Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan has placed Joy Division in rare air, ranking them just below The Beatles in terms of influence on 20th century rock music. Speaking on the TrackStar podcast, in a conversation recapped by Loudwire, the Smashing Pumpkins frontman said he has argued for years that the Manchester band’s shadow over modern rock is bigger than many fans realize.
“Outside of the Beatles, Joy Division is the most influential rock band of the 20th century,” Corgan said, making it clear he sees them as the only group in that conversation with the Fab Four. He went on to praise how they crystallized post-punk in a way “no bands ever did” and became a template for countless artists who followed, even if the influence isn’t always obvious on the surface.
Corgan described Joy Division’s music as “pop music not made for a pop market and that’s why people are still listening,” arguing that their catalog works on a deeper emotional and atmospheric level than chart success would suggest. He pointed to “Love Will Tear Us Apart” as the closest thing they had to a mainstream hit, but said their impact is felt far beyond a single song.
He also linked Joy Division’s legacy directly to other giants, saying that “important bands like the Beatles and Velvet Underground and Joy Division… create a template by which other bands can create their own music.” In his view, there may be “400 Joy Division bands” out there, but even when groups try to copy them, they rarely capture the same minimal, haunted intensity that defined the original records.
For Corgan, who has long cited post-punk and goth as key influences on the Smashing Pumpkins’ sound, elevating Joy Division to a spot just behind The Beatles is less about hot takes and more about how he hears modern rock’s DNA. Whether fans agree with the ranking or not, his comments underline how a short-lived band from late-’70s Manchester still sits at the center of the conversation about what rock became after the classic era.
