Ian Kevin Curtis (July 15, 1956 – May 18, 1980) was the songwriter, lyricist, singer and occasional guitarist of the English post-punk band Joy Division. Joy Division released their debut album Unknown Pleasures in 1979, and recorded their follow-up Closer in 1980. Suffering from epilepsy, a failing marriage, and bouts of depression, Curtis committed suicide in May 1980, on the eve of Joy Division's first North American tour.In 1995, Curtis's widow Deborah published Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division, a biography of the singer. His life and death have been dramatized in the films 24 Hour Party People (2002) and Control (2007).
In 1976, Curtis met two young musicians, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook, at a Sex Pistols gig, who told him they were trying to form a band; he immediately put himself forward as a vocalist and lyricist. The three of them recruited and sacked a number of drummers before settling on Stephen Morris as their final member. Initially, the band was called Warsaw before changing its name to Joy Division in 1978, due to conflicts with the name of another band, Warsaw Pakt. The name "Joy Division" stemmed from the sexual slavery wing of a Nazi concentration camp in the 1955 novel The House of Dolls.
After starting Factory Records with Alan Erasmus, Tony Wilson signed the band to his label.
While performing for Joy Division, Curtis became known for his quiet and awkward demeanor, as well as a unique dancing style reminiscent of the epileptic seizures he experienced, sometimes even on stage. There were several incidents where he collapsed and had to be helped off stage. In an interview for Northern Lights cassette magazine in November 1979 Ian Curtis made his only public comment on his dancing and performance. He explained the dance as a type of sign language for the lyrics : "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".
Curtis's writing was filled with imagery of emotional isolation, death, alienation, and urban decay. He once commented in an interview that he wrote about "the different ways different people can cope with certain problems, how they might or might not adapt." He sang in a bass-baritone voice, in contrast to his speaking voice, which fell in the tenor range. Earlier in their career, Curtis would sing in a loud snarling voice similar to shouting; it is best displayed on the band's debut EP, An Ideal for Living (1978). Joy Division had its sparse recording style developed by producer Martin Hannett, with some of their most innovative work being created in Strawberry Studios in Stockport (owned by Manchester act 10cc) and Cargo Recording Studios Rochdale in 1979, a studio which was developed from John Peel investing money into the music business in Rochdale.
READ MORE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Curtis
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Control: Movie Trailer – Directed by Anton Corbijn
Joy Division – Ceremony
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Joy Division – Shadowplay (Live)
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Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart (Video Tribute)
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