Song · Joy Division
“Dead Souls” by Joy Division
Released 1980
“Dead Souls” by Joy Division appears on 3 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 1981 and 2003. It was first released in 1980. Its best result is #11 on the John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1981). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #3,304 alternative song of all time.
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Joy Division cut "Dead Souls" in late 1979, at the same sessions that produced "Atmosphere", with Martin Hannett producing alongside the band and Chris Nagle engineering; it first came out in March 1980. Ian Curtis wrote the words and took the title from Nikolai Gogol's 1842 novel, and all four members share the music credit.
Everything hangs on Peter Hook's bass, a line that circles and circles like a vulture, and on a long intro built on purpose to open the band's live shows. Bernard Sumner's guitar slashes over Stephen Morris's drums until Curtis finally steps in. That circular bass figure left a deep mark on '80s gothic rock. After Curtis's death and the end of the band, the song resurfaced on the 1981 compilation Still, and critics have since placed it among Joy Division's finest work.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 11 | John Peel (BBC Radio 1) | John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1981) | 50 |
| 1982 | 12 | John Peel (BBC Radio 1) | John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1982) | 50 |
| 2003 | 1674 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
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