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Leaders of Men

Joy Division

aka “Leaders Of Man” aka “Leaders Of Men (Live)”

1978
348
Live performances
1
Recording
85
Release appearances
0
Covered by

Credits

Written by

Ian Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Bernard Sumner

Lyrics

Born from some mother's womb,
Just like any other room.
Made a promise for a new life,
Made a victim out of your life 

When your time's on the door,
…
View full lyrics 
Born from some mother's womb,
Just like any other room.
Made a promise for a new life,
Made a victim out of your life 

When your time's on the door,
And it drips to the floor,
And you feel you can touch,
All the noise is too much,
And the seeds that are sown,
Are no longer your own.

Just a minor operation,
To force a final ultimatum
Thousand words are spoken loud,
Reach the dumb to fool the crowd.

When you walk down the street,
And the sound's not so sweet,
And you wish you could hide,
Maybe go for a ride, 
To some peep show, 
Where the future's not made 

A nightmare situation, 
Infiltrate imagination, 
Smacks of past Holy wars, 
By the wall with broken laws.

The leaders of men, 
Born out of your frustration, 
The leaders of men
Just a strange infatuation. 
The leaders of men, 
Made a promise for a new life
No saviour for our sakes,
To twist the internees of hate,
Self-induced manipulation, 
To crush all thoughts of mass salvation

Versions & Mixes

Recordings, remixes and alternate mixes of this composition.

  • Album Version 2:35

Release Appearances

85 known appearances

An Ideal For Living

An Ideal For Living

1978
Substance

Substance

1988
1977 - 1980

1977 - 1980

1991
Warsaw

Warsaw

1994
Heart & Soul

Heart & Soul

1997
Heart And Soul

Heart And Soul

1997
+ - Singles 1978-80

+ - Singles 1978-80

2010

Live History

348
Total performances
First known performance
14 Mar 1979
Bowden Vale Youth Club, Altrincham
Last known performance
31 Mar 2026
Technikum, Munich

Recent performances

Showing 20 of 348 total

Sources

MusicBrainz work ↗ MusicBrainz recording ↗