Ian Curtis' tormented soul

July 15, 2020 at 10:18 hrs.

 

El July 15, 1956 Ian Curtis was born, British singer-songwriter, composer, poet, leader and co-founder of the group Joy Division, .

Originally from Manchester, he studied at The King's School showing interest in poetry from a young age.

He grew up reading Franz Kafka, Jean Paul Sartre, Hermann Hesse and under the musical influence of David Bowie, Lou Reed and Iggy Pop.

This certainly piqued Ian Curtis's interest in the punk movement, psychoanalysis, and literature.

In 1975 and at 19 years of age, he married Deborah Woodruffe, with whom he had his daughter Natalie Curtis. However, he had a deep desire to express and share his writing.

Image within content

 

That was how in a Sex Pistols concert, it coincided with Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook, who shared their wishes to form a band.

Curtis did not hesitate to join the project as a vocalist and lyricist, until they finally found Stephen Morris, who joined them as a drummer.

 

The maddening fame

 

Debuting under the name of Warsaw, the lineup stood out for the deep and dark voice of Ian, who stood out for his extravagant way of dancing, very similar to a seizure of epilepsy, a disease he suffered from. He even suffered attacks on stage.

After a while, Joy Division, definitive name of the group, released their first album Unknown Pleasures (1979)

 

youtube thumb
Play youtube icon

 

That same year he gave an interview to Annik Honore, with whom he began a love relationship until the day of his death.

The songs he wrote for Joy Division were bleak, depressing, and reflected his reflection on desolation, emptiness, and human alienation.

 

youtube thumb
Play youtube icon

 

The depression over her divorce that led to her most famous song Love Will Tear Us Apart, the stress of touring and health problems caused by epilepsy were some of the reasons that led Curtis to suicide at only 23 years old.

 

youtube thumb
Play youtube icon

 

Ian hanged himself at home on May 18, 1980, after watching Werner Herzog's Stroszek on television and listening to the record. The Idiot by Iggy Pop. Joy Division was about to start her US tour.

Ian Curtis's short legacy of two studio albums concluded with Closer released posthumously in 1980.

 

youtube thumb
Play youtube icon