Ian Curtis The Not Joyful Leader of Joy Division
Joy Division’s musical adventure began when guitarist Bernard Sumner and bassist Peter Hook, inspired by Sex Pistols, decided to form a band. Soon after the charismatic singer Ian Curtis and drummer Stephen Morris joined the band.
Ian Curtis The Not Joyful Leader of Joy Division
At first, the band played punk but then their sound changed and they became the ambassadors of Post Punk.
They were discovered by Tony Wilson who immediately noticed the talent of the band and offer them the first record deal.
The band lasted only 4 years from 1976 to 1980 as singer Ian Curtis decided to take his own life the day before their tour in the U.S.A and Canada.
But who was Ian Curtis the lead singer of this legendary band?
Born on July 15, 1956, in Stretford, Lancashire, England, he was an intelligent and poetic child.
A boy definitely out of the ordinary who decided to do social work for the elderly with the aim of stealing their medicines to get high.
Even though he was a great student he decided to drop out of school to work. He did various jobs including one in a record shop and in 1975 at the age of 19, married Deborah Woodruff.
Some people do everything so fast. They seem to know that their lives are short.
In 1979 their daughter Natalie Curtis was born but only a year later her father took his own life.
The controversial personality of this artist will unleash his demons around 1979. In 1978 he started having epileptic seizures which gradually worsened.
Once, the band was in the studio when Ian disappeared for two hours. They found him passed out in the bathroom after he had a seizure and hit his head on the sink.
As a result of physical problems and the stress of starting a family so young, the artist had an extramarital affair with Annik Honoré. They met after a concert in Belgium.
Curtis, however, felt guilty for not being a good father and husband and his lucidity increasingly clouded by his problems and medicines made him fall into depression.
Ian Curtis The Not Joyful Leader of Joy Division
In 1980, no longer able to withstand the pressure of the band’s success and the family decided to end it all.
On May 17, Ian Curtis took a washing line and hanged himself. He left a note to his wife saying that he had always loved her despite the love affair.
Joy Division a few months later decided to continue playing under the name of New Orders.
If you think Ian Curtis is one of the best singers ever, we recommend this song The G.O.A.T (The Greatest of All Time) by Edgar Allan Poets
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