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.

WORKS CITED:

Brazier,Chris.An Ideal For Living review.Melody Maker.24 June 1978.

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)

Dalley,Helen.“John Frusciante“.Total Guitar.August 2002.

It was the best party...ever.Guardian.co.uk(3 March 2002)

Lester,Paul(31 August 2007).'It felt like someone had ripped out my heart'. Guardian.co.uk.

Lester,Pauil.“Torn Apart:The Legend of Joy Division.“Record Collector.November 2007.

McCormick,Nel(ed).U2 by U2.HarperCollins Publishers,2006

More names join UK Music Hall Of Fame.NME.com(18 October 2005)

Morley,Paul;Thrills,Adrian.“Don't Walk Away in Silence“.NME.14 June 1980.

Morley,Paul.“Simply the First Division“.NME.16 February 1980.

Moss,Corey(24 June 2002).Moby Gets Cloned,Romps With Dirty Degenerates.MTV.com.

Murrary,Charles Shaar.“Closer to the Edge“.(Closer review).NME.19 July 1980.

NewOrderStory (DVD).Warner Bros., 2005.

Raftery,Brian."He's Lost Control“.Spin.May 2005.

Raggetti,Ned.Substance(review).Allmusic.com.

Rambali,Paul.“Take No Prisoners,Leave No Clues“.NME.11 August 1979.

Reynolds,Simon(7 October 2007).Music to Brood by,Desolate and Stark.NYTimes.com.

Savage,Jon.”Foreword”.Touching from a Distance:Ian Curtis and Joy Division.London:Faber,1995 (2nd ed.2001,3rd ed.2005)

Savage,Jon.“From safety to where?“Melody Maker.14 June 1980.

Savage,Jon.“Joy Division:Someone Take These Dreams Away“.Mojo.July 1994.

Savage,Jon.Unknown Pleasures review.Melody Maker.21 July 1979.

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Sex Pistols gig:the truth.BBC.co.uk (27 June 2006).

Shadowplayers(DVD).LTM,2006

Wilkinson,roy.“Ode to Joy“.Mojo Classic:Morrissey and the Story of Manchester.2006.

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