Few songs have captured heartbreak quite like Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart.”
Released as a standalone single in late-June 1980, the track arrived just one month after lead singer Ian Curtis died by suicide at the age of 23. But despite the tragic circumstances surrounding its release, the song became Joy Division’s signature hit and one of the defining tracks of the post-punk movement.
And it continues to resonate decades later.
Written by Curtis, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris, “Love Will Tear Us Apart” explores the breakdown of a relationship, with Curtis drawing inspiration from his own failing marriage and struggles with epilepsy and depression. And while the song never landed on an album, it did become certified double platinum in the UK.
The song reached No. 13 on the UK Singles Chart and has since become one of the most celebrated songs in rock history. But it never charted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.
‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ Named Among the Greatest Songs of All Time
Peter Hook meets fans and signs copies of his new book ‘Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division’ at HMV Market Street on October 1, 2012 in Manchester, England.
Despite not charting in the U.S., Rolling Stone still ranked “Love Will Tear Us Apart” at No. 41 on its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
“The pinnacle of Joy Division’s gloom-ridden Mancunian post-punk vision still hits like an ice pick aimed at your soul,” it wrote. “Depressed over his collapsing marriage, singer Ian Curtis actually came up with the title as a sardonic response to Captain and Tenille’s 1975 pop hit ‘Love Will Keep Us Together,’ and, in a fittingly creepy gesture, even cut it in the same studio where ‘Love Will Keep Us Together’ had been recorded.”
But Rolling Stone isn’t the only outlet to recognize the song’s legacy. NME ranked “Love Will Tear Us Apart” among the greatest songs ever recorded.
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This story was originally published by Men’s Journal on Oct 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men’s Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.