July 15, 1956 – May 18, 1980
One This Date, May 18th in 1980: Joy Divison vocalist, Ian Curtis committed suicide by hanging himself in the kitchen of his home. Curtis, who had suffered from epilepsy and depression, was just 23 years old. To all his fans, and to those that didn’t really know anything about him or the band’s music, but who still love a compelling and beautifully directed / photographed biography, I highly recommend the film Control, directed by Anton Corbijn, which is just excellent and available now on DVD.
There’s a very good Joy Division documentary as well, “Joy Division: the true story of the meteoric rise and fall of one of the most influential bands of our time.” All the New Order lads contribute. Ian’s girlfriend as well, but not his wife.
I was blown away by Ian Curtis’ vocals and music with the Joy Division in college and still am. At the time, I knew nothing about the details of his life; Control provided much needed context.