Ian Curtis
Ian Kevin Curtis (July 15, 1956 - May 18, 1980) was an English singer and songwriter, born in Stretford, England. Curtis lived most of his life in Macclesfield, England.
Ian Curtis is notable as the singer and main songwriter with the band Joy Division, a band which he helped form in 1977 in Manchester, England.
Curtis developed a unique dancing style, which mirrored the epileptic fits he suffered in the latter years of his life. He suffered epileptic fits on stage on a number of occasions but as his dancing style mirrored them so much, it was often quite a few minutes before anyone realized what was really happening. He also possesed an eerie baritone voice, which he used to great effect in the songs Joy Division created. As well as suffering from epilepsy, his life was plagued by depression. His epilepsy and psychological problems eventually became too much for for him to cope with and he committed suicide by hanging himself in his wife's kitchen, the night before Joy Division was to embark on its first North American tour.
Curtis was cremated and buried in Macclesfield, with the inscription on his memorial stone reading, "Love will tear us apart." The epitaph, chosen by his widow Deborah Curtis, is a reference to Joy Division's best-known song.
In the mid-'90s, Curtis' widow Deborah Curtis wrote "Touching From a Distance," a biographical account of her marriage to him, detailing how he had a relationship with another woman that ended before he killed himself.
Further reading
- Touching From A Distance - Ian Curtis And Joy Division by Deborah Curtis.
(Faber and Faber Limited, 1995) ISBN 0571174450