Star date: 16th December 2018

JOY DIVISION AND SEVENTIES MANC MUSIC SCENE STORY TOLD IN GRAPHIC DETAIL

Brain Gorman's much awaited graphic novel, New Dawn Fades, has finally been published, tracing the story of Joy Division and the 1970s Manc music scene. The book has been a decade in the making and, as well as the music, also delves into the Peterloo Massacre and Friedrich Engels.

Full details here...

As readers of the Salford Star will know, Brian Gorman is a man of many talents – writer...artist...actor...As well as doing graphic novels Everyman: A Celebration of Patrick McGoohan and The Prisoner, and Borderliners: True Realities (featuring The Crescent pub), he also co-wrote the stage version of Blade Runner, and has just finished touring his new live show, One Man Bond: Every Bond Film In 60 Minutes.

...And then there is the ongoing affair with Joy Division, which began as a graphic novel, New Dawn Fades, around ten years ago, before being re-modelled into an acclaimed stage show, premiering at the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival in 2013 and subsequently playing to sell-out audiences everywhere from Macclesfield, Ian Curtis' home town, to London and beyond.

"I got so fed up of the delays, and the endless rescheduling, that I decided to withdraw the book, and adapt the story for the stage" Brian recalled in a Salford Star interview last February.

"After five years of success with the show, and fans asking about the original graphic novel, I thought we needed to finally get it out there" he added "And now, thanks to Invisible Six Books, we're doing it."

New Dawn Fades, the graphic novel which chronicles the rise and fall of the ground-breaking post-punk band, is now done, and traces Joy Division's music life against the background of historical Manchester and Salford, while introducing an array of historical figures including Roman General Julius Agricola, Dr John Dee, Friedrich Engels and the Buzzcocks... 'guiding the reader through the heart and soul of both the band and the city'.

The book promises 'love, passion, progress, grief, and, of course, music....', and anything with the Brian Gorman stamp is usually top quality. If anyone is still looking for a Christmas present for the Joy Division fan who has everything, this is it!

New Dawn Fades – A Graphic Novel About Joy Division and Manchester by Brian Gorman is out now via Invisible Six Books and costs £15 – click here for details

The graphic novel also includes a selection of colour photographs by Shay Rowan, who has followed New Dawn Fades from the very beginning.