The cornerstone group on Tony Wilson's influential Factory Records, Joy Division paved the way for everyone from The Cure to Nine Inch Nails with an innovative post-punk style dominated by mournful, dark themes. The tortured lead vocals of Ian Curtis—whose tragic suicide cut short the group's promising career and subsequently led to the formation of New Order—gave the band a distinct identity. But Peter Hook's droning basslines and a pioneering use of stark electronics were just as integral to their resolutely bleak but utterly compelling signature sound.