Still is a compilation album by English
rock band
Joy Division, consisting of previously released and unreleased studio material and a live recording of Joy Division's last concert, performed at
Birmingham University. It was released on 9 October 1981 by
Factory Records.
Background
Still was released after the death of the band's frontman
Ian Curtis. It consists of previously unused or unavailable studio material and live recordings.[1] The album includes the only live performance by the group of the song "
Ceremony", which later became a
New Order single. The recording abruptly begins just before the song's first chorus; like all surviving Joy Division recordings of "Ceremony", Curtis's vocals are barely audible, though in this instance the final chorus is unusually clear. Another song featured is a cover version of
the Velvet Underground's "
Sister Ray", recorded at the Moonlight Club in London on 2 April 1980.
Release
Originally planned for release in August, Still was eventually released in October 1981. It reached No. 5 in the UK upon its release,[2] and peaked at No. 3 in New Zealand in February 1982.[citation needed]
The CD version of the album was released in March 1990 and was the first edition to delete "Twenty Four Hours".
Joshua Klein of Pitchfork called the album "a ragged, enigmatic coda; an uneven odds-and-ends collection of lost tracks that fills in some gaps in Joy Division's history and legacy".[7]BBC Music called it "a partly frustrating compilation".[5]