I have just finished reading one of the books that has been gathering dust for several years in a spare room pile of music related tomes. It was 'Unknown Pleasures Inside Joy Division' by Peter Hook. Of course there are connections that link Manchesters finest doom merchants with The Stranglers. First and foremost Jean Jacques Burnel was to be a major influence on young punk Hooky's bass playing style (the ludicrously lengthened, vertebrae crumbling, strap was an 'innovation' borrowed from The Clash's Paul Simenon). Secondly, Joy Division supported a Hughless Stranglers at the Rainbow on 4th April 1980. That second event is covered in his book. It was a memorable day by all accounts, and not for good reasons. He remarks on the fact that The Stranglers' crew treated Joy Division badly on the day. Not given the time for a sound-check the Joy Division, manager Rob Gretton also lost the opportunity to sit down with the lighting technician who would be maning the desk during the gig to request a refrain from the use of strobe lighting effects during their set. With no such safeguards in place, strobes were used and this triggered Ian Curtis's first seizure of the night. Peter and Bernard cut the set short and carried Ian off stage.
An hour later and the band were to be found across London at the Moonlight in West Hamstead where they were in time to headline a Factory Records residency intended to showcase the bands signed to the young label. This was foolish as Curtis was in no state to perform. He did and the intensity and exertion resulted in another, more severe fit. The band's Moonlight Club set can be located here.
Two days later on 5th April Ian Curtis took an overdose of phenobarbital in an attempt to take his own life. This was viewed as a 'cry for help' as Ian informed his wife what he had done in sufficient time for him to be taken to Macclesfield hospital for a stomach pump. It was more than a cry for help. Ian Curtis committed suicide by hanging on 18th May 1980, the day before the band were due to depart for their first tour of America.
Because of the enigmatic character of Ian Curtis, his lyricism and ultimately his tragic death, pages and pages have been written covering 'the Joy Division story'. What is a little different is that much of this historical narrative has been provided by insiders, specifically members of the band, but also Deborah Curtis, who, in her book 'Touching From A Distance' gives an insight into another side of Ian's life. 'Unknown Pleasures Inside Story' I would recommend, along with drummer Stephen Morris's 'Record Play Pause: Confessions of a Post-Punk Percussionist: the Joy Division Years: Volume I'. To complete the picture, Joy Division/New Order guitarist, Bernard Sumner as also told his version of events in 'Chapter and Verse - New Order, Joy Division and Me'.
I have yet to read Bernard's account, but a clear message that comes through in the books penned by the rhythm section is that Ian Curtis was quite a complex character, in that what you got could be very dependent on the company he was keeping at the time, be that his fellow band members, his wife Deborah or his mistress Annik Honoré. To his fellow musicians he was more one of the lads, than he tortured poetic soul that history remembers him for.
So for Ian Curtis from better times here is a recording of the band playing at the Nashville in London's West Kennsington. Tracks 2 to 12 come from the 'Stiff Kittens - Try to Cure Yourself' bookleg, whilst the opener 'Atmosphere' is lifted from the 'Out of the Room' bootleg. 'Atmosphere' is also included in the download to complete the full set played on the night. Thanks to the original Dime uploader (borzage) and to the the 'Joy Division - A Means To An End Blog' site for the 'Atmosphere' file.
New Musical Express (22nd September 1979)
