a deep translucent red when held over a light. There is also a collectable mispress from 1980 with Pere Ubu’s The Art Of Walking trespassing on side A (£200).

+– Singles 1978-80
Rhino
5186595937
£350
A highly desirable boxed set of 10 remastered 7” records released in December 2010 via Rhino Records. The box includes all of Joy Division’s singles together with some creative couplings, such as Isolation and Heart And Soul from Closer. 

A Factory Sample
Factory
FAC 2
£400
A double 7” sampler EP and the first vinyl release from Factory Records, Joy Division contributed two out of the nine tracks (Digital and Glass). The original issue also included a set of five stickers designed by Peter Saville. Originally intended for release in December 1978, it was distributed in two batches early in 1979. The Durutti Column, John Dowie and Cabaret Voltaire make up the numbers on this highly coveted artefact. Slotted together the run out message reads ‘Everything is repairable, everything is broken’.

Licht Und Blindheit
Sordide Sentimental
SS 33 002
£1,500
The spine-shivering Atmosphere was originally released in March 1980 as a limited edition France-only 7” single under the title Licht Und Blindheit (German for ‘Light and Blindness’). With the masterly Dead Souls on the b-side, the limited run of 1,578, came with two inserts in a plastic bag.

An Ideal For Living
Enigma
PSS 139
£4,500
The holiest of all grails for the Joy Division collector, a 1,000 copies of the original 7” version of the An Ideal For Living EP were released in June 1978 on the band’s own Enigma label. This was followed by a 12” release four months later (£600+) on Anonymous Records (Anon1).  This version was also remastered and reissued in 2014 for Record Store Day (£40).