File:Ian_Curtis_Joy_Division_1979.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
OverviewAI-generated
Ian Kevin Curtis was a British singer, composer, and songwriter who performed as a baritone and bass-baritone. Born in Stretford in 1956, he began his work period in 1976 and continued until 1980. He played guitar, keyboard instruments, and melodica, and wrote in English. Curtis was associated with the record label Factory Records and performed in the rock music, gothic rock, dark wave, and post-punk genres.
He suffered from epilepsy and died by suicide in Macclesfield in 1980. His notable works include *Dragonfyre*, *Canticles of Andurun*, *Touching from a Distance*, *You Are Not Special*, and *En cuerpo y alma*. He is also recognized in contexts involving post-punk and suicidal idols.
Synthesized by Vinony from 32 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, Open Library, MusicBrainz, Last.fm. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Works
- 9
Top works
- Dragonfyre
- Canticles of Andurun
- Touching from a Distance
- You Are Not Special
- En cuerpo y alma
via Open Library + Wikidata
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Origin
- United States
- Active from
- 1956
- Active to
- 1980
Member of
- Warsawuntil 1978
- Joy Divisionuntil 1980
- Stiff Kittens
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 1,665
- Total plays
- 5,600
Tags
Ian Curtis was the lead singer of post-punk band, Joy Division, until he commited suicide in May of 1980. The band later reformed as New Order. Early Life Curtis was born in the Memorial Hospital, Old Trafford, Stretford, in Manchester, Lancashire in 1956. He grew up in Hurdsfield, but would live most of his adult life in nearby 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 <a
Key facts
- Born
- ( 1956-07-15 ) 15 July 1956, Stretford , Lancashire , England
- Died
- 18 May 1980 (1980-05-18) (aged 23), Macclesfield , Cheshire , England
- Genres
- Gothic rock post-punk
- Occupations
- Singer songwriter musician
- Instruments
- Vocals guitar melodica
- Years active
- 1976–1980
- Label
- Factory
- Formerly of
- Joy Division
- Website
- joydivisionofficial .com
- Spouse
- Deborah Woodruff ( married</span>"}]]}'>m. 1975 )
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Kevin
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- United Kingdom
- Place of birth
- Stretford
- Place of death
- Macclesfield
- Spouse
- Deborah Curtis
- Occupation
- poet
- Languages spoken
- English language
- Genre
- post-punk
- Instrument
- keyboard instrument
- Record label
- Factory Records
- Height
- 1.85
- Voice type
- bass-baritone
Show 13 more facts
- Commons category
- Ian Curtis
- date of birth
- 1956-07-15
- date of death
- 1980-05-18
- medical condition
- epilepsy
- manner of death
- Suicide
- cause of death
- hanging to death
- start of work period
- 1976-00-00
- end of work period
- 1980-00-00
- birth name
- Ian Kevin Curtis
- name in native language
- Ian Curtis
- writing language
- English language
- influenced by
- High-Rise
- member of
- Joy Division
via Wikidata · CC0
~27 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead vocalist, songwriter, and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums Unknown Pleasures (1979) and Closer (1980).
Curtis had severe epilepsy and depression and died by suicide on the eve of Joy Division's first North American tour, shortly before the release of Closer. Shortly after his death, the three surviving members of the band renamed themselves New Order. Despite their short career, Joy Division exerted a wide-reaching influence. John Bush of AllMusic argues that they "became the first band in the post-punk movement emphasizing not anger and energy but mood and expression, pointing ahead to the rise of melancholy alternative music in the '80s". 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, as well as rappers including Danny Brown and Vince Staples.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Ian Curtis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.