Joy Division and Ian Curtis(Maturalna Radnja) Orginal
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Transcript of Joy Division and Ian Curtis(Maturalna Radnja) Orginal
INTRODUCTION
Music is what makes me think,what inspires me.It's not only a sound and a melody ,it’s
about lyrics, text is what inspires me to listen. Not just to the music, but people, friends.
One late night I was watching a newest film called “Connect” .I didn’t know what to expect
from the movie. It starts with bands called Warsaw, then Joy Division and at the end New
Order. I was surprised because one of my favorite bands is exactly New Order. Sometimes I
ask myself what am I listening to. That aren’t just a few guys singing for us. Behind these
boys lies a great history, ups and downs, and at the end death of the great voice, great
leader of the band, Ian Curtis. So powerful and professional on the stage, but on the other
side so painful and hartbreaking. He married young, had a child. He lived short. Couldn’t see
the world with his eyes opened. He was watching the world and emotional side of life only
with one eye opened. Everything was depression and suffering. It’s important to touch this
theme, because it’s not a joke, but something that is “in” today, destroying(killing) not one
another, but yourself.
On the brighter side of his life there was this powerfull and ambitious man who was ready to
help those people who weren't able to find a job for themselves,who are so full of energy to
work,to look to the world and life like the helthiest people.From outside they were sick,but
their inner beauty was what it was all about.
The singer had two diferent lifes.One was with his wife and child,and the other were tours
with the band and young Belgian girl,who messed his mind.He was happy and sad in the
same time.His band was there for him.They were like a family.
1
HISTORY
FORMATION
Inspired by a Sex Pistols gig at the Manchester Lesser Free Trade Hall on 20 July 1976
guitarist Bernard Sumner (also known as Bernard Dicken and Bernard Albrech) and bassist
Peter Hook formed a band with friend Terry Mason ,who tried to play drums but didn't last
long in the band.They placed an advertisement in a Virgin Records store in Manchester,and
employed singer Ian Curtis,who also watched the Sex Pistols gig with his wife Deborah and
already knew Bernard Sumner,Peter Hook,and Terry Mason from previous gigs.Ian Curtis was
hired without audition. (see picture 1)
1.Stephen Moriss , Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook
According to Sumner,“I knew he was all right to get on with and that's what we based the
whole group on.If we liked someone,they were in.“(Curtis,Deborah.Touching from a
Distance:Ian Curtis and Joy Division.London:Faber,1995,p.42)
Not much of a punk drummer ,Tony Tabac joined the group in early 1977.They began
practicing on a regular basis but did not have a name.Just before their first gig (at the Electric
Circus on Sunday 29 May 1977) ,supporting the Buzzcocks and Penetration,the band decided
on the name Warsaw,in reference to the song “Warszawa“ by David Bowie,though they had
already come out as the Stiff Kittens,a name sugested by Peter Shelley of the Buzzcocks and
Richard Boon.After the gig,they immediately changed the name into Warsaw.
2
Few weeks later,Tony Tabac was replaced by punk drummer Steve Brotherdale from another
band called Panik.They recorded their first demo on Manday 18 July 1977 at
Oldham,consisting of five crude punk songs.
Uneasy with Brotherdale's aggressive personality,the
band fired him soon after the demo session.Driving
home from the studio one night,they pulled over
and asked Brotherdale to check on a flat tyre;when
he got out of the car they speed off.Steve
Brotherdale tried to get Ian Curtis to join Panik but
he refused.
Stephen Morris who responded to an ad in a music
store window,was hired as a replacement,he was
hired thanks to the fact that Ian Curtis
remembered him from his school days.Deborah
Curtis,Ian's wife,stated that Morris “fitted perfectly“ with the other men,and that with his
addition Warsaw became a“complete family'. Unlike the previous drummers,Stephen Morris
clicked well the other three.(see picture 2)
In late 1977,Warsaw renamed themselves to Joy Division to avoid confusion with the
London punk band Warsaw Pakt.According to Ian Curtis,Joy Division is what the Nazis called
female prisoners that were used as prostitutes for the German army.It was also mentioned
in the 1955 novel “The House of Dolls“ written by Karol Cetinsky.Curtis' interest in Nazi
Germany arised from an unhealthy obsession with death and human suffering.His lyrics
dramatise the idea of suicide.
“While Hook and Sumner later admitted to being intriged by fascism at the time,Morris
insisted that the group's obsession with Nazi imagery came from desire to keep memories of
the sacrifices of their parents and grandparents alive during World War two.He argued that
accusations of neo-Nazi sympathies merely provoked the band“to keep on doing it,because
that's the kind of people we are.“(Reynolds,Simon(7 October 2007).Music to Brood
by,Desolate and Stark.NYTimes.com.)
2. In late 1977,Warsaw renamed themselves to Joy Division
3
Joy Division (and late New Order) often had problems with nazi-rumours spreading around in
the press.But since the band never had a good relationship with the press they never gave
interviews to clear things up.
The reason for the nazi-charges was partly their
controversial name(but the press never reflected
over that the name came from a novel that describes
the horror of nazism!),and partly because of the
things they'd said and done early in their career:
Like Bernard's design for the “An Ideal For Living“
record-sleeve,where there's a drawing of Hitler as a
drummer boy.Or the version of “At a later date“ that
was recorded for the “Short Circuit“ compilation where Bernard shouts “You all forget Rudolf
Hess“.At that point of times Rudolf Hess,80 years old,had been imprisoned at the Spandau
castle in East Germany for more than 30 years. The weird thing was that most other punk-
bands used much more direct nazi symbolism in their relation with the press,and still got
away with it.
It was also around this time that their music began to mature.Sessions recorded on
Wednesday 14 December 1977 sound much different from the Warsaw demo.
EARLY RELEASES
The group played their first gig as Joy Division on Wednesday 25 January 1978.They then
played regularly in the north of England throughout early 1978,and recorded enough
material for a debut album.After the studio engineer added synthesizers to several
tracks,the band scrapped it.It would be released as a bootleg in 1982 and then officially ten
years later.Joy Division on vinyl was on a compilation in the summer of 1978 called “Short
Circuit“.Though known as Joy Division,it was actually a track from the Warsaw days recorded
live on Sunday 2 October 1977.
In June 1978,their December 1977 sessions were released as a 7“EP under the title “An Ideal
For Living“. “In the Melody Maker review of the EP,Chris Brazier said that it
3.Design for the “An Ideal For Living“ record-sleeve
4
“has the familiar rough-hewn nature of home-produced records but they're no where drone-
vendors--there are a lot of good ideas here,and they could be a very interesting band by
now,seven months on.“(Brazier,Chris.An Ideal For Living review. Melody Maker.24 June
1978.)On Wednesday 20 Spetember 1978,they performed on the TV show Granada reports
hosted by Tony Wilson with song “Shadowplay“.
In December 1978,they appeared on the compilation double 7“ a factory
sample,contributing two tracks recorded a couple months earlier.This EP was sold out within
a couple of months and was the first release to document the haunting and atmospheric
sound that Joy Division had been developing since that past summer.
On 27 December,Ian Curtis suffered his first recognisable epileptic episode.During the ride
home after a show,he had a seizure and was taken to a hospital.In spite of his illness,Joy
Division's career continued to progress.
Curtis appeared on the
front cover in his now famous greatcoat of the 13 January
1979,issue of the NME due to the persistence of
music journalist Paul Morley;that same month(31 January 1979) tha band recorded their
first radio session for BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel.According to Deborah Curtis,“sandwiched in
between these two important landmarks was the realization that Ian's illness was something
we would have to learn to accommodate.“(Curtis,p.71)(see picture 4)
UNKNOWN PLEASURES
4.Ian Curtis on the front cover of the Mojo magazine before and after death
5
On Sunday 4 March,they supported The Cure at the Marquee Club,a major venue in
London.In April 1979,the band began recording their landmark debut album “Unknown
Pleasures“ at Strawberry Studio in Stockport.(see picture 5)
“The record was for far bleaker and darker than most contemporary rock music,feauturing
Peter Hook's bass as the lead melodic instrument,drums soaked
in icy reverb,Bernard Sumner's jagged guitar and Ian Curtis's
baritone vocal style.Whereas punk rock had been extroverted
and aggressive,Joy Division were more introverted and
personal.“(www.iancurtis.org/biography/)
The album cover was designed by Peter Saville.Bernard Sumner
had found a diagram of radio waves emitted by the first pulsar
discovered,described in an encyclopaedia.Saville had taken the diagram and presented it in
negative-white on black,rather than converse,the end result being an equally dark and
mysterious cover. “Unknown Pleasures“ was released in June.
Tony Wilson said that the relative success of the album turned the indie label into a true
business and a “ revolutionary force“ that operated outside of the major record label
system(Shadowplayers DVD,LTM,2006).
“Reviewing the album for Melody Maker,writer Jon Savage called “Unknown Pleasures “ an
“opaque manifesto“ and declared “ leaving the twentieth century is difficult;most people
prefer to go back and nostalgize,Oh boy.Joy Division at least set a course in the present with
contrails for the future-perhaps you can't ask for much more.Indeed,Unknown Pleasures may
very well be one of the best,white,English,debut LPs of the year.“(Savage,John Unknown
Pleasures rewiew.Melody Maker.21 July 1979.)
Joy Division recorded five songs for Piccadilly Radio.They performed on Granada TV again on
Friday 20 July 1979 with the songs “She's lost control“ and “Transmission“ ,and made their
first and last nation wide TV appearance on Saturday 15 September 1979 on BBC2.Ian Curtis
made a great impression on the audience with his obsessive robotic movements during
“She's lost control“ and “Transmission“.(see picture 6)
5.“Unknown Pleasures“-cover
6
They supported the Buzzcocks on their fifth UK tour during October and November,and
performed again on John Peel's BBC radio show in December.While “Unknown Pleasures“
sold well and received good reviews from the music press,all was not well.
6.Ian Curtis performing,dancing during “She's lost control“ and “Transmission“
7
CLOSER AND CURTIS’ SUICIDE
Ian Curtis suffered from epilepsy and on stage he would often have seizures that resulted in
dizziness and shaking, or absence seizures that would cause short trancelike pauses. Even
after disposing of their lightshow, Ian Curtis would still have these problems and the band
decided to rest over the Christmas holiday.
In January 1980 Joy Division set out on a European tour. Several dates were cancelled
because of Ian Curtis’s deteriorating health.
”Unknown to Debbie, Annik Honoré (Curtis’ mistress) accompanied the band on the tour,
often becoming a major distraction to Ian. On his return from the tour, Ian was even more
distant in his manner as far as Debbie was involved.”(Curtis,Natalie,The Guardian,September
22,2007)
With the money made on the European tour and projected
record sales, plans were already being made for the
previously suggested tour of the USA, with Joy Division as
the headline act. At the same time, the band had been
recording tracks for the planned new album, to be called
“Closer” with Martin Hannett between Tuesday 18-Sunday
30 March.(see picture 7)
“Lack of sleep and long hours destabilized Curtis’s epilepsy and his seizures became almost
uncontrollable.” Curtis would often have seizures during shows, which left him feeling
ashamed and depressed .While the band was concerned about their singer, audience
members on occasions thought his behavior was part of the
show.”(Raggett,Ned.Substance(review).Allmusic.com)
“On April 7, Curtis attempted suicide by overdosing on phenobarbitone. The next evening,
Joy Division was set to play a gig at the Derby Hall in Bury. With Curtis recovering, it was
decided that the band would play a combined set with Alan Hempstall of Crispy Ambulance
and Simon Topping of A Certain Radio filling in on vocals for the first few songs. Curtis came
on stage to perform for part of the set.
7.“Closer”-cover
8
When Topping came back out to finish the set for
Curtis some in the audience started throwing bottles
on the stage. Gretton leapt into the crowd and a riot
ensued.”(Shadowplayers,DVD,LTM,2006)
Several April gigs were cancelled because of the
continuing ill health of Curtis. The band played what
would be their final show at the University of
Birmingham’s High Hall on 2 May.
They released their most famous song “Love Will Tear Us Apart" in April (voted the number 1
single of all time by the New Musical Express in 2003 poll).Despite receiving brilliant reviews,
the single failed to move beyond the independent charts. Joy Division filmed the video for
“Love Will Tear Us Apart“,in warehouse room that they used to use for rehearsing.(see
picture 8)
Following a one off gig in early May, the band took two weeks rest before their first
American tour was planned to start. At the time Ian Curtis’s relationship with his wife
Deborah Curtis(the couple married in 1975 as teenagers) was collapsing. The main factors
were his ill health, her being mostly disconnected from his life with the band, and his
relationship with a young Belgian woman named Annik Honoré whom he had met on
European tour The evening before Joy Division were to embark on the American tour, Curtis
returned to his home on Macclesfield in order to talk with his strange wife. He asked her to
drop the divorce suit she had filed; later, he told her to leave him alone in the house until he
caught his train to Manchester the next morning.
Alone in his Macclesfield home, on Saturday 17 May 1980,Ian Curtis watched a movie called
Stroszek about an artist who commits suicide. On Sunday 18 May 1980, Ian Curtis was found
by his wife Deborah in their kitchen, hanging by his neck, the victim of suicide. He had been
listening to “The Idiot“, Iggy Pop’s debut solo album.
Tony Wilson said in 2005,”I think all of us made the mistake of not thinking his suicide was
going to happen…We all completely underestimated the danger. We didn’t take it seriously.
That’s how stupid we were.”(Raftery,Brian.”He’s Lost Control.Spin.May 2005)…
8.“Love Will Tear Us Apart“ cover
9
” I can’t go into detail yet, obviously. All I can say is that what he was found on Sunday
morning I found out about it while I was in the studio mixing the new album and that he was
a very sensitive young man .He obviously decided he’d be happier somewhere else but at
least we’d had the opportunity of meeting him ,getting to know him. We’re just left feeling
sorry for ourselves, which I suppose is the wrong kind of emotion.” (Tony Wilson)
(www.joydivision.homestead.com/histoey.html) Tony Wilson died of cancer.
AFTERMATH
“Curtis’s suicide ”made for instant myth”, in music critic Simon Reynolds’s words. Jon Savage
wrote in his obituary for Curtis in Melody Maker, ”Now no one will
remember what his work with Joy Division was like when he was
alive ;it will be perceived as tragic rather than courageous.”
(Savage,Jon.”From safety to where?”Melody Maker.14 June 1980)
In June 1980, the posthumous single “Love Will Tear Us Apart” was
released, which hit number thirteen on the British singles chart. In
July 1980, “Closer“was peaking at number six on the British album
chart. NME reviewer Charles Shaar Murrary wrote,”Closer is as
magnificent a memorial (for Joy Division as much as for Ian Curtis) as any post-Presley
popular musician could have.”
The band had decided long time ago that if anyone of them left or was unable to perform for
any reason they would end the band or change the name of the band. Sales of “Unknown
Pleasures“were also robust. At first glance Ian Curtis’s suicide appears to be the product of
his own depression and ill health. However, Deborah Curtis’s book “Touching From A
Distance“, gives the impression that Ian Curtis always wanted to die young.(see picture 9)
Joy Division has influenced bands ranging from contemporaries U2 and The Cure to post-
punk revival artists such as Interpol, Bloc Party and Editors.U2 frontman Bono stated that his
group “worshipped” Joy Division.(NewOrderStory,DVD.Warner Bros.,2005).The singer said in
the band’s 2006 autobiography U2 by U2,
9.Deborah Curtis’ book “Touching From A Distance“
10
”It would be harder to find a darker place in music that Joy Division.Their name, their lyrics
and their singer were as big a black cloud as you could find in the sky. And yet I sensed the
pursuit of God , or light, or reason…a reason to be. With Joy Division, you felt from this
singer, beauty was truth and truth was beauty, and theirs was a search for both”.
(McCormick,Neil.U2 by U2,HarperCollins Publishers,2006,p.92)
“Artists including electronic performer Moby and Red Hot Chili
Peppers guitarist John Frusciante have described their
appreciation for Joy Division music and the influence it has had
on their own material. In 2005, Joy Division were inducted along
with New Order into the UK Music Hall of Fame. .”(More names
join UK Music Hall Of Fame.NME.com, 18 October 2005)
The band reborn as New Order with Sumner taking vocal
duties; the group later employed Morris’s girlfriend Gillion
Gilbert to play keyboardis. New Order’s first single, the 1991 release ”Ceremony”, featured
the last two songs written with Ian Curtis. While the group struggled in its early years to
escape the shadow of Joy Divvision, New Order eventually went on to much greater success
than their predecessor band.(see picture 10)
Further Joy Division material has been released since the band’s death. “Still“,a compilation
of live tracks and rare recordings, was issued in 1981.Factory put out the “Substance“
compilation on in 1988,which included several out-of print singles. Another compilation,
“Permanent“,was released in 1995 by London Records, which had acquired the Joy Division
catalogue after Factory Records went bankrupt in 1992.A wide box set, “Heart and
Soul“,came out in 1997.
Their first album, “Movement“, featured a song called “I.C.B.” which stands for “Ian Curtis
Buried”.U2 released the song “A Day Withouth Me”, about Curtis’ suicide, as the lead single
from their 1980 debut album“ Boy“.
“Two biopics have been released that dramatise Joy Division on film “24 Hour Party People“
(2002) presented a somewhat fictionalized account of the rise and fall of Factory Records, in
which the members of Joy Division served as supporting characters.
10.After Joy Division the band reborn as NEW ORDER
11
Tony Wilson said of the film, ”It’s all true ,it’s all not true, It’s not a documentary”, insisting
that whenever possible during the production of the film, he favoured the “myth” over the
truth.”(Guardian.com.uk.,3 March 2002)
The 2007 film “Control“,directed by Anton Corbijn, is a biography of Ian Curtis(portrayed by
Sam Riley)that uses Deborah Curtis’s biography of her late husband. “Touching From The
Distance“ (1995).as its basis; others consulted for the picture included Tony Wilson and New
Order.(Corbijn,Anton;Wise,Damon.”Joy Division”.Mojo.November 2007)
MUSICAL STYLE
Joy Division took time to develop their
sound. As Warsaw, the band played
“fairly undistinguished punk-inflected
hard-rock”. Critic Simon Reynolds
asserted that “Joy Division’s originality
really became apparent as the songs got
slower.” The group’s music took on a
“sparse” quality; in Reynolds’s
description, ”Peter Hook’s bass carried the melody ,Bernard Sumner’s guitar left gaps rather
than filling up the group’s sound with dense riffage, and Steve Morris’s drums seemed to
circle the rim of a crater.” (Reynolds:110)
Sumner described the band’s characteristic sound in 1994:”It came out naturally: I’m more
rhythm and chords, and Hooky was melody. He used to play high lead bass because I liked my
guitar to sound distorted, and the amplified I had would only work when it was at full
volume. When Hooky played low, he couldn’t hear himself. Steve has his own style which is
different to other drummers .To me, a drummer in the band is the clock ,but Steve wouldn’t
be the clock, because he’s passive: he would follow the rhythm of the band, which gave us
our own edge.
11.Joy Division having a break during one of their concerts
12
”Over time, Ian Currtis began to sing in a low, baritone voice, which
often drew comparisons to Jim Morrison of The Doors(one of Curtis’s
favourite bands).(Reynolds:112)(see picture 11)
Sumner acted as the unofficial musical director of the band, a role that
he carried over into New Order. While Sumner was the group’s primary
guitarist, Curtis played the instrument on a few recorded songs and
during a few shows. Curtis hated playing guitar, but the band insisted.
Sumner said.: ”He played in quite a bizarre way and that to us was
interesting, because no one else would play like Ian.”(Curtis:75)
During the recording sessions for “Closer“, Sumner began using self-built synthesizers and
Hook used a six-string bass for more melody.
Producer Martin Hannetti ”dedicated himself to capturing and intensifying Joy Division’s
eerie spatiality”. Hannetti believed punk rock was sonically conservative because of its
refusal to utilize studio technology to create sonic space. The producer instead aimed to
create a more expansive sound on the group’s records.(Reynolds:112)
Hannetti said, ”Joy Division were a gift to a producer ,because they didn’t have a clue. They
didn’t argue.”(Savage,John.”Joy Division:Someone take These Dreams Away”.Mojo.July
1999) Hannetti demanded clean and clear “sound separation” not only for individual
instruments, but even for individual pieces of Morris’s drumkit.(see picture 12)
Morris recalled,”Typically on tracks he considered to be potential singles ,he’d get me to play
each drum on its own to avoid any bleed-through of sound.”(Reynolad:113)
Their characteristic, yet varied sound was interesting, and many of their songs would leave
the listener in a state of immobility with their clear emotion and musical billance. “Unknown
Pleasures”, their album has had the greatest actual effect on me out of all the many records I
have liked over the years. It is atmospheric, suggesting so many different mental elements
and conditions, confusion, depression, frustration, hate, peace and stability. The peace and
stability that Ian Curtis has tried to find.
Joy Division were sure an alienating band so they never introduce their songs live, they
never did extras, they were professional on stage and immobile ,they strangely but
purposely created a distance between themselves and their audience .Any mistakes they
12. Producer Martin Hannetti
13
may have had in this respect were made up for their musical perfection and phenomenal
song writing talent.
One of the most talented figures in the music world has been taken from us, on the edge of
his household recognition. In my view, it is the best band around today that has come to a
sudden break, with the tragic suicide of their lead-singer. You probably think all this is a little
over-the-top, but that’s exactly how I feel. And I hope they have split up for good just
couldn’t be the same without Ian Curtis. G
LYRICS
Ian Curtis was the group’s sole lyricist. Curtis would write frantically when the mood took
him; he would then listen to the band’s music (which was often arranged by Sumner) and
would choose the lyrics that seemed appropriate.(Curtis:74)
Words and images such as “coldness, pressure, darkness, crisis, failure, collapse, loss of
control” often mentioned in his songs.
In 1979, NME journalist Paul Rambali wrote, ”The themes of Joy Division’s music are
sorrowful, painful,and sometimes deeply sad .”The band refused to explain their lyrics to the
press or print the words on lyrics sheets.(Rambali,Paul.”Take
No prisoners,Leave No Clues”.NME.11 August 1979)
Curtis told the fanzine Printed Noise, ”We haven’t got a
message really; the lyrics are open to interpretation. They’re
multidimensional. You can read into them what you
like.”(Curtis:75)
Deborah Curtis reminded that only with the release of “Closer”
did many who were closer to the singer realize “his intentions
and feelings were all there within the lyrics.”
13.Ian Curtis depressed
14
”The surviving members of the band in review regret not seeing warning signs in Curtis’s
lyrics. ”This sounds awful but it was only after Ian died that we sat down and listened to the
lyrics,”.(Sumner,Bernard.”Joy Division”Someone take These Dreams Away”.Mojo.July 1999)
Morris said in 2007.”You’d find yourself thinking, ’Oh my God ,I missed this one. ’Because I’d
look at Ian’s lyrics and think how clever he was putting himself in the position of someone
else .I never believed he was writing about himself. Looking back, how could I have been so
bleedin’ stupid? Of course he was writing about himself .But I didn’t go in and grab him and
ask, ’What’s up?’ I have to live with that.”(Lester,Paul,31 August 2007.’It felt like someone
had ripped out my heart’.Guardian.co.uk.)(see picture 12)
LIVE PERFORMANCES
In contrast to the sound of their studio recordings ,Joy Division played loud and aggressively
during live performances. The band were unhappy with Hannett’s mixing of “Unknown
Pleasures“,which leaded to the let down of their sound.
According to Sumner ,”the music was loud and heavy,and we felt that Martin had toned it
down, especially with the guitars.” (Sumner,Bernard.”Joy Division:Someone take These
Dreams Away”.Mojo.July 1994)
In concert ,the group interacted little with the crowd; Paul Morley wrote, ”During a Joy
Division set ,outside of the songs, you’ll be lucky to hear more than two or three words. Hello
and goodbye. No introductions ,no promotion.” (Morley,Paul.”Simply the First
Division”.NME.16 February 1980.)
While singing,Curtis would often perform what was referred to as his “dead fly’ dance”,
where the singer’s arms would “start flying in a semicircular, hypnotic curve”.
(Sumner,Bernard.”Joy Division:Someone take These Dreams Away”.Mojo.July 1994)
Simon Reynolds noted that Curtis’s dancing style was reminiscent of an epileptic fit, and that
he was dancing in that manner for some months before he was diagnosed with epilepsy.
15
Live performances became problematic for Joy Division, due to Ian Curtis’s condition.
Sumner later said ,”We didn’t have flashing lights, but sometimes a particular drum beat
would do smoothing to him .He’d go off in a trance for a bit ,then he’d lose it and have an
epileptic fit. We’d have to stop the show and carry him off to the dressing-room where he’d
cry his eyes out because this appalling thing had just happened to him.”(Lester,Paul.”Torn
Apart:The Legend of Joy Division.”Record Collector.November 2007.) (see picture 14)
IAN CURTIS
EARLY LIFE
14.Joy Division performing live
16
Ian Kevin Curtis was born in the Memorial Hospital,Old Trafford,Manchester,on 15th July in
1956 to Kevin and Doreen Curtis. He was an only son, with his sister Carol. With his sister, he
made firm friends with a few of the other boys at school, continuing some of these
friendships until his death in 1980. (see picture 15 and 16)
He grew up in the Hurdsfield area of Macclesfield where he spent the most of his life.
While he was a teenager, he come across to others as a bit of a loner, with his wicked
sense of humor. Lonely at times, he would sometimes puzzle and infuriate his close friend
with his bizarre, introspective attitude to life.
As teenager he also loved poetry, not only by the music he adored ,but his surroundings. He
was awarded a scholarship to attend The King’s School, Macclesfield,at the age of 11.Curtis
was never obsessed with art and literature ,eventually music.
Curtis served as a civil servant in Manchester and later in Macclesfield. He
was influenced by the writers William Burroughs, J.G.Ballard ,and Joseph
Conrad(the song titles “Interzone”, ”Atrocity Exhibition” and “Colony” are
coming from the three authors),and by the musicians David Bowie and
Iggy Pop.
Ian married his girlfriend Deborah Woodruff in 1975, while they both were still teenagers
with 19 years. They had one child named Natalie. Natalie Curtis was born in 16 April 1979.
“I was about three when my mum first told me that my father ,Ian Curtis-who died when I
was one-was a singer ,but it just seemed normal ,like having an uncle who was a tradesman
or whatever.”( Curtis,Natalie,The Guardian,September 22,2007)
Curtis had a lover, Belgian journalist Annik Honoré, whom he had met after a concert in an
interview, and was described as chubby, thin, a journalist and a tour arranger.
WITH JOY DIVISION
In 1976, Curtis convicted himself his destiny was as a performer .He finally met two young
musicians, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook. Sumner and Hook mentioned to him they were
trying to form a band and he immediately put himself as a vocalist and lyricist.
15.Ian Curtis as a little boy
16.Doreen and Ian Curtis
17
“His songs were about articulating extreme
alienation ,and in that age I felt incredibly alienated
and I just identified intensely with what he was
saying.”...”One of the greatest modernist of 20th
century. What ever he was singing or talking about
he ment it.”(Hoskyns,Barney.”Joy Division-Sex Drugs
and Rock’n Roll”(1of4).August,2007)(see picture 17)
“You can’t say what inspires you to write. It could be
something you’ve seen, something subconscious..it’s
up to people to decide what the songs are about.
They have to form their own impressions. I don’t
write about anything in particular .It’s all
subconscious stuff. Scribble..sometimes feelings or
things that pop into your head. Does that sound
pretentious?”(Curti,Ian.IanCurtis.org/biography.1979)
While performing for Joy Division , Curtis became known for his strange and clumsy
demeanor ,as well as a unique dancing style reminiscent of the epileptic seizures he
ecperienced, sometimes even on the stage. The similarity was such that audience members
were sometimes uncertain if Curtis was dancing or having a seizure; there were several
incidents where he collapsed and had to be helped off the stage.
Towards the very end of 1978,Ian suffered his first major epileptic fit. The band was
returning to Manchester from a gig at the Hope and Anchor in London, Bernar actually quite
unwell, due to a bout of the flu. Worrying about Ian’s health, Steve Morris drove them all to
hospital, where Ian was prescribed some tablets to help calm his condition.
Around this point, the band felt so dejected that Ian even talked about leaving. His epileptic
fits increased from being almost unnoticeable to sometimes four a week. Many of Curtis’s
writings were filled with imagery of emotional isolation, death, alienation, and urban
degeneration.
Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder that is characterized by recurrent
unprovoked seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms due to abnormal,
17.Joy Division(the last on the right I.Curtis).Picture taken from Anton Corbijn
18
excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. About 50 million people worldwide
have epilepsy at any one time. Epilepsy is usually controlled, but not cured, with medication,
although surgery may be considered in difficult case. Not all epilepsy syndromes are lifelong-
some forms are confined to particular stages of childhood. Epilepsy should not be
understood as a single disorder, but rather as a group of syndromes with vastly divergent
symptoms but all involving abnormal electric activity in the brain.
“Some people have said the music is all about death and destruction .It isn’t really.There’s
other things…particular feelings. None of the songs are about death and doom .It’s such a
heavy metal thing. Some of the things come out of confussion ,because I’m not exactly sure
what I want, now I feel more or less settled .I’m doing what I want to
do ,really.“(Curti,Ian.IanCurtis.org/biography.October,1979)
“Nothing appealed to me ,I was listening to stuff like the Stones and whatever…and there
was just something when I got two of the Velvet Underground albums that seemed to be very
real. There was stuff in the lyrics that I could relate to that there wasn’t in anything else .It
was just what I was going through at the time…It was the attitude of the thing .I remember
seeing Lou Reed on Old Grey Whistle Test or Disco Two or whatever they used to call it, and
he wasn’t the normal singer in the group, there was something ,ore to him that seemed to
carry on to the way he lived and things like that. Instead of just singing about something you
could show it as well-put it over in the way that it is, if you were totally involved in what you
were doing.” (Curti,Ian.IanCurtis.org/biography. 1979)
He once commented in one interview that he wrote about the different ways, different
people fight with different problems, how they might not give up.
Deborah Curtis was expecting their child at this time. Ian told her of the band’s deal, where,
if any member either left the band or died, the others would carry on under a new name.
She immediately taught on kicking Ian out of the band. This worry became greater trough
the spring of 1979,as Ian’s fits became worse, and his dancing on the stage reflected his
illness even more.
He sang in a bass-baritone voice, different like his speaking voice, which
was higher. Although mostly a vocalist, Curtis also played guitar, but
18. Vox Phantom Special VI –Curtis’ first guitar
19
only in few tracks ,usually when Bernard Sumner was playing synthesizer; “Incubation”was a
rare case where both played guitar. At first Curtis played Sumner’s Shergold Marquerader,
but in September 1979 he received his own guitar, a Vox Phantom Special VI which had
many built-in effects which were used also live and in the studio by Martin Hannett. After
Curtis died, Sumner inherited the guitar, and it was used in several early New Order songs,
such as “Everything’s Gone Green”.(see picture 18)
Joy Division was rehearsing for the American tour .When the songs seemed rehearsed
EnoughIan announced he was having a break and he arranged to meet Annik in a small
country. Ian and Annik ran out of money, didn’t have a place to stay, and ended up on the
doorstep of Rob Gretton’s flat. When Deborah finally admitted to herself that her husband
was with someone else ,she decided to file for divorce.
On Thursday 13th May Ian returned to Macclesfield. He met up with Bernard and another
friend to play pool, and during the evening, they arranged to meet up again in next two days
before the US tour. Ian had been staying at his parent’s house. He said Bernard that he
wouldn’t be able to make the Saturday meeting and would, instead, meet them at the
airport on Monday morning.
On the Saturday Deborah was working, leaving
Natalie in the care of her parents. Before starting her evening shift, she made her way home
to see Ian. Ian had arrived back to the family
home .Ian had been watching the Werners Herzog
film “Stroszek”.After a long talk Ian told Debbie that he
wanted to be alone that night, so she returned to
her parent’s house and her daughter. That night Ian
wrote a long letter to Debbie,to explain how he felt. By
the time he had finished the writing, he was down
and depressed. He was listening to Iggy Pop’s album,”The Idiot”. (see picture 19 and 20)
“After I had gone, Ian made himself still more coffee. In the pantry was the all-but-empty
whisky bottle from which he squeezed every last drop. He listened to Iggy Pop’s The Idiot. He
19.Ian Curtis with his daughterNatalie Curtis
20
took Natalie’s photograph down from the wall, retrieved our wedding picture from the
drawer and sat down to write me a letter. It was a long, very intimate letter in the same
sprawling capitals he used to write his songs. He did say he wished he was dead, but didn’t
actually say that it was his intention to kill himself. He talked of our life together, romance
and passion; his love for me, his love for Natalie and his hate for Annik. He couldn’t have
hated Annik. I never heard him say he hated anyone. I think he wrote that to try to please
me. He told me he couldn’t bring himself to be so cruel as to tell her he didn’t want to see her
again, even to save his marriage. The pages were full of contradictions. He asked me not to
get in touch for a while as it was hard for him to talk to me. By the time he had finished
writing, he told me, it wawn and he could hear the birds singing.“(Curtis,p.142)
DEATH
Curtis’s last live performance was on 2 May 1980 at Birmingham
University, a show that included Joy Division’s first and only
performance of the song “Ceremony” ,later recorded by New
Order and released as their first single. The last song Curtis
performed on stage was “Digital”. Early in his musical career, he
was diagnosed with epilepsy, and his dancing style onstage was
very similar to his fits he would have offstage. Ian loved to
perform, but it was often felt that his performances were real,
20. Ian married his girlfriend Deborah Woodruff in 1975
21.Ians last taken photo before US tour for his passport 21
that he was not a front man acting for his audience, but that he was exposing himself to
them; his performances held a voyeuristic function for the audience.
Then he cracked, in the early hours of Sunday,18 May 1980,in his kitchen, he hanged
himself. It was known that Ian’s philosophy was to live fast and die young. He was also
idealizing tragic heroes like James Dean and Jim Morrison.
When he was a teenager he decided that he didn’t want to live beyond his early twenties. He
even took an overdose with his friend, Tony Nuttall, in a failed attempt to take his own life.
Those who were close to him thought his desire to live the rock’n roll dream was just a
phase, but it was proved reversely , tragically, that he was a man of his world.
There were many rumors, possible reasons or his suicide, with his poor health and failed
marriage most often suggested. He was only 23 years old. Ian left his baby daughter Natalie
without the father ,his wife without a husband, and he left Joy Division without the singer,
leaving the boys in front of a biggest success.(see picture 21)
“People constantly ask, ”Why did he kill himself?” To me it seems obvious-because he was
really depressed. Bernard Sumner told me that my father used to drink before performing,
which may explain his on-stage fits, because alcohol is a seizure trigger. Seizures can also be
triggered by flashing lights, lack of sleep and stress. Ian’s lifestyle abd the tension caused by
the disintegration of his marriage would not have helped. He did the best he could; he was
just very ill.” . (Curtis,Natalie,The Guardian,September 22,2007)
Tony Wilson speaking about the death said, ”I’d been
warned on a train to London two weeks earlier by
Annik. I asked her, ’What do you think of the new
album?’ She goes, ’I’m terrified.’ I said ,’What are you
terrified of?’ She replies ,’Don’t you understand? He
means it.’ And I go, ’No,he doesn’t mean it; it’s art.’
And guess what, he realy meant it.”(see pisture 22)
Curtis was cremated ,and his ashes were buried in
Macclesfield Cemetery.The inscription on his memorial
22.Tony Wilson(1950-2007)- was in charge of Joy Division's record label, Factory Records
22
stone, ”LOVE WILL TEAR US APART”, was chosen by Deborah Curtis, and is a reference to the
Joy Division song.(see picture 24)
HIS WORK
Ian Curtis worked as a civil servant for the government department which was responsible
for the payment of unemployment benefits and for helping unemployed people to find
work. Ian was a full-time civil servant, when Joy Division's early successes gave him hopes of
become a full-time musician. Ian worked first for the Manpower Services Commission, at the
Sunley Building in Manchester city centre and then at Washington House on the border of
Manchester and Salford.
His work colleagues in Manchester found him a very quiet, lovely person. They kept in touch
on work-related matters even after Ian transferred to Macclesfield. Ian would talk about his
band but did not boast about it. A colleague recalls a conversation in a corridor by the lifts
about the name change from Warsaw to Joy Division. Ian did on occasions bring in his latest
release and a number of people who worked closely with Ian got him to sign them on the
basis that one day he could be famous!
Ian worked here until 1978 before moving to a new job as an Assistant Disablement
Resettlement Officer based at the JobCentre in Macclesfield. The meaning of his new job was
to help people with special needs, due to some type of physical or mental disability, to find
and keep employment. One of the factors that motivated him to apply for the job in
Macclesfield was that it would take him about five minutes to walk from home to work.
In Macclesfield Ian was searching job vacancies and training opportunities that matched the
abilities of those JobCentre clients he dealt with professionally. He was also there to
influence employers to overcome any prejudices they might have towards considering
people with disabilities. One can only imagine how Ian struggled with the responsibility he
must have felt towards these people, who in the main would be unemployed and coming to
terms with their own problems, in less brighter times when equality of opportunity was a
myth.
23
A senior training team member with the Employment Service based in Aytoun Street in
Manchester educated Ian (in a group of ten) to develop the competence, skills and attitudes
to carry out these interviewing and marketing activities successfully. He remembers Ian as a
serious-minded member of the group who only talked when he had something worth saying.
Ian had something about him that made him stand out. It would be pretentious to say it was
an "aura".
Ian's line manager was the Disablement Resettlement Officer
(DRO) at Macclesfield Employment Exchange/JobCentre and he was a good friend to Ian. At
that time there were layers of different generations of staff within the Department. To fight
with the introduction of the national JobCentre programme, a fresh group of bright young
things were recruited to breathe enthusiasm into the new age of helping people find jobs
and employers find people. These included Ian.(see picture 23)
The DRO was more than a boss to Ian and looked after him as a mentor and father. Ian
would have confidence in him, much as young men do in their favourite uncle. He would
have known that Ian suspected he suffered from epilepsy long before he started work with
him and before he did his Assistant DRO training.
DRO and ADRO teams were a two-person bonded force. There was a closeness that other
staff did not experience - there were no other teams like these. The DRO would have helped
Ian with his decision to formally register as a disabled person himself and seek help from a
national support group.
Ian's boss was concerned about Ian's medical condition and the difficulties of him trying to
juggle an "in your face" public service job with the growing demands of his music career and
his developing domestic difficulties. At that time, at his age, and with his intelligence, it
would have been expected that Ian would have the opportunity for fairly rapid promotion in
the civil service.
Part of Ian's training concentrated on specific types of physical and mental disabilities and
certainly covered epilepsy in some depth, looking at symptoms, possible causes, grand mal
and petit mal, the stigma (born out of ignorance) attached to it, activity limitations, and
23.Ian having a break
24
treatments. The effects of his own epilepsy and depression he would have seen in others
and he would have been able to offer positive and constructive advice.
Generally speaking, a person who is susceptible to epileptic attacks suffers more the greater
their tiredness - especially their mental fatigue. Ian will have been completely aware that as
his commitments to the band lifestyle grew and his work load did not decrease the chance of
him having more frequent and violent attacks was a likely consequence.
And so it proved. From the end of 1978 until he left his job about nine months later his
attendance became erratic and his behavior less predictable. With all of his tensions
something was going to give way. Although his fits became less frequent and Ian became
more alert to when they were going to happen, he also recognised he was losing control of
his social skills and was alienating those who were close to him. His line manager may well
have seen the development of this trait and, because of their relationship, would have been
distressed himself. Within another nine months, of course, Ian took his own life.
CONCLUSION
Person, one human is not only a piece of meat, fat and lots of hair. This vertical and fulfilled
thing is full of emotional feelings .Just one look, and spark in the eye is a lot to know about
someone’s feelings. Some can really hide pain, sickness they are going through .Until it is too
painful and there is no more energy to survive the pain alone. You start to show it to the
others, with grimaces and physical breakdowns.
Just like Ian did it. He wasn’t able to work in his own misery but he was doing his best, until
he cracked, and ended his life. The strangest thing of all was that nobody was having the
Ian’s suicide in the back of their mind. He realy did it. Without any warnings. Annik Honore
was the closest one. She was looking after him and warning people in the band and also
Tony Wilson that he really meant to do it.
25
After his suicide he has left great sound and voice for future generations who have learned a
lot from his lyrics and style of performing. Together with the Joy Division his name is written
in
the stars.
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Bush,John.Joy Division-Biography.Allmusic.com.
Corbijn,Anton;Wise,Damon.“Joy Division“.Mojo.November 2007.
Critics applaud Joy Division film.BBC.co.uk(17 May 2007)
24. The inscription on his memorial stone,”LOVE WILL TEAR US APART”,was chosen by Deborah
Curtis,and is a reference to the Joy Division song.
26
Curtis,Deborah. Touching from a Distance:Ian Curtis and Joy Division.London:Faber,1995 (2nd ed.2001,3rd ed.2005)
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It was the best party...ever.Guardian.co.uk(3 March 2002)
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Raftery,Brian."He's Lost Control“.Spin.May 2005.
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