10 Best Songs Released After The Singer Passed Away

1. Joy Division – ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ (1980)

On 18 May 1980, Ian Curtis, lead singer of Joy Division, hanged himself in his Cheshire kitchen at the terribly young age of only 23 years old. ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ was released a month later - a song inspired by Curtis’ marriage troubles and mental state at the time. Like Buffalo Soldier, its bleak lyrics and meaning are lost on the masses.

Look close enough at them and it reads like a suicide letter under the backdrop of captivatingly addictive tune. For as all-consumingly fierce Curtis was with his singing, guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner and the rest of Joy Division combatted it with remarkable music, making for a truly special song.

When Joy Division were recording it, U2 were also there visiting producer Martin Hannett. U2 singer Bono said of the time:

"[He] was like two people - he talked very light, and he talked very well-mannered, and very polite. But when he got behind the microphone he really surged forth; there was another energy. It seemed like he was just two people and, you know, Love Will Tear Us Apart, it was like when that record was released… it was like, as if, there were the personalities, separate; there they were, torn apart."

It’s a broken-hearted anthem. Following Curtis’ death, his wife Deborah had the title Love Will Tear Us Apart inscribed on his memorial stone. Love Will Tear Us Apart was listed as the best single of all time by NME in 2002. It’s amazing that something so exceptional came from the depths of what must have been a horrible state of mind for Ian Curtis.

For as great a band Joy Division already were, they sadly reached their peak through tragedy.