Song by Song: "Love Will Tear Us Apart" Quiz

Answer: Captain and Tennille

Rolling Stone magazine writes that "in a fittingly creepy gesture," Joy Division even recorded the song in the same studio where "Love Will Keep Us Together" was recorded. The song was about Ian Curtis's crumbling marriage with Deborah Woodruff. Curtis suffered from both depression and epilepsy, which is a disorder of the central nervous system that results in abnormal brain activity and can cause seizures, loss of awareness, and unusual behavior.

He was diagnosed with the disorder in 1979, recorded "Love Will Tear Us Apart" in March of 1980, and committed suicide by hanging in May of 1980.

Answer: It was a non-album single

"Love Will Tear Us Apart" was released in June of 1980, mere weeks after Ian Curtis committed suicide. It was put out as a non-album single with "These Days" on the B-Side. It was not included on Joy Division's last album, "Closer," which was released after Ian's death in July of 1980.

The song was, however, later included on "Substance," a compilation of Joy Division's singles released in 1988.

Answer: Bernard Sumner

Joy Division taught Ian Curtis to strum a D-chord so he could do that when they were playing the song live, but it was Bernard Sumner who played a 12-string Eko guitar on the recording. (Eko is an Italian manufacturer of guitars.) Sumner was a founding member not only of Joy Division, but also of the bands New Order and Electronic.

Answer: Bono

"Love Will Tear Us Apart" was produced by Martin Hannett and recorded at Strawberry Studios in Stockport in the Greater Manchester area in England in March of 1980. The band U2, along with Bono, was there at the time to talk to Hannett about producing their own single "11 O'Clock Tick Tock," which would later be recorded in April and released on May 16, 1980.

In an interview on RTÉ Irish Radio in 1980, Bono said that Ian Curtis seemed like two different people. He said talking to Ian "was a strange experience because he's very warm...well-mannered....polite.

But when he got behind the microphone he really surged forth; there was another energy."

Answer: Disco Top 100

"Love Will Tear Us Apart" was Joy Division's first top 20 hit in the UK. It peaked at number 13 on the U.K. Singles Chart and at number 42 on the U.S. Billboard Disco Top 100 (now called Dance Club Songs). It also rose to the top of the UK Indie Chart and the New Zealand Singles Chart. British music magazine NME named "Love Will Tear Us Apart" the greatest single of all time in 2002.

Answer: routine

Chuzpe recorded a cover version of this song that peaked at number eight on the Ö3 Austria Top 40. Chuzpe was the first Austrian punk band formed in Austria, in 1977, in Vienna.

Answer: resentment

Honeyroot, a partnership of Keith Lowndes and Glenn Gregory known for its ambient and dance music, recorded a cover of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" that peaked at number 70 on the UK Singles (OCC) chart in 2005.

Rolling Stone magazine rated "Love Will Tear Us Apart" number 41 on its 2021 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

Answer: respect

"Why is the bedroom so cold turned away on your side?
Is my timing that flawed, our respect run so dry?
Yet there's still this appeal that we've kept through our lives."

Joy Division is a band in the post-punk, new wave, and gothic rock genres consisting of band members Ian Curtis, Bernard Summers, Peter Hook, and Stephen Morris. They went by the name of Warsaw from 1977-1978 and were formed in Salford, England.

Answer: Paul Young

Paul Young's version also peaked at number 25 on the Dutch Top 40 in the Netherlands and at number forty on the Official German charts. Joy Division's original version was certified platinum in the UK by BPI and gold in Italy by FIMI. A 1983 re-release of the song peaked at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart and at number three in New Zealand.

Answer: Swans

The Swans were formed in 1982 by lead singer Michael Gira. Their first studio album, "Filth," was released in 1983. Their cover of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" was included on their EP released in 1988, and also on their 1987 LP "Children of God." The song also peaked at number 85 on the UK Singles Chart (OCC).