Atmosphere Poem by Mark Heathcote

Joy Division - Atmosphere 2/9/80 release date
displayed in Ken Palk's record shop Knutsford.
Joy Division is a band I came to love accidentally
The 12-inch cover of Atmosphere was top-notch.
A snowy winter scene, bleak and unpretentious
I bought it without hearing it—an impulse buy
and on hearing the first time, there was a pause.

"It's playing at the wrong speed, my sister sniggered? "
And my face flushed a glowing rosy teenage pink.

I quickly came to realize it was atmospherically
A delight, it was poetry. It was pure genius,
It was ahead of its time, streets and streets ahead.
And the more I played it, the more I loved it.
It's a recording I can never now play just once.
It has to be played twice and always back to back.
And even now, it is first class and hasn't aged a day.