Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures

Released on 15 June 1979.
Initial run of 10,000 copies was housed in a textured cover, pressed by the WEA pressing plant in West Drayton and sold until October 1979. Another 10,000 copies were pressed at the Pye pressing plant Tranco and sold until Mid 1980. Some of the Tranco pressings were pressed using vinyl that was translucent red when held up to the light. Reissued / repressed again in July 1980 by RCA and WEA (so that until July 1981, 77.523 copies were pressed in total). Later confirmed represses are from 1981 (Lyntone), 1983 (MVS) and 1985 (Linguaphone). The third and final mastered edition on Factory was done at Townhouse somewhere in the early 80s.

Peaked at # 71 in the UK Album Charts in August 1980.

Recorded in April 1979 at Strawberry Studios, Stockport. Also recorded during these sessions were the tracks "Autosuggestion" and "From Safety To Where...?" (both released on Still).

Outside is side A and Inside is side B. This however got mixed up by the pressing plant, asg Outside = B and Inside = A in the runouts.

The centre sleeve depicts "100 consecutive pulses from the pulsar 1919", taken from an image that Bernard Sumner found in 'The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Astronomy' (page 111, 1977 edition), which was a reproduction of a visualization created by Harold D. Craft, Jr., for his dissertation “Radio Observations of the Pulse Profiles and Dispersion Measures of Twelve Pulsars,” (September 1970).

UK re-releases and re-pressings:
November 1985: Cassettes (cat# FACT 10c) - plastic cases.
December 1985: Cassettes (cat# FACT 10c) - boxed.
April 1986: CD (cat# FACD 10).
July 1993: MC, CD (cat# 520 016-2 / 4), with repressings in 1994, 1996 and 1998.
January 2000: CD (cat# 39842 8223-2), with repressings in 2005.
September 2007: LP (cat# 25646 4015 1) - 180 gram remaster in original artwork.
September 2007: CD (cat# 25646 9778 9) - Collector's Edition.
June 2015: LP (FACT 10R / 25646 1839 0) - Vinyl Collector Edition.
June 2019: LP (FACT 10 40) - White sleeve/Red vinyl edition to celebrate the 40th anniversary of release

US releases:
October 1980: LP (cat# FACTUS 1), with repressings in 1987.
November 1981: MC (cat# FACTUS 1C).
March 1989: LP, MC (cat# 9 25840-1 / 4).
June 1989: CD (cat# 9 25840-2) with CD repressings in 1994, 1997, 2005.
September 2007: LP (cat# RHI1 73395) - 180 gram remaster in original artwork.
September 2007: CD (cat# R2 331260) - Collector's Edition.
June 2015: LP (cat# R1-465628) - Vinyl Collector Edition.

Japanese releases:
July 1984: LP (cat# YX-7337-AX).
February 1989: CD (cat# 25CY-3101).
November 1993: CD (cat# POCD-1879).
March 2000: CD (cat# AMCE-6108).
June 2005: CD (cat# WPCR-75047).
March 2008: CD (cat# WPCR-12838/9) - Collector's Edition.

International licensing for Australia, New Zealand, Italy, , was done in 1980.

There are a multitude of different UK and international LP releases and pressings, e.g.,
UK:
- Textured sleeve, inner sleeve with straight corners, Porky, pressed by WEA West Drayton with single pressing ring.
- Textured sleeve, inner sleeve with rounded corners, Porky, pressed by WEA West Drayton with single pressing ring.
- Textured sleeve, inner sleeve with straight corners, Porky, pressed by WEA West Drayton with dipped pressing rings.
- Textured sleeve, inner sleeve with straight corners, Porky, pressed by Lyntone.
- Textured sleeve, inner sleeve with straight corners, Porky, pressed by Tranco on red translucent vinyl.
- Textured sleeve, inner sleeve with rounded corners, Porky, pressed by Tranco on red translucent vinyl.
- Textured sleeve, inner sleeve with rounded corners, repressed by RCA Washington.
- Non-textured sleeve without G+L, inner sleeve with rounded corners, A2/B2, Gedmal, Townhouse, repressed by Tranco on red translucent.
- Textured sleeve, inner sleeve with straight corners, A2/B2, Gedmal, Townhouse, repressed by MVS.
- Textured sleeve, inner sleeve with rounded corners, A2/B2, Gedmal, Townhouse, repressed by MVS.
- Textured sleeve, inner sleeve with rounded corners, A2/B2, Gedmal, Townhouse, repressed by Lyntone.
- Repressed 1985 by Linguaphone.

Benelux:
- Textured sleeve, FBN logo on labels, 1981 EMI pressing.
- Textured sleeve, no logo on labels, 1983 CBS pressing.
- Textured sleeve, no logo on labels, 1988 Dureco pressing.

Italy:
- Textured sleeve, Prodotto: Base Record Via Castiglione, tracklist on inner sleeve only, no songwriter credits on labels, "Factory Record 1980" on labels
- Non-textured sleeve, typo Unkown on back sleeve, Prodotto: Base Record Via Castiglione, tracklist on inner only, no songwriter credits on labels, "Factori Record 1980" on labels
- Textured sleeve, typo Unkown on back sleeve, Prodotto Base Record Via Castiglione, tracklist on inner sleeve only, no songwriter credits on labels, "Factory Record 1980" on labels.
- Textured sleeve, Prodotto Base Record Via Castiglione, tracklist on inner sleeve and labels, "All songs by" on labels, "Factory Record s 1980" on labels.
- Textured sleeve, Base Record Via Collamarini, tracklist on inner sleeve only, no songwriter credits on labels, Made in Italy right angle on back sleeve, "Factory Record 1980" on labels.
- Textured sleeve, Base Record Via Collamarini, tracklist on inner sleeve only, no songwriter credits, "Factory Record 1980" on labels.
- Non-textured sleeve, Base Record Via Collamarini, no inner sleeve, tracklisting on labels, "All songs by" on labels, Made in Italy right angle on back sleeve, "Factory Records 1980" on labels.
- Textured sleeve, Base Record Via Collamarini, tracklisting on inner sleeve and labels, "All songs by" on labels, Made in Italy right angle on back sleeve, "Factory Records 1980" on labels.
- Non-textured sleeve, Made in Italy by: Base Record Via Collamarini + Telefax, tracklisting on inner sleeve and labels, "All songs by" on labels, "Factory Records 1980" on labels.
- Non-textured sleeve, Made in Italy by: Base Record Via Collamarini + Telefax, tracklisting on inner sleeve and labels, "All songs by" on labels, "Factory Records 1980 Fractured Music (P) 1980" on labels.
- Textured sleeve, Base Record Via Collamarini, no inner sleeve, tracklist on labels, "All songs by" on labels, Made in Italy right angle on back sleeve, "Factory Records 1980" on labels.

Scandinavia:
- Textured sleeve, no "n©b" on labels / "Garrod & Lofthouse" on the back sleeve.
- Non-textured sleeve, "n©b" on labels / "Garrod & Lofthouse" on the back sleeve.
- Non-textured sleeve, "n©b" on labels / no "Garrod & Lofthouse" on the back sleeve
- Textured sleeve, "n©b" on labels / no "Garrod & Lofthouse" on the back sleeve.

US:
- Textured sleeve, Sonic Arts, Greg Lee, track B5 in locked loop.
- Textured sleeve, Sonic Arts, Greg Lee, track B5 not in locked loop.
- Non-textured sleeve, Sonic Arts, Greg Lee.
- Textured sleeve, RTI pressing.
- Textured sleeve, hybrid version with Sonic Arts, Greg Lee on side A and RTI on side B.

Spain:
- Textured sleeve, EMI pressing.
- Textured sleeve, Iberophon pressing.
- Non-textured sleeve, Iberophon repressing.
- Textured sleeve, 1985 Nuevos Medios reissue with DMM runouts.
- Textured sleeve, 1985 Nuevos Medios reissue with different runouts.

:
- Textured sleeve, 1981 Disco pressing.
- Textured sleeve, 1984 reissue without barcode.
- Textured sleeve, 1985 reissue with barcode.

New Zealand:
- Textured sleeve, RTC, inner sleeve.
- Textured sleeve, RTC, no inner sleeve.