Dead Souls

"Dead Souls" is an 1980 B-side by the English post-punk band Joy Division. Co-written by band members Ian Curtis (vocals and lyrics), Peter Hook (bass guitar), Bernard Sumner (lead guitar) and Stephen Morris (drums). Centered on a circular bass line by Hook that had a significant influence on 1980s Gothic rock, the song was named by Curtis after Nikolai Gogol's 1842 novel Dead Souls. The song contains a lengthy intro designed as the opening for live gigs. The track was recorded in late 1979 during the same sessions as "Transmission" and "Atmosphere". "Dead Souls" and "Atmosphere" were released in March 1980 by the Sordide Sentimental label as the "Licht und Blindheit" (German for "Light and Blindness") package, a France-only limited edition single with "Atmosphere" as the A-side. After lead singer Ian Curtis' suicide and Joy Division's disbandment, "Dead Souls" appeared on compilations such as 1981's Still. It has since become one of the band's most critically acclaimed songs, with many music writers ranking it among the band's greatest work. Industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails famously covered the song for the 1994 film The Crow and have since performed the song intermittently live. Background and recording "Dead Souls" was named for the 1842 Nikolai Gogol novel of the same name. The song's lengthy instrumental intro was used to provide lead singer Ian Curtis an opportunity to size up the band's live audiences with his characteristic dancing. Bassist Peter Hook recalled, "He'd never danced in rehearsals. He just started doing it when we were playing. We used to do a long build-up in 'Dead Souls' because he felt it was a great way of sizing up the audience and building up tension. He was onstage from the start, doing the dance, freaking people out."