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Ian Curtis remembered

An interview with the Joy Division singer on the anniversary of his death.

Today is the 30th anniversary of the suicide of the Joy Division singer Ian Curtis. To mark the occasion, we have unearthed this 1980 recording from a Radio 1 interview with Curtis and a fellow band member, Stephen Morris.

 

In it, the presenter Richard Skinner asks the young Curtis what the band gained from emerging in isolation from the majority of London-based new wave acts, and who -- if anyone -- they were influenced by.

To the second question, Curtis responds: "I don't agree with occupying anything, or shoving things into little boxes. What we do is what we do. It's four people playing the sort of music they want to play."

And, for especially keen readers, here is the band's first appearance on television, introduced by the man who discovered them, the TV man and head of Factory Records, Tony Wilson.

 

2 comments

Chris's picture

Danielle, I agree about the 30 years - where has the time gone? If he were still alive, where would he be now? Hanging on to his past, fat and bald? And did the band become famous because they were good, or was it more due to the publicity after his suicide? Whatever the reason, I loved several of their songs! The film Curtis watched on the night of his death, Stroszek, was good too, if very depressing, leaving you with the message that life is futile - the image of the dancing chicken is one I'll never forget!

Danielle's picture

Pretty frightening to hear that this is the 30th anniversary. I remember so clearly hearing John Peel announce Ian's death on his late night Radio 1 prog. Thanks for posting this interview and the clip from "So It Goes" (I think?). Still sounds great today.

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