written by Ian Curtis, Peter Hook,

Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner

produced by Martin Hannett and Joy Division

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I’m making this page July 16th, 2021, the day after what would’ve

been the 65th birthday of Joy Division’s lead singer and frontman,

Ian Kevin Curtis. Happy Posthumous Birthday, IC.

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Ian was born in Lancashire, England, grew up in Cheshire, and showed himself to be a bit of a genius early on, gifted in the fields of literature, poetry and philosophy. His teenage rebellion came in the flavor of stealing over-the-counter drugs from an elderly folks’ home and (over)dosing them with his friends. His teen years were also those in which he cultivated his musical interests, especially partial to and inspired by acts like David Bowie and The Doors. His family was working-class, and he could little afford to purchase records, and so he would steal them from the shops instead.

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Ian’s semi-destitute status prompted him to become bored with school, and to drop out in favor of finding work and building a living. His passion for music strengthened, and he met future bandmates Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner at a June ’76 Sex Pistols concert. They took form as Joy Division shortly thereafter, with Bernard on guitar and keyboards, Peter on bass, and Ian on lead vocals. They went through a few drummers before officially recruiting Stephen Morris.

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Record man Tony Wilson of Factory Records featured Joy Division on a TV program he presented at the time, and signed them to the label in the fall of 1978. The band wrote all their songs together, and dropped their debut album, Unknown Pleasures, in June of ’79. Album two, Closer—Joy Division’s only other full-length record—followed a year later. Both reached #1 on the UK Indie chart. Neither album spawned a single single... but JD promoted themselves and broadened popularity by releasing several non-album singles in and around the two projects.

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The year 2007 brought a remastering and re-release of both albums with bonus discs featuring live versions of many album tracks and non-album singles together. Both were recorded within the span of one month. Ian had by the time developed and was diagnosed with epilepsy and also suffered from intense depression. He became enamored of a Belgian music journalist named Annik Honoré, often writing passionate love letters to her and causing his wife to initiate divorce proceedings. The solitude was not good for Ian, and compounded by his diseases, brought about his suicide attempts. His May 18th, 1980 attempt by hanging himself was successful.

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This song, “Love Will Tear Us Apart”—arguably Joy Division’s biggest hit—was written partly as a reflection of Ian’s infatuation with Annik and the way it dissolved his marriage, and partly as that of his diseases. The band broke some new ground in the then-semi-niche then-genre of post-punk and new wave, one reason their legacy is remembered forty years later. Another reason is the formation of New Order. Joy Division made a pact that should any member leave the band, the name would be changed. Starting later in 1980, Bernard and Stephen took on Stephen’s girlfriend on keyboards and guitars, Bernard took over as lead singer, and from the ashes of Joy Division arose New Order, one of the most successful, acclaimed and remembered new wave synth bands of the decade.

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RIP Ian, 7/15/56 to 5/18/80.

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Have notes to add? Let me know!

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YT:

full version

music video

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Joy Division’s official website