| Ian Curtis - Joy Division |
| IAN CURTIS 1956-1980 25 years ago this month one of our more enigmatic figures that splintered outta the early UK punk scene evacuated the building, leaving behind a groundbreaking sound and influence on music that some would say was never fulfilled. Ian Curtis lead singer in Joy Division was only 23 years old when he committed suicide. But throughout his teenage life he had harboured an obsessive devotion to the idea(l) of dying young. An intense, and some would say neurotic young man, Curtis found the means of articulating, if not exorcising, his angst through the music and performances of Joy Division. A sufferer from epilepsy (which he documented in the superb 'She Lost Control'), he regularly left the stage after a live show drained of all physical energy. Towards the end, he'd be helped off mid set such was the fragile nature of his physical and mental health. Curtis's death was prefigured by three previous suicide attempts: In 1972, using (the schizoprenia drug) Largactil. He told parents and authorities that it had been a joke, his wife Debbie wasn't so sure. He was also found unconscious at his home bleeding from self inflicted knife wounds sometime in 1979 and, later, following a fraught tour of Holland, he took an overdose following a protracted state of depression. His mental state, alongside his epilepsy, was rapidly growing more out of control and, following a period of marital difficulty, Curtis locked into the final bout of ultra depression. On May 17th, 1980 Curtis watched Werner Herzog's Stoszek on television, stayed awake through the early hours of the next morning and, at an unspecified time, hung himself. His wife found the corpse the next day alongside a note that said, "At this very moment I wish I were dead. I just can't cope any more." His headstone reads "Love will tear us apart." I first became aware of Joy Division when i bought the 'Factory Sample' double 7 inch EP around Christmas 1978. It featured Cabaret Voltaire, Durrutti Column, John Dowie and Joy Division. It was a grey ecclectic mix of the weird and wonderful sounds produced by the new breed of Northern outsiders flimsily attached to the dieing embers of the first wave of punk. But from hearing Joy Division's two tracks 'Digital' and 'Glass' you knew they were something special. Great thick slices of bass powered the tracks along with clinically precise guitar slashings with an almost electronic drumbeat and slightly sinister handclaps. But it was of course Ian Curtis who you remember best, he had one of the most memorable hypnotic vocals to come out the punk scene. A sound that really shot em into legend. His strong powerfully tormented presence left such a distinct impression on their mysterious morbid drone that it's still evokes the same impact 25 years later. By 1980 Joy Division had become mainstream chart factors with an impending debut US Tour booked. Next thing I remember is listening to the John Peel show one night in May 1980 and he mentions... "Bad news lads. Ian Curtis of Joy Divison has died". By June of that year 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' probably their most famous legacy reaches the UK Top 20, with their 2nd album 'Closer' following suit in the album charts resulting in them being imortalised forever. The remaining members of Joy Division changed names to New Order at the end of 1980 and become a massive dance band reaching the dizzy heights of worldwide success which I personally never got into. But it makes you think what could've happened if Ian Curtis hadn't walked away in silence? Peter Don't Care |
