Joy Division — Rehearsal Space, TJ Davidson's, Manchester

TJ Davidson's rehearsal rooms at 35 Little Peter Street in Manchester's Deansgate area were where Joy Division spent countless hours developing the sound that would become Unknown Pleasures and Closer — two of the most influential albums in post-punk history. The basement rehearsal space, owned by a sympathetic local businessman, was where Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, and Stephen Morris worked out the stark, atmospheric music that defined them. Many Manchester bands of the era — including those around Factory Records — rehearsed in the same building.

Joy Division had formed as Warsaw in 1976 in the aftermath of a Sex Pistols concert in Manchester, quickly evolving into something darker and more complex. Their relationship with producer Martin Hannett and Factory Records boss Tony Wilson produced a recorded sound — all reverb, space, and Bass drum thud — that transformed what post-punk could sound like. Ian Curtis's deteriorating epilepsy and the disintegration of his marriage ran parallel to the band's rising profile; he hanged himself on May 18, 1980, the night before the band's first North American tour was to begin.

TJ Davidson's is a private building in a post-industrial part of central Manchester. The neighbourhood around Little Peter Street has been heavily redeveloped since the 1980s. Factory Records' headquarters, the Haçienda club site, and the streets where Curtis lived are all within a few miles, making Manchester an essential destination for post-punk pilgrims.