Pick of the podcasts Transmissions

Spotify, Apple

Describing this oral history of two of Britain’s best-loved pop groups as definitive is the thing that raises eyebrows.

After all, what was left to say about Joy Division and New Order that wasn’t said in 24 Hour Party People, a heady riot of a movie about the Manchester music scene, with Steve Coogan hilarious as uppity but lovable Factory Records svengali Tony Wilson?

Or Control, the achingly poignant biopic of singer Ian Curtis? Or even Joy Division, a documentary film released to much acclaim in 2007? Oh, and founding members Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris have all released memoirs since then.

So, best have something new to bring to the table.thankfully, Transmissions delivers. It’s such a compelling story that fans will love hearing it again. But, importantly, new interviews reveal fresh insights. Hook, Sumner, Morris and Gillian

Gilbert all go on the record, as do celebrity fans Bono,anna Calvi, Damon Albarn,johnny Marr, Shaun Ryder and others.

Long story short, it all started when guitarist Sumner placed an ad in a local record shop:“band seeks singer”. Joy Division would release two classic albums before the death by suicide of Curtis. Rather than quit, the remaining three regrouped, immersed themselves in dance music, recruited Gilbert and went on to garner more critical acclaim as New Order (pictured above).

Narrated by Maxine Peake, and produced by Cup & Nuzzle, each 40-minute episode focuses on key moments in the JD/NO timeline, from Joy Division’s early rehearsals to the launch of the Hacienda nightclub.

Alas, the series ends quite abruptly after the release of Blue Monday in 1983, by which point New Order had barely got started. Here’s hoping a second season is in the offing.