The first couple of weeks of January are very busy in music history. We start off with the following:
- Led Zeppelin‘s John Paul Jones celebrated his 77th birthday on January 3.
- R.E.M.‘s Michael Stipe celebrates his 63rd birthday today.
Also today, Joy Division and New Order founder Bernard Sumner celebrates his 67th birthday today. Sumner is considered a pioneer in the genres of post-punk, synth pop and synth pop — and an instrumental member of the Manchester scene that would inspire the “Madchester” movement of the late 80s and early 90s.
Sumner has either been behind or influenced a ton of music that I’ve just been absolutely mad about. So let’s celebrate Sumner’s life and work today.
Happy birthday, Bernard! May there be many, many more!