Curtis could seldom afford to purchase records, leading him to frequently steal them from local shops. Among Curtis's earliest experiences with music was in a church choir as a young kid, in his hometown of Macclesfield.
Ĭurtis had held a keen interest in music since the age of 12, and this interest developed greatly in his teenage years, with artists such as Jim Morrison and David Bowie being particular favourites of his, and thus influencing his poetry and art. On one occasion when he was 16, after consuming a large dosage of Largactil he and his friends had stolen, Curtis was discovered unconscious in his bedroom by his father and was taken to hospital to have his stomach pumped.
While visiting, he and his friends would steal any prescription drugs that they found and later take them together as a group. Īs a teenager, Curtis chose to perform social service by visiting the elderly as part of a school programme. The year after Curtis had graduated from King's School, the family purchased a house from a relative and moved to New Moston. While at King's School, he was awarded several scholastic awards in recognition of his abilities, particularly at the ages of 15 and 16. Here, he developed his interests in philosophy, literature and eminent poets such as Thom Gunn. He was awarded a scholarship at the age of 11 at Macclesfield's independent King's School. From an early age, Curtis was a bookish and intelligent child, displaying a particular flair for poetry. He was the first of two children born to Kevin and Doreen Curtis. 3.4 Depression and initial suicide attemptĬurtis was born on 15 July 1956, at the Memorial Hospital in Stretford, Lancashire, and grew up in a working-class household in Macclesfield, Cheshire.Rap artists such as Danny Brown and Vince Staples have cited the band as an influence. According to critic Simon Reynolds, Joy Division's influence has extended from contemporaries such as U2 and The Cure to later acts including Interpol, Bloc Party and Editors. emphasizing not anger and energy but mood and expression, pointing ahead to the rise of melancholy alternative music in the '80s". John Bush of AllMusic argues that they "became the first band in the post-punk movement by .
They remain an active unit to this day, albeit without Joy Division bassist Peter Hook, who left the band in the mid-2000s due to personal disputes with the other members.ĭespite their short career, Joy Division have exerted a wide-reaching influence. Continuing a stylistic shift towards a more electronic sound that characterized Joy Division's later releases, New Order would eventually achieve considerable commercial and critical success in their own right. Shortly after his death, the three surviving members of the band reconstituted themselves as New Order. Curtis was known for his bass-baritone voice, dance style and songwriting typically filled with imagery of desolation, emptiness and alienation.Ĭurtis suffered from epilepsy and depression and took his own life on the eve of Joy Division's first North American tour and shortly before the release of Closer. He was the lead singer and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division and recorded two albums with the group: Unknown Pleasures (1979) and Closer (1980). Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – ) was an English singer-songwriter and musician.