Ian Curtis of Joy Division commits suicide - May 18, 1980 - HISTORY.com Ian Curtis of Joy Division commits suicide Share this: Ian Curtis of Joy Division commits suicide Author Ian Curtis of Joy Division commits suicide URL Publisher A+E Networks On the evening of May 18, 1980, Ian Curtis, lead singer and lyricist of the British group Joy Division, hangs himself in his Manchester kitchen. He was only 23 years old. Joy Division was one of four hugely important British post-punk bands that could trace its origins to a now-legendary performance by the Sex Pistols at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester in June 1976. Along with founding members of the Buzzcocks, the Smiths and the Fall, Mancunians Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook decided in the immediate aftermath of that show to form a band. And while the DIY ethos of the Sex Pistols gave them the courage to call themselves a band when they could barely play their newly purchased instruments, the band they ended up becoming was among the first punk-inspired groups to leave the punk-rock sound behind.

The critical step in that direction was the selection of Ian Curtis from among the respondents to the “Singer Wanted” listing they posted in a local record store. Curtis was less an aspiring rock star than he was an aspiring poet, and his moody, expressive lyrics would gradually guide the group’s sound away from the thrash and anger of punk and toward something far more spare and melancholy. The sound that Joy Division developed over the course of 1977-79 included the addition of the synthesizer—an absolute violation of the lo-fi punk esthetic, but a choice that marked the beginning of what would eventually be called the New Wave. The 1979 album Unknown Pleasures, its follow-up Control and the single “Love Will Tear Us Apart” made Joy Division into cult heroes in the UK, and Ian Curtis’s mesmerizing stage demeanor turned him into a post-punk icon. Though he concealed his condition from his bandmates until he suffered a major seizure in their tour van following a gig in London in December 1978, Curtis was an epileptic. Some have speculated that depression over his medical condition or the side effects of the medications he took to control it led to Curtis’s suicide.

There are many other factors that may have played a role, however, from Curtis’s drug use to the strain on his marriage brought about by his affair with a Belgian journalist. Whatever his reasons, Ian Curtis took his own life just two days prior to Joy Division’s planned departure on a potentially career-changing tour of the United States. Two months after Curtis committed suicide on this day in 1980, the surviving members of Joy Division fulfilled a promise they’d made to one another by retiring their group’s name and continuing on through the 1980s under the name New Order. Related Videos Ian Curtis Photograph (C) of Philippe Carly ( ) and reproduced with permission More photos from this session can be found here A short biography of Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis was born in Manchester on the 15th July 1956, the son of Kevin and Doreen Curtis. The Curtis family then lived at Hurdsfield, just outside Macclesfield, where Ian attended the local primary school. Later the family moved to a flat at Victoria Park, near Macclesfield town centre, which was Ian's home until 1973.

At the age of 11 Ian won a scholarship to the King's School in Macclesfield. Although he was reasonably successful at school, Ian had little interest in academic advancement, and his ambition was to get a job in the music industry. His love of music had developed from an early age, his teenage heroes including David Bowie, Iggy Pop and the Velvet Underground. The first step on his musical career was a job at Rare Records, a shop in Manchester city centre. This helped to expand his musical interests. Ian Curtis had met Deborah Woodruffe while they were both still at school in Macclesfield. They were married on 23rd August 1975, at St Thomas's church in Henbury, a few miles west of Macclesfield. Ian and Deborah lived first in Hulme and then in Chadderton, and in May 1977 moved into 77 Barton Street in Macclesfield. Their life together is described in detail in Deborah's book Touching From A Distance. Their only child, daughter Natalie, was born on 16th April 1979.

Seeing the Sex Pistols perform in Manchester in 1976 had convinced Ian that he too could make it on stage. Ian had made abortive attempts to form a band with his friends in Macclesfield. His break came when he got to know Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook, who were trying to do the same in Salford but lacked a singer. When Ian contacted them to enquire about the vacancy, they were happy to join forces with him. The band history page tells the story of how things developed from there. As well as being Joy Division's vocalist, Ian Curtis also wrote the song lyrics. Lyrically he was inspired by, among others, W S Burroughs, J G Ballard and David Bowie. Many of Joy Division's songs were written in the house in Barton Street, and Ian had a stock of notebooks into which he jotted ideas as they came to him. Many people assume that his lyrics must reflect his own feelings and problems, but perhaps they just reflect his talent for writing a meaningful song. Ian's first (and last) "proper" job was as a civil servant for the Manpower Services Commission, initially in Manchester and later in Macclesfield.

His job required him to work closely with disabled people ( see below for more details ). He tried to juggle a full-time job with his life in the band until his musical commitments became too great for him to manage both. While working in Manchester, Ian was a frequent visitor to the nearby office of the RCA record company. It was mainly Ian's persistency which led to Joy Division being given a contract to record their first album, although this was never officially released. Ian is also famous for haranguing Granada TV's Tony Wilson in order to get Joy Division an appearance on his TV show. Ian had a volatile personality, and could show different sides at different times and with different people. He could sometimes be angry and spiteful, but more often was easy-going and generous. Although his health, his career and his personal life all brought many pressures, Ian is usually recalled by those who knew him as a fun-loving person, albeit a slightly eccentric one, with a good sense of humour. In January 1979 Ian was diagnosed as epileptic. Although his fits varied in frequency and intensity, epilepsy was an ever-present concern from then on.

Not only did Ian have to take regular medication, which seemed to make his mood swings more extreme, but fits could be brought on by strobe lighting in some of the clubs. His frenetic stage style mirrored the epileptic fits he suffered. Ian's experience of epilepsy in himself and others inspired him to write She's Lost Control. Ian was also a heavy smoker, possibly another sign of the stress he was under. The pressures of working in a touring band played havoc with Ian's health and his marriage. A number of Joy Division concerts were curtailed or cancelled when Ian was taken ill. Once he was hopitalised for a few days following an epileptic fit. His involvement with a Belgian girl named Annik Honoré further undermined his already fragile relationship with his wife Deborah. After Ian gave up his full-time job, he and Deborah had little money, so Deborah was forced to work herself despite having a baby to look after. On May 18th 1980 Ian Curtis killed himself at his home in Macclesfield ( see below for more details ). His suicide came as a great shock to those who knew him.

With the benefit of hindsight, many apparent clues to his frame of mind can be found, but no-one really knows what drove Ian to take his own life. While Ian Curtis was clearly unusual in many respects, the popular "doom and gloom" image left by his suicide and by some of his songs is not recognised by most of the people who knew him. Although some people now remember only his suicide, we remember Ian's key contribution to a talented band and to a musical era. Ian's work as a civil servant Most of the details in this section were kindly provided by Ian's former colleagues Bert Bretherton and Patrick Ell Ian Curtis worked as a civil servant for the government department which was responsible for the payment of unemployment benefits and for helping unemployed people to find work. We are not sure exactly when this job started and finished, but Ian was certainly a full-time civil servant when Joy Division's early successes gave him hopes of become a full-time musician. We don't know of any other leading light in the music business who successfully held down another responsible full-time job.

Ian worked first for the Manpower Services Commission, as it was then called, at the Sunley Building in Manchester city centre and then at Washington House on the border of Manchester and Salford. He was a Clerical Officer working in one of the accounts sections of the Training Services Division, which at the time administered Training Opportunities Schemes (TOPS) on behalf of the government. Unemployed people were paid a training fee to re-train on a wide range of skills such as bricklaying, plastering or engineering. The accounts sections paid both the trainees and the colleges and employers who trained them. His work colleagues in Manchester found him a very quiet, lovely person. They kept in touch on work-related matters even after Ian transferred to Macclesfield. Ian would talk about his band but did not boast about it. A colleague recalls a conversation in a corridor by the lifts about the name change from Warsaw to Joy Division. Ian did on occasions bring in his latest release and a number of people who worked closely with Ian got him to sign them on the basis that one day he could be famous!

Ian probably worked here until well into 1978 before moving to a new job as an Assistant Disablement Resettlement Officer based at the JobCentre in Macclesfield. The aim of his new job was to help people with special needs, due to some type of physical or mental disability, to find and retain employment. One of the factors that motivated him to apply for the job in Macclesfield was that it would take him about five minutes to walk from home to work instead of the awkward journey he had by public transport to central Manchester. In Macclesfield Ian sought job vacancies and training opportunities that matched the abilities of those JobCentre clients he dealt with professionally. He also sought to influence employers to overcome any prejudices they might have towards considering people with disabilities. One can only imagine how Ian coped with the responsibility he must have felt towards these people, who in the main would be unemployed and coming to terms with their own problems, in less enlightened times when equality of opportunity was a myth. A senior training team member with the Employment Service based in Aytoun Street in Manchester tutored Ian (in a group of ten) to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to carry out these interviewing and marketing activities successfully.

He remembers Ian as a serious-minded member of the group who only spoke when he had something worth saying. Ian had something about him that made him stand out. It would be pretentious to say it was an "aura" - more it was an attitude, a stance, an individuality. Ian's line manager was the Disablement Resettlement Officer (DRO) at Macclesfield Employment Exchange/JobCentre and he was a good friend to Ian. At that time there were layers of different generations of staff within the Department. To cope with the introduction of the national JobCentre programme, a fresh group of bright young things were recruited to breathe enthusiasm into the new age of helping people find jobs and employers find people. These included Ian. The DRO was more than a boss to Ian and looked after him as a mentor and "father figure". Ian would have confided in him, much as young men do in their favourite uncle. He would have known that Ian suspected he suffered from epilepsy long before he started work with him and before he did his Assistant DRO training. DRO and ADRO teams were a two-person bonded force. There was a closeness that other staff did not experience - there were no other teams like these.

The DRO would have helped Ian with his decision to formally register as a disabled person himself and seek help from a national support group. Ian's boss was concerned about Ian's medical condition and the difficulties of him trying to juggle an "in your face" public service job with the growing demands of his music career and his developing domestic difficulties. At that time, at his age, and with his intelligence, it would have been expected that Ian would have the opportunity for fairly rapid promotion in the civil service. Part of Ian's training concentrated on specific types of physical and mental disabilities and certainly covered epilepsy in some depth, looking at symptoms, possible causes, grand mal and petit mal, the stigma (born out of ignorance) attached to it, activity limitations, and treatments. The effects of his own epilepsy and depression he would have seen in others and he would have been able to offer positive and constructive advice. Generally speaking, a person who is susceptible to epileptic attacks, suffers more the greater their tiredness - especially their mental fatigue. Ian will have been completely aware that as his commitments to the band lifestyle grew and his work load did not decrease the chance of him having more frequent and violent attacks was a likely consequence. And so it proved.

From the end of 1978 until he left his job about nine months later his attendance became erratic and his behaviour less predictable. With all of his tensions something was going to give way. Although his fits became less frequent and Ian became more alert to when they were going to happen, he also recognised he was losing control of his social skills and was alienating those who were close to him. His line manager may well have seen the development of this trait and, because of their relationship, would have been distressed himself. Within another nine months, of course, Ian took his own life. Ian's suicide: in a lonely place In the early hours of May 18th 1980, two months before his 24th birthday, Ian Curtis committed suicide at his home in Macclesfield. Shortly before the end of Ian's life, his wife Deborah had started divorce proceedings and Ian was no longer living at the family home. In April 1980 Ian was admitted to hospital after taking an overdose of his epilepsy medication. As in many such cases, it is not clear whether this was a genuine suicide attempt or simply a plea for help.

What is clear is that by the last month of his life Ian found that the pressures on him were greater than ever, not least because of the need to prepare for the band's first American tour. On Saturday May 17th, Ian cancelled arrangements to meet friends and returned to his home in Barton Street. Deborah was working behind the bar at a local disco, and had left Natalie with her parents while she was at work. While she was out Ian watched Stroszek, a film by Werner Herzog. When Deborah returned, she and Ian talked for a while, then Ian persuaded her to stay the night at her parents' house. Alone again in the house, Ian listened to Iggy Pop and wrote a long letter to his estranged wife. In the early hours of Sunday morning he hanged himself in the kitchen using the rope from a clothes airer. His body was found by Deborah when she returned later the same day. Many theories have been advanced to explain Ian's suicide, but none of these can be proved. It has been claimed that Ian had a morbid desire to emulate those of his heroes who had died young.

The most likely reason was depression, but no-one can agree about whether he was depressed by his epilepsy, by the effects of the drugs he was taking to control it, by the break-up of his marriage, or by worries about the forthcoming American tour. People who were with him shortly before his death give conflicting accounts of his state of mind. Some were left with the impression that he was dreading the American tour and the travelling involved. Others say that he was looking forward to the tour with excitement. A third view, advanced by Deborah Curtis, is that the prospect of touring did not worry him because he knew that he would not be going! Although no-one can agree on whether Ian's suicide was long planned or an impulsive decision, most people do agree that his illness and drug regime affected his judgement. A few days after his death, Ian's body was cremated at Macclesfield Crematorium. Deborah Curtis had the words Love Will Tear Us Apart inscribed on Ian's memorial stone. With the benefit of hindsight, some warnings of the eventual outcome can be found in Ian's behaviour and in some of his writing. Unfortunately Ian had a secretive nature, and was good at concealing his feelings from others.

He even managed to conceal his epilepsy until he actually had a fit. He certainly managed to conceal any suicidal tendencies from those around him, so the true reason for his death will remain obscure. Perhaps it is better not to speculate and to let Ian Curtis rest in peace. May 18, 1980 : Ian Curtis of Joy Division commits suicide Introduction On the evening of May 18, 1980, Ian Curtis, lead singer and lyricist of the British group Joy Division, hangs himself in his Manchester kitchen. He was only 23 years old. Joy Division was one of four hugely important British post-punk bands that could trace its origins to a now-legendary performance by the Sex Pistols at the Lesser Free Trade Hall in Manchester in June 1976. Along with founding members of the Buzzcocks, the Smiths and the Fall, Mancunians Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook decided in the immediate aftermath of that show to form a band. And while the DIY ethos of the Sex Pistols gave them the courage to call themselves a band when they could barely play their newly purchased instruments, the band they ended up becoming was among the first punk-inspired groups to leave the punk-rock sound behind.

The critical step in that direction was the selection of Ian Curtis from among the respondents to the “Singer Wanted” listing they posted in a local record store. Curtis was less an aspiring rock star than he was an aspiring poet, and his moody, expressive lyrics would gradually guide the group’s sound away from the thrash and anger of punk and toward something far more spare and melancholy. The sound that Joy Division developed over the course of 1977-79 included the addition of the synthesizer—an absolute violation of the lo-fi punk esthetic, but a choice that marked the beginning of what would eventually be called the New Wave. The 1979 album Unknown Pleasures, its follow-up Control and the single “Love Will Tear Us Apart” made Joy Division into cult heroes in the UK, and Ian Curtis’s mesmerizing stage demeanor turned him into a post-punk icon. Though he concealed his condition from his bandmates until he suffered a major seizure in their tour van following a gig in London in December 1978, Curtis was an epileptic. Some have speculated that depression over his medical condition or the side effects of the medications he took to control it led to Curtis’s suicide.

There are many other factors that may have played a role, however, from Curtis’s drug use to the strain on his marriage brought about by his affair with a Belgian journalist. Whatever his reasons, Ian Curtis took his own life just two days prior to Joy Division’s planned departure on a potentially career-changing tour of the United States. Two months after Curtis committed suicide on this day in 1980, the surviving members of Joy Division fulfilled a promise they’d made to one another by retiring their group’s name and continuing on through the 1980s under the name New Order. Article Details: May 18, 1980 : Ian Curtis of Joy Division commits suicide Author May 18, 1980 : Ian Curtis of Joy Division commits suicide URL Ian Curtis | Wiki | Everipedia × Want to change something on this page or create your own? Register today, it's fast and free. Ian Curtis Curtis performing with Joy Division at the Mayflower in Manchester in 1979 Background information Male Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English musician and singer-songwriter.

He is best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the post-punk band Joy Division . Joy Division released their debut album, Unknown Pleasures , in 1979 and recorded their follow-up, Closer , in 1980. Curtis, who suffered from epilepsy and depression , committed suicide on 18 May 1980, on the eve of Joy Division's first North American tour, resulting in the band's dissolution and the subsequent formation of New Order . Curtis was known for his bass-baritone voice, dance style, and songwriting filled with imagery of desolation, emptiness and alienation. 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 dramatised in the films 24 Hour Party People (2002) and Control (2007). Early life and marriage Curtis was born at the Memorial Hospital in Stretford , Lancashire . He grew up in Macclesfield in Cheshire , and from an early age he exhibited talent as a poet.

He was awarded a scholarship at the age of 11 by the King's School , Macclesfield. Despite this, he was not a dedicated pupil and did not further his education beyond O-level . Curtis often stole numerous amount of things throughout his childhood. Curtis has a interest in music when in his teens but couldn't afford the money for records, leading him to stealing records from Macclesfield town center, hiding them underneath a grey coat. He was also forced to do social services by visiting the elderly as part of a school scheme. While there, he would steal prescription drugs from residents and then take them with his friends. He once had his stomach pumped after taking too many. After leaving school, Curtis focused on the pursuit of art, literature and music. He was employed in a variety of jobs, including being a civil servant in Manchester and, later, Macclesfield. On 23 August 1975, Curtis married a school friend, Deborah Woodruff at St Thomas' Church, Henbury . He was 19 and she was 18. Their daughter Natalie was born on 16 April 1979. She is a photographer.

[2] Joy Division In 1976 at a Sex Pistols gig, Curtis met Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook . They were trying to form a band, and Curtis immediately proposed himself as vocalist and lyricist. The trio then unsuccessfully recruited several drummers before selecting Stephen Morris as their final member. Initially, the band was called Warsaw, but as their name conflicted with that of another group, Warsaw Pakt , the name was changed to Joy Division. The moniker was derived from a 1955 novel The House of Dolls , which featured a Nazi concentration camp with a sexual slavery wing called the "Joy Division". The cover of the band's first EP depicted a drawing of a Hitler Youth beating a drum and the A-side contained a song, "Warsaw", which was a musical retelling of the life of Nazi leader Rudolf Hess . After starting Factory Records with Alan Erasmus , Tony Wilson signed the band to his label following the band's appearance on Wilson's So It Goes television programme, itself prompted by an abusive letter sent to Wilson by Curtis.

[3] While performing for Joy Division, Curtis became known for his quiet and awkward demeanour, as well as a unique dancing style reminiscent of the epileptic seizures he experienced, sometimes even on stage. There were several incidents when he collapsed whilst performing and had to be carried offstage. Regarding Curtis' stage performances, Greil Marcus in The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs quotes Jon Savage from the music magazine Melody Maker: "Ian's mesmeric style mirrored the ever more frequent epileptic spasms that Deborah Curtis had to cope with at home." Marcus remarks that Curtis' performance "might also have been a matter of intentionally replicating fits, re-enacting them, using them as a form of energy and a form of music." Although predominantly a vocalist, Curtis also played guitar on a handful of tracks (usually when Sumner was playing synthesizer; "Incubation" and a Peel session version of " Transmission " were rare instances when both played guitar).

At first Curtis played Sumner's Shergold Masquerader, but in September 1979 he acquired his own guitar, a Vox Phantom Special VI (often described incorrectly as a Teardrop or ordinary Phantom model) which had many built-in effects used both live and in studio. After Curtis's death, Sumner inherited the guitar and used it in several early New Order songs, such as " Everything's Gone Green ". Death Curtis's last live performance was on 2 May 1980, at High Hall of Birmingham University , a show that included Joy Division's first and only performance of " Ceremony ", later recorded by New Order and released as their first single. The last song Curtis performed on stage was "Digital". The recording of this performance is on the Still album. [4] As described in Deborah Curtis's Touching from a Distance, Curtis was staying at his parents' house at this time and attempted to talk his wife into staying with him on 17 May 1980, to no avail. He told her to leave him alone in the house until he caught his train to Manchester the next morning.

In the early hours of 18 May 1980, Curtis hanged himself in the kitchen of his house at 77 Barton Street, Macclesfield, at the age of 23. [5] He had just viewed Werner Herzog 's film Stroszek and listened to Iggy Pop 's The Idiot . At the time of his death, his health was failing as a result of his epilepsy and, attempting to balance his musical ambitions with his marriage, which was foundering in the aftermath of his close relationship with journalist Annik Honoré (who in 2010 stated it was not an "affair" and merely a close and platonic relationship). [6] His wife found Ian's body the next morning; he had used the kitchen's washing line to hang himself. Deborah claimed later that he had confided to her on several occasions that he had no desire to live past his 20s. [7] [8] Curtis was cremated at Macclesfield Crematorium and his ashes were buried.

His memorial stone, inscribed with "Ian Curtis 18 – 5 – 80" and " Love Will Tear Us Apart ", was stolen in July 2008 from the grounds of Macclesfield Cemetery . [9] The missing memorial stone was later replaced by a new stone with the same inscription but in a different typeface. [10] In a 1987 interview with Option , Stephen Morris commented on how he would describe Curtis to those who asked what he was like: "An ordinary bloke just like you or me, liked a bit of a laugh, a bit of a joke." Tributes In 1985, New Order released the song " Elegia ", dedicated to Curtis. [11] Label mate band the Durutti Column released in 1981 their album LC , including the Ian Curtis tribute song "The Missing Boy". In 1990, Psychic TV released "I.C. Water", a song dedicated to Curtis.

Deborah Curtis wrote Touching from a Distance , published in 1995, a biographical account of their marriage, detailing in part his supposed infidelity with Annik Honoré, which the latter still denied until her death in 2014. In 1999, the post-hardcore band Thursday released a song titled "Ian Curtis" on their debut album, Waiting . The 2002 New Order song " Here to Stay " was dedicated to Ian Curtis, Rob Gretton and Martin Hannett . [12] Authors Mick Middles and Lindsay Reade released the book Torn Apart: The Life of Ian Curtis in 2006. This biography takes a more intimate look at Curtis and includes photographs from personal family albums and excerpts from his letters to Honoré during their alleged affair. Paul Morley wrote Joy Division, Piece by Piece, writing about Joy Division 1977–2007; it was published in late 2007. The book documents all of his writings and reviews about Joy Division, from their formation until Tony Wilson's death. The words "Ian Curtis Lives" are written on a wall in Wallace Street, Wellington , New Zealand.

The message, which appeared shortly after the singer's death in 1980, is repainted whenever it is painted over. A nearby wall on the same street on 4 January 2005 was originally emblazoned "Ian Curtis RIP", later modified to read "Ian Curtis RIP Walk In Silence" along with the incorrect dates "1960–1980". [13] Both are referred to as "The Ian Curtis Wall". [14] Steve McKinlay recalls after having watched 24 Hour Party People and drinking several pints with his brother, a well known New Zealand beer brewer, in the early hours of the morning he drove with a bucket of paint and a small roller to Wallace Street and repainted the wall after it had long since faded. On 10 September 2009, the wall was painted over by Wellington City Council's anti-graffiti team. [15] The wall was chalked back up on 16 September 2009. Following this, council spokesman Richard MacLean said, "They [the anti-graffiti team] may turn a blind eye to it".

[16] The wall was repainted on 17 September 2009, and has been removed and repainted on and off. A new and improved design, with correct dates and the original "Walk In Silence", was painted on the wall on 27 February 2013. [17] Film portrayals Curtis was portrayed by Sean Harris in the 2002 film 24 Hour Party People , which dramatised the rise and fall of Factory Records from the 1970s to the 1990s. In 2007 a British Ian Curtis biographical film called Control was released, based on material from Deborah Curtis's book Touching from a Distance. It was directed by the Dutch rock photographer and music video director Anton Corbijn , who had previously photographed the band and directed the video for " Atmosphere ". Deborah Curtis and Tony Wilson were executive producers and Todd Eckert of Clara Flora was the producer. Sam Riley , the lead singer of the band 10,000 Things , portrays Curtis, while Samantha Morton plays his wife, Deborah.

The film had its debut at the Cannes Film Festival on 17 May 2007 to great acclaim, taking three awards at the Directors' Fortnight . It portrays Curtis's secondary school romance with Deborah, their marriage, his problems balancing his domestic life with his rise to fame, his alleged affair with Annik Honoré, [18] his struggle with poorly medicated epilepsy and depression, [19] and his suicide. Discography 2008 grave marker at Macclesfield Cemetery Ian Joy Division | Rolling Stone artists > J > Joy Division > Bio Joy Division Bio Until singer Ian Curtis committed suicide in 1980, Joy Division was one of Britain's most promising postpunk bands. While the remaining members went on to huge success with the synth-pop band New Order, Joy Division's legend continued to grow and the band are possibly more popular now than ever before. The band's Velvet Underground-derived drone and Curtis' matter-of-fact, gloomy lyrics scored significant club hits with "She's Lost Control," "Transmission," and "Love Will Tear Us Apart," a British hit single (Number 13 U.K., 1980).

Formed by Hook and Sumner after seeing the Sex Pistols play in Manchester on June 4, 1976, the group took shape when Curtis responded to a "seeking singer" ad posted by the two at the local Virgin record store. Morris joined on drums the following year. The band, naming itself Joy Division after Nazi military prostitute compounds, released a four-song EP, Ideal for Living, by year's end. In April 1978 the band generated a buzz when they performed at a Stiff Records battle of the bands. After turning down deals with Britain's RCA and Radar labels, the group recorded their first album, Unknown Pleasures, with producer Martin Hannent. They chose Manchester independent Factory Records to release the album, which was an immediate success in the U.K. The next year the band's acclaim grew as they toured England and Europe. In March they returned to the studio to record their second album, Closer. Curtis, who was responsible for much of the group's dark vision, suffered from epileptic grand mal seizures - occasionally while performing onstage.

Having attempted suicide in the past, Curtis hanged himself on May 18, 1980, just prior to the release of Closer (Joy Division's most commercially successful album) and the group's first U.S. tour. A collection of demos, outtakes, and live performances, Still, was released in 1981. The remaining members regrouped as New Order and added Morris' girlfriend Gillian Gilbert on keyboards. Like Joy Division, it has eschewed publicity, with no band photos on album covers, and playing low-key, unemotional concerts. The group's sound — a brighter but still moody version of Joy Division, with Sumner's monotonal yet plaintive vocals at the center — gained it club hits with "Everything's Gone Green" (1981) and "Temptation" (1982). "Blue Monday" (1983) was New Order's breakthrough. Released only as a 12-inch single, it matched the band's usual emotional chill to a propulsive dance track and reached Number Five on the Billboard dance chart, selling over 3 million copies worldwide.

Sessions with dance producer Arthur Baker followed, producing "Confusion" (1983), another dance-floor favorite, which hit Number 71 R&B. The band left Factory Records in 1985, signing with Quincy Jones' new Qwest label. Although Low-life (#94, 1985) and Brotherhood (#117, 1986) were their first American chart albums, sales were disappointing. Substance (#36, 1987), Technique (#32, 1989), and the hit single "True Faith" (#32, 1987) turned things around, but the band members turned their backs on stardom, releasing only the British World Cup Soccer theme "World in Motion..." (Number One U.K., 1990) before unofficially parting ways to pursue solo projects. Sumner had the greatest success, teaming with ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr and Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant on "Getting Away With It" (Number 38, 1990), featured on Electronic (Number 109, 1991).

Bassist Peter Hook's solo project, Revenge, released One True Passion (#190, 1990), while Morris and Gilbert wrote British TV themes, eventually releasing an album as the Other Two. New Order re-formed in 1993, releasing Republic (#11), followed by a successful tour of the U.S. But the band members went their own ways after the tour, Sumner continuing with Electronic, Hook exiling himself in Monaco, and Gilbert and Morris (now husband and wife) remaining the Other Two. Joy Division remained an influence on modern rock, as shown by the continuing interest in their scant output, reissued in Permanent, a "greatest hits" collection with several rare and unreleased tracks, and Heart & Soul, a four-CD box set that collected their every extant recording. In 1995 Curtis's wife Deborah published her autobiography, Touching from a Distance, which documented in unsparing detail the turmoil of their married life and revealed that Curtis had been unfaithful to Deborah during the waning months of their marriage.

That same year, a tribute album entitled A Means to an End was released, which featured covers of Joy Divison songs by artists including Girls Against Boys, Moby, Low and Tortoise. New Order continued to release albums sporadically, but the late 1990s saw an uptick in the number of Joy Division-related releases. 1999 saw the release of Preston 28 February 1980, a performance given just months before the proper release of Closer. It was followed by Les Bains Douches 18 December, an even earlier performance that features incendiary versions of songs from Unknown Pleasures. Both albums met with positive reviews as sterling live documents of Joy Division's brief run. Joy Division's influence seemed even more prevalent at the start of the new decade, with bands like Interpol, the Rakes, Editors and Stellastar all borrowing elements of the band's dark, brooding sound. Their resurgence was only bolstered by the 2002 release of the film 24 Hour Party People, a black comedy that documented the life of Factory Records founder Tony Wilson.

The film's first half focused heavily on Joy Division, and the actor Sean Harris received raves for his eerily spot-on depiction of Ian Curits. New Order, after years of sporadic releases, also seemed energized. In 2001 they released the nervy rock record Get Ready, which featured guest appearances by Billy Corgan and Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie. The album was hailed for its return to Joy Division's guitar-based roots, a decisive shift away from the electronic music on which New Order had built their sound. That shift continued with 2005's Waiting for the Siren's Call, another guitar-based record that contained some of the group's most vibrant and vital work. The album was noteworthy for another reason: the subsequent tour marked the first time the surviving members of New Order had played Joy Division songs in concert. Most shows on the Siren's tour found them performing "She's Lost Control," "Love Will Tear Us Apart," "Shadowplay", "These Days," "Transmission" and "Atmosphere" to rapturous response.

In 2007, Anton Corbjin — who had photographed the band and had shot the video for the Joy Division single "Atmosphere" — directed the Ian Curtis biopic Control, which starred Sam Reilly in the role of Curtis. Based heavily on Touching From a Distance, the film portrayed Curtis as deeply conflicted and self-loathing while refusing to gloss over his personal shortcomings. It received generally positive reviews, and the members of the group also were impressed with the results. It was around this time, however, that New Order started coming undone. In an interview with XFM to promote his work with Perry Farrell's Satellite Party, Peter Hook casually mentioned that New Order had split up. He later confirmed the statement with a post to his MySpace blog. This resulted in Hook and Sumner trading barbs online, with the latter insisting New Order would carry on, with or without Hook. The squabble continued until August of 2009, when Bernard Sumner announced the formation of a new band called Bad Lieutenant. A full-length album by the band was released that September.

Hook's post-New Order band, Freebass, with fellow bassists Andy Rourke of the Smiths and Mani of the Stone Roses, was said to be forthcoming. Portions of this biography appeared in The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001). J. Edward Keyes contributed to this article. Joy Division | Biography & History | AllMusic google+ Artist Biography by John Bush Formed in the wake of the punk explosion in England, Joy Division became the first band in the post-punk movement by later emphasizing not anger and energy but mood and expression, pointing ahead to the rise of melancholy alternative music in the '80s. Though the group's raw initial sides fit the bill for any punk band, Joy Division later incorporated synthesizers (taboo in the low-tech world of '70s punk) and more haunting melodies, emphasized by the isolated, tortured lyrics of its lead vocalist, Ian Curtis . While the British punk movement shocked the world during the late '70s, Joy Division 's quiet storm of musical restraint and emotive power proved to be just as important to independent music in the 1980s.

The band was founded in early 1977, soon after the Sex Pistols had made their first appearance in Manchester. Guitarist Bernard Albrecht (b. Bernard Dicken, January 4, 1956) and bassist Peter Hook (b. February 13, 1956) had met while at the show and later formed a band called the Stiff Kittens; after placing an ad through a Manchester record store, they added vocalist Ian Curtis (b. July 15, 1956) and drummer Steve Brotherdale . Renamed Warsaw (from David Bowie's "Warszawa"), the band made its live debut the following May, supporting the Buzzcocks and Penetration at Manchester's Electric Circus. After the recording of several demos, Brotherdale quit the group in August 1977, prompting the hire of Stephen Morris (b. October 28, 1957). A name change to Joy Division in late 1977 -- necessitated by the punk band Warsaw Pakt -- was inspired by Karol Cetinsky's World War II novel The House of Dolls.

(In the book, the term "joy division" was used as slang for concentration camp units wherein female inmates were forced to prostitute themselves for the enjoyment of Nazi soldiers.) Playing frequently in the north country during early 1978, the quartet gained the respect of several influential figures: Rob Gretton, a Manchester club DJ who became the group's manager; Tony Wilson, a TV/print journalist and owner of the Factory Records label; and Derek Branwood, a record executive with RCA Northwest, who recorded sessions in May 1978, for what was planned to be Joy Division 's self-titled debut LP. Though several songs bounded with punk energy, the rest of the album showed at an early age the band's later trademarks: Curtis ' themes of post-industrial restlessness and emotional despair, Hook 's droning bass lines, and the jagged guitar riffs of Albrecht . The album should have been hailed as a punk classic, but when a studio engineer added synthesizers to several tracks -- believing that the punk movement had to move on and embrace new sounds -- Joy Division scrapped the entire LP.

(Titled Warsaw for a 1982 bootleg, the album was finally given wide issue ten years later.) The first actual Joy Division release came in June 1978, when the initial mid-1977 demos were released as the EP An Ideal for Living, on the band's own Enigma label. Early in 1979, the buzz surrounding Joy Division increased with a session recorded for John Peel 's BBC radio show. The group began recording with producer Martin Hannett and released Unknown Pleasures on old friend Tony Wilson's Factory label in July 1979. The album enjoyed immense critical acclaim and a long stay on the U.K.'s independent charts. Encouraged by the punk buzz, the American Warner Bros. label offered a large distribution contract that fall. The band ignored it but did record another radio session for John Peel on November 26th. (Both sessions were later collected on the Peel Sessions album.) During late 1979, Joy Division 's manic live show gained many converts, partly due to rumors of Curtis ' ill health.

An epilepsy sufferer, he was prone to breakdowns and seizures while on stage -- it soon grew difficult to distinguish the fits from his usual on-stage jerkiness and manic behavior. As the live dates continued and the new decade approached, Curtis grew weaker and more prone to seizures. After a short rest over the Christmas holiday, Joy Division embarked on a European tour during January, though several dates were cancelled because of Curtis . The group began recording its second LP after the tour ended (again with Hannett ), and released "Love Will Tear Us Apart" in April. The single was again praised but failed to move beyond the independent charts. After one gig in early May, the members of Joy Division were given two weeks of rest before beginning the group's first U.S. tour. Two days before the scheduled flight, however, Curtis was found dead in his home, the victim of a self-inflicted hanging. Before Curtis ' death, the band had agreed that Joy Division would cease to exist if any member left, for any reason. Ironically though, the summer of 1980 proved to be the blooming of the band's commercial status, when a re-release of "Love Will Tear Us Apart" rose to number 13 on the British singles chart.

In August, the release of Closer finally united critics' positivity with glowing sales, as the album peaked at number six. Before the end of the summer, Unknown Pleasures was charting as well. By January of the following year, Hook , Morris , and Albrecht (now Bernard Sumner ) had formed New Order , with Sumner taking over vocal duties. Also in 1981, the posthumous release of Still -- including two sides of rare tracks and two of live songs -- rose to number five on the British charts. As New Order 's star began to shine during the '80s, the group had trouble escaping the long shadow of Curtis and Joy Division . "Love Will Tear Us Apart" charted for the third time in 1983, and 1988 also proved a big year for the defunct band: the reissued single "Atmosphere" hit number 34 and a double-album compilation entitled Substance reached number seven in the album charts.

Seven years later, the 15th anniversary of Curtis ' death was memorialized with a new JD compilation ( Permanent: Joy Division 1995 ), a tribute album ( A Means to an End ), and a biography of his life (Touching From a Distance) written by his widow, Deborah Curtis. In 1999, the Factory label began a program of concert-performance reissues -- all overseen by the remainder of the original lineup -- with Preston Warehouse 28 February 1980 . Flashback: Joy Division Appear on the BBC in 1979 - Rolling Stone Flashback: Joy Division Appear on the BBC in 1979 Flashback: Joy Division Appear on the BBC in 1979 Watch the group perform 'Transmission' on 'Something Else' All Stories There isn't much video footage of Joy Division out there. When frontman Ian Curtis committed suicide on May 18th, 1980, the group had only released one album, and they hadn't once performed anywhere outside of Europe.

Needless to say, the band's legacy has grown with each passing year and it's hard to walk down the streets of New York these days without seeing someone wearing an Unknown Pleasures T-shirt. Here's an incredible video of the group performing "Transmission" on the BBC2 program Something Else on September 15th, 1979. The video begins with English performance poet John Cooper Clarke reciting his famous work "Evidently Chickentown." More News All Stories Curtis killed himself just eight months after this taping. At the time the group were on the verge of heading to America for their first stateside tour. "On Sunday morning I was turning my trousers up," Joy Division drummer Stephen Morris told Rolling Stone in 1983. "Monday I was screaming." The group famously carried on as New Order. "There's life and there's death," Morris said. "We are still alive, so we thought we'd carry on doing it." New Order reformed in 1998 after a five-year hiatus and even started adding Joy Division songs to their live sets, but internal tensions led to another split in 2007.

They're back on the road now, minus bassist Peter Hook, who has spent the last couple of years playing Joy Division songs with a new group. It's a very sad state of affairs for a group that had survived so much. Don’t Miss a Story Sign up for our newsletter to receive breaking news directly in your inbox. We may use your e-mail address to send you the newsletter and offers that may interest you, on behalf of Rolling Stone and its partners. For more information please read our Privacy Policy How we use your email address Trending Ranked on a scale from 1 to 10, the trending score reflects the number of users reading a story in real time. What is this? Ian Curtis – Grupa w Last.fm Ian Kevin Curtis (July 15, 1956 – May 18, 1980 Lead singer of Joy Division till his suicide at 23 Ian Kevin Curtis (July 15, 1956 – May 18, 1980) was the vocalist, lyricist and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, which he helped form in 1977 in Manchester, England.

Curtis was born in the Memorial Hospital, Old Trafford, Manchester, in 1956. He grew up in the Hurdsfield area of Macclesfield. It was apparent from a young age that Curtis was a talented poet and songwriter. Although being awarded a scholarship to attend the The King's School, Macclesfield at the age of 11, Curtis was never interested in pursuing academic success as his ambitions and hopes lay in the music industry. His passion for music led him to work in a record shop for a short time. Curtis also worked as a civil servant in Manchester and later, Macclesfield. Curtis's fate was said to have been set after attending a Sex Pistols concert in 1976, where he convinced himself his destiny lay as a performer rather than just a fan. One thing led to another and Curtis got to know a young Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook. Sumner and Hook told Curtis that they were trying to form a band and he simultaneously put himself forward as a vocalist and lyricist, an offer they accepted. The three of them recruited (and sacked) a succession of drummers before settling on Stephen Morris as their final member.

The band was called Warsaw for a short while before changing their name to Joy Division in 1978 due to conflicts with the name of another band. Curtis's persistence is said to have eventually secured the band a record deal with Tony Wilson's now legendary Factory Records. He convinced Wilson to allow them to perform "Shadowplay" on his television show and after setting up Factory Records with Alan Erasmus, Tony Wilson signed the band to his label. While performing for Joy Division, Curtis developed a unique dancing style reminiscent of the epileptic seizures he experienced, sometimes even on stage. The resemblance was such that audience members were occasionally uncertain whether he was dancing or having a seizure. He sometimes collapsed and had to be helped off stage as his health suffered due to Joy Division's intense touring. Many of the songs he wrote were filled with images of emotional pain, death, violence, alienation and urban degeneration. These recurring subjects led fans and Curtis's wife, Deborah, to believe he was singing about his own life.

Curtis once commented in an interview that he wrote about "the different ways different people can cope with certain problems and how they can adapt." He sang in an eerie bass-baritone voice, which made him sound much older than he actually was. Curtis was greatly influenced by the writers William Burroughs, J G Ballard and Joseph Conrad. (the song titles "Interzone", "Atrocity Exhibition" and "Colony" coming from the three authors respectively), and by the singers Lou Reed, Jim Morrison, Iggy Pop and David Bowie. Curtis's last live performance on May 2, 1980 at Birmingham University was held in the same month as his death and included Joy Division's first and last performance of the song "Ceremony", which was later used by New Order. The last song Curtis ever performed in front of an audience was "Digital". The recording of this performance can be found on the compilation album Still. The effects of his epilepsy and personal problems, such as an impending divorce from his wife, may have contributed to Curtis's suicide by hanging at the age of 23.

According to the book Touching From A Distance, Curtis had taken an overdose of his epilepsy medication and ended up in hospital only a few months before his death. The overdose was believed to be a 'cry for help' but Curtis himself was said to have told his bandmates that he hadn't meant to overdose. The book states that Bernard Sumner took him to a graveyard after he had left hospital to show him where he would have ended up had the overdose killed him. The night Curtis died, days before Joy Division was to begin its first American tour, he watched one of his favourite movies, Stroszek by Werner Herzog. He later hanged himself in his kitchen while reportedly listening to Iggy Pop's The Idiot. On top of the LP cover was a small cut out photograph of a grey sky taken by artist David Horvitz. Curtis's viewing and listening choices continue to generate speculation as to the true reasons why he took his life. Some commentators hold that he simply wished to die young, being "in love with the myth of the rock'n'roll star who dies young".

Curtis was cremated and his ashes were buried in Macclesfield, with the inscription on his memorial stone reading, "Love Will Tear Us Apart". The epitaph, chosen by Deborah Curtis, is a reference to Joy Division's best-known song. Ian Curtis – Grupo da Last.fm Ian Kevin Curtis (July 15, 1956 – May 18, 1980 Lead singer of Joy Division till his suicide at 23 Ian Kevin Curtis (July 15, 1956 – May 18, 1980) was the vocalist, lyricist and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, which he helped form in 1977 in Manchester, England. Curtis was born in the Memorial Hospital, Old Trafford, Manchester, in 1956. He grew up in the Hurdsfield area of Macclesfield. It was apparent from a young age that Curtis was a talented poet and songwriter. Although being awarded a scholarship to attend the The King's School, Macclesfield at the age of 11, Curtis was never interested in pursuing academic success as his ambitions and hopes lay in the music industry.

His passion for music led him to work in a record shop for a short time. Curtis also worked as a civil servant in Manchester and later, Macclesfield. Curtis's fate was said to have been set after attending a Sex Pistols concert in 1976, where he convinced himself his destiny lay as a performer rather than just a fan. One thing led to another and Curtis got to know a young Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook. Sumner and Hook told Curtis that they were trying to form a band and he simultaneously put himself forward as a vocalist and lyricist, an offer they accepted. The three of them recruited (and sacked) a succession of drummers before settling on Stephen Morris as their final member. The band was called Warsaw for a short while before changing their name to Joy Division in 1978 due to conflicts with the name of another band. Curtis's persistence is said to have eventually secured the band a record deal with Tony Wilson's now legendary Factory Records. He convinced Wilson to allow them to perform "Shadowplay" on his television show and after setting up Factory Records with Alan Erasmus, Tony Wilson signed the band to his label.

While performing for Joy Division, Curtis developed a unique dancing style reminiscent of the epileptic seizures he experienced, sometimes even on stage. The resemblance was such that audience members were occasionally uncertain whether he was dancing or having a seizure. He sometimes collapsed and had to be helped off stage as his health suffered due to Joy Division's intense touring. Many of the songs he wrote were filled with images of emotional pain, death, violence, alienation and urban degeneration. These recurring subjects led fans and Curtis's wife, Deborah, to believe he was singing about his own life. Curtis once commented in an interview that he wrote about "the different ways different people can cope with certain problems and how they can adapt." He sang in an eerie bass-baritone voice, which made him sound much older than he actually was. Curtis was greatly influenced by the writers William Burroughs, J G Ballard and Joseph Conrad. (the song titles "Interzone", "Atrocity Exhibition" and "Colony" coming from the three authors respectively), and by the singers Lou Reed, Jim Morrison, Iggy Pop and David Bowie.

Curtis's last live performance on May 2, 1980 at Birmingham University was held in the same month as his death and included Joy Division's first and last performance of the song "Ceremony", which was later used by New Order. The last song Curtis ever performed in front of an audience was "Digital". The recording of this performance can be found on the compilation album Still. The effects of his epilepsy and personal problems, such as an impending divorce from his wife, may have contributed to Curtis's suicide by hanging at the age of 23. According to the book Touching From A Distance, Curtis had taken an overdose of his epilepsy medication and ended up in hospital only a few months before his death. The overdose was believed to be a 'cry for help' but Curtis himself was said to have told his bandmates that he hadn't meant to overdose. The book states that Bernard Sumner took him to a graveyard after he had left hospital to show him where he would have ended up had the overdose killed him. The night Curtis died, days before Joy Division was to begin its first American tour, he watched one of his favourite movies, Stroszek by Werner Herzog.

He later hanged himself in his kitchen while reportedly listening to Iggy Pop's The Idiot. On top of the LP cover was a small cut out photograph of a grey sky taken by artist David Horvitz. Curtis's viewing and listening choices continue to generate speculation as to the true reasons why he took his life. Some commentators hold that he simply wished to die young, being "in love with the myth of the rock'n'roll star who dies young". Curtis was cremated and his ashes were buried in Macclesfield, with the inscription on his memorial stone reading, "Love Will Tear Us Apart". The epitaph, chosen by Deborah Curtis, is a reference to Joy Division's best-known song. Peter Saville | Biography & History | AllMusic google+ Artist Biography by Jason Ankeny As the graphic designer for the legendary Factory label, Peter Saville revolutionized the look and feel of music packaging, transforming the humble cardboard LP sleeves of pop's past into postmodernist objects d'art.

Cryptic and enigmatic yet lush and often beautiful, Saville 's groundbreaking work for bands like Joy Division , New Order , Pulp , and Suede perfectly complemented the music contained therein, appropriating styles and sensibilities from across the artistic spectrum to convey moods and messages unique to their musical time and place. Saville was born in Manchester, England, in 1955, studying graphic design at Manchester Polytechnic from 1975 to 1978. Intrigued by the city's emerging punk community, Saville befriended Buzzcocks manager Richard Boon , from whom he heard that local television presenter Tony Wilson, host of the Granada music program So It Goes, was opening his own club, the Factory. Saville set about designing a poster to advertise the Factory's opening night, scheduled for May 19, 1978; although the poster was completed too late to promote the club's debut, he nevertheless signed on as a founding partner in Wilson's fledgling Factory Records label.

The imprint's first release, the double-EP A Factory Sampler , originally bore the catalog number FAC 1, but Saville insisted to Wilson that his concert poster was actually the label's first release, making the EP FAC 2. From that point forward, all Factory merchandise -- LPs, posters, badges, videos, even Christmas cards -- was assigned its own unique catalog code. At Factory's outset, one of Saville 's central influences was Herbert Spencer's book Pioneers of Modern Typography, in particular the chapter on the new typography of Jan Tschichold. Sensing in Tschichold's work a subtlety and discipline that mirrored the remote world-view of the Manchester music scene, Saville developed a unique style rooted in appropriation, referencing and revitalizing images and aesthetics from throughout art history in a bold, thoroughly postmodernist context.

"Everything for Factory is designed instead of decorated," Saville once said; far removed from the chaotic, collage-like sleeves of punks like the Sex Pistols and the Clash , Factory releases were indeed carefully composed, albeit no less confrontational -- one of the company's most famous and notorious early LP jackets, for the 1980 album The Return of the Durutti Column , drew inspiration from the Situationist author Guy-Ernest Debord, who had published books bound in sandpaper; consequently, the album came in a heavy sandpaper sleeve designed to damage other records when placed next to them in store racks. Saville 's most striking early designs, however, teamed him with Factory's flagship band, Joy Division , with austere, solemn images that perfectly reflected the group's disconsolate music. But on May 18, 1980, Joy Division vocalist Ian Curtis committed suicide, and when the group's posthumous second album, Closer , appeared three months later, many voiced their disgust at the sleeve, a photo captured in the tomb of an Italian graveyard -- in fact, Saville had completed the package weeks before Curtis' death.

When Factory opened its own Manchester nightclub, the Hacienda, the venture initially proved an unmitigated disaster, consuming all of the label's profits; with no money left to pay employees, in 1981 Saville relocated to London, accepting the position of in-house art director with the Virgin Records offshoot Dindisc. He nevertheless remained a consultant to Factory until the label's demise a decade later, working most closely with New Order , the group formed by the surviving members of Joy Division . For their breakthrough hit, 1983's "Blue Monday," he crafted a sleeve modeled after the computer floppy discs used by drummer/programmer Stephen Morris to store sequencer information. The record went on to become the best-selling 12" release in music history, but according to legend, Factory actually lost money because Saville 's sleeve was so expensive to produce. In truth, each subsequent pressing was less elaborate and less costly than the one before it, and Factory made a mint -- regardless, the story, though apocryphal, underscores the lavish dedication paid by the label to its product, as well as the mythmaking that Factory fostered.

Also in 1983, Saville founded his own design firm, Peter Saville Associates, with collaborator Brett Wickens ; in addition to his ongoing work with the recording industry, with a portfolio that now included non-Factory projects like Roxy Music 's classic Avalon , Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark 's self-titled effort, and David Byrne and Brian Eno 's groundbreaking collaboration My Life in the Bush of Ghosts , he now accepted commissions from London's Whitechapel Art Gallery; the French Ministry of Culture; and fashion clients Christian Dior, Yohji Yamamoto, Martin Sitbon, and Jil Sander. However, Saville 's notorious working habits -- his seeming inability to submit work on time, all-night sessions, and what one employer declared his "difficulty bridging where artistic self-expression ends and addressing a client's problem begins" -- made his professional associations tenuous and typically short-lived. He shuttered Peter Saville Associates in 1990 to begin a partnership with the famed London design studio Pentagram, working on projects for London's Natural Museum of History as well as Los Angeles' Channel 1.

But three years later Saville and Wickens left Pentagram, relocating to Los Angeles to join the firm Frankfurt Balkind; within a year, they returned to Britain, where Saville began freelancing for London Records as well as the Italian luggage manufacturer Mandarina Duck. With Factory now bankrupt -- and New Order in the midst of a decade-long hiatus -- his LP designs turned to a new generation of artists including Pulp and Suede , as well as New Order offshoots Monaco and the Other Two . A quarter century after Factory was founded, Saville remained an influential yet strangely shadowy figure both in music and the larger design community, but when New Order resurfaced in 2001 with Get Ready , it was with the expected Saville sleeve in tow; the following year, he also served as the creative director on Beth Orton 's Daybreaker .

Question: Ian Curtis, who committed suicide in May 1980, was the vocalist with which group?
Answer: Joy Division