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Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division
The only in-depth biographical accoutn of the lead singer of Joy Division, written by his widow.
Revered by his peers -- Bono described his voice as "holy" -- and idolized by his fans, Ian Curtis left behind a legacy rich in artistic genius. He was a mesmerizing performer on stange, yet also introverted and prone to mode swings. Engimantic to the last, Ian Curtis died by his own hand on 18 May 1980.
Touching from a Distance describes Curtis's life from his early teenage years to his premature death on the eve of Joy Division's first American tour. It tells how, with a wife, child and impending international fame, he was seduced by the glory of an early grave. What were the reasons for his fascination with death? Were his dark, brooding lyrics an artistic exorcism? In Touching from a Distance Curtis's widow, Deborah, explains the drama of his life and the tragedy of his death.
Includes discography, gig list and a full set of Curtis's lyrics, some of which appear in print for the first time.
Revered by his peers -- Bono described his voice as "holy" -- and idolized by his fans, Ian Curtis left behind a legacy rich in artistic genius. He was a mesmerizing performer on stange, yet also introverted and prone to mode swings. Engimantic to the last, Ian Curtis died by his own hand on 18 May 1980.
Touching from a Distance describes Curtis's life from his early teenage years to his premature death on the eve of Joy Division's first American tour. It tells how, with a wife, child and impending international fame, he was seduced by the glory of an early grave. What were the reasons for his fascination with death? Were his dark, brooding lyrics an artistic exorcism? In Touching from a Distance Curtis's widow, Deborah, explains the drama of his life and the tragedy of his death.
Includes discography, gig list and a full set of Curtis's lyrics, some of which appear in print for the first time.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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February 16, 2010
This is a wonderful peek into the Iconic Ian Curtis' private life; however I suggest that you keep in mind who is telling the story. My suggestion would be to read “The Life of Ian Curtis – Torn Apart” by Mick Middles and Lindsay Reade either while reading this book or directly after reading it. This may help to buffer some of the incriminations Deborah Curtis brings forward against her long deceased husband. My problem with Deborah Curtis and this book is that she is generous with details on accounts from Ian’s life provided that they are negative or horrific in nature. Or at least that is how it seems to me. Deborah will relay a detailed account of some horrific incident between her and Ian after which she will blandly give a two or three sentence account of a good deed Ian performed then makes some blasé comment about how “Ian was always doing nice things.” Is this supposed to balance out the two page account of Ian Curtis’ monster manifesto? I can’t help but feel that Deborah still hasn’t forgiven her husband for either his infidelity or his abandonment of their little family.
February 1, 2013
It was small and wrapped from head to toe in dirty rags, swaddled like a new-born baby. It was suspended from the telegraph pole and fluttered in the breeze before sailing gently down. Like an autumn leaf, it landed softly in the brook and its streamlined shape was taken quickly on the surface of the water, disappearing into the distance. I squeeze my own whole body to scream but on waking all I could hear were my own muffled sobs.
My small daughter cuddled closer and tried to comfort me: 'Don't cry Mummy. Don't cry.'
My own mother opened the door and in the bar of light she was able to see which one of us was crying.
I remembered for years an article from the daughter of Ian and Deborah Curtis, Natalie. She wrote about Samantha Morton instinctively taking her hand as her mother would when they crossed the street. Morton was playing the part of her Deborah Curtis in the film version of this book (Control). Ian Curtis killed himself when Natalie was already a year old. I wouldn't ever have to ask her how she felt about her father killing himself, the no blood tie instinct, sisters in voided family trees. Trying to understand, easier with living without. It was something she always knew. Natalie has said that she feels strongly that it was the fault of the shitty state of health care services in the UK. I agree, although I'd take it farther into the shitty support system of human beings. Ian wouldn't have been able to live on his medication and he really couldn't live on it. Deborah was left in the dark from everyone about his sinking life. It did not have to be this epileptic mysterious nightmare. She had to constrain her husband in bed so he would not hurt himself. Made into his nurse, or keeper, nothing to do. When Tony Wilson is quoted that their lives would have been harder with Ian in it, that Natalie was better off without her father, well, that was also me. When people talk to me I drift into my head to see what they are telling. I didn't want this then. Bernard Sumner says that Ian designed his own hell to confine and doom him and I believe it. Ritual of drugs, self mutilation to not live through this numb testing, stasis. He had a kind of wanting it because it was his conviction to die. Smoke and mirrors glamour, nothing to do. Cries for help had another point and it was the cutting kind that bleeds even when you start to believe it's finally going to scab over. To save is out of all reach. Never live with it. Save. Hell, this memoir thing. Deborah Curtis is interesting here. Why would you want to write a memoir about this unless it is to save someone (and I know who is already dead). Oftentimes she is honest with brutal edges. To herself maybe most of all. I finished Touching from a Distance last night and then I listened to a lot of Joy Division (more than the usual a lot) and I wanted to take in Deborah, that I could hold what was hers as she did, as an instinct like bear necessities. The movie isn't bad. Samantha Morton certainly isn't bad. It's not right. I felt they wanted to tell about loosening out of grasps, a pain with only one end, and this was about more than one kind of dead. The someone killed themselves and no one could save them kind of story. I had this feeling that this book felt written out of a place of those who couldn't save. Cries for help, not of judgement. I won't forget soon reading about Ian first exhibiting his drained body with a hose wrapped around him like a snake. Could you do anything to stop that snake from squeezing?
Deborah Curtis was depressed too. This is so huge that I am afraid to read anything about this book because I remember those who believed Ian that having a wife and a baby was what killed him (he wouldn't hold his own daughter. He left his wife in shamed poverty). I want to know why she stayed with Ian Curtis. The film shows Deborah beg Ian, that she loves him. Deborah in the book won't allow herself to lie that she took it for granted that he would want her forgiveness when she discovers a major affair (there were others). She does not talk about him as if they were ever in love. His love letters to her, if they could be called that, were frightening. If she were an insect and he a small boy he would have burned her with a magnifying glass. She fell into dating him when her relationship to his friend Tony Nutall fell through. She doesn't know why. I can guess. She admits that when they first began dating she saw him as the whole group of his friends that she liked to be apart of, to do something different. Her musical interests reminded me of how my mother would like whatever the man she happened to be with liked (I was bemused by her favoritism towards A Certain Ratio. I swear the vocals on "Ocean" sound like Ian's no matter what anyone says no one else ever sang like he did). Where they did they begin, when they were with them? She is the most bitter that he didn't know poverty until the end when he was holed up with his mistress Annik. She expresses all of this with clarity. This is what I cannot get over, she would say. She feels the hole she was shoved in more than anything else, I think. Everything Deborah writes about her relationship with Ian is textbook battered woman. If she stayed with him like this then I am trapped in her purgatory of loneliness. The man wouldn't let her have any friends. Shit. No man can ever have you but me, he says. No one likes you, no one wants you. I have my suspicions based on nothing (and I wanted to chase something more tangible than my out of body forcing into their lives. No one is saving time travel style) but my own feeling is that Ian had wanted Deborah because of Tony.
It's a memoir style she has of self removal to talk about Ian that I recognize, to know what he went through... and why did she stay with him when she didn't love him. It's not making herself look good ever it is a going back into her hole. I feel for Ian in his depression but fuck no was he the only one who was suffering here. Ain't no way no how. Have you ever known a person who could be all charm and politeness smiles if they had some family at home to take out all of their dark side on? Forget the living for art thing. Deborah writes that she wondered if he didn't keep his affair drama going to fuel the song fires), the soul poured into art and murdering life like Voldemort's horcruxes in Harry Potter. That's what I've got.
The childhood photo of a gleeful Tony standing next to a fattened flat faced Ian (looking identical to another young photo of him on the top of the same page) is chilling. Yeah, there are photos of Ian smiling with the other guys. I felt it run down my spine the Joy Division lyric "But I remember when we were young". This was his youth, huffing household chemicals and dreams of dying young. Never young because old is his shadow. Convictions of bullheads and her in the horns. Deborah's book is great (I should probably say that by now). The depiction of Ian as so young and cleaving to his days as a dying man from the start. It may very well be true what everyone closed to him said about him living in fantasy pop land dreams. That he was only happy when he would be compared to David Bowie or Lou Reed. The loss felt in place of anything ever living there. I see broken pieces not from ever the same whole. But shit, Deborah could not have saved Ian. She keeps pointing out that she never got to hear those songs from Closer. That his songs that could have told them all what he was going to do were never in her hands. Yeah. And what the hell about Deborah? Her shame to ask for help, asking for help in spite of the shame and getting sent back to her hole again. I am so lost about something about Deborah. I don't think she was ever in love with Ian. She writes about him as a human being, if sometimes like something she needs to do for herself (and no doubt for her daughter). What I see is Ian is dead and everyone he knew thinks about the songs he was writing and they should have seen it all along...
Okay, Samantha Morton is going to have to help me here. She did an interview for UK radio station XFM years ago (I want to say 2002) and played her favorite tracks. Joy Division's She's Lost Control was her song. I remember something about it being the song of her life that said all about her. I can dance to that song and believe every word of it too. She had to have been filming Jesus' Son because of the stuff about dancing around in the her USA apartment at the time. If you have seen Jesus's Son you know that Morton has this incredible dance scene to Tommy Roe's 'Sweet Pea' that is just mesmerizing let loose and letting loose if you were in the chair unable to tear eyes away. Not freedom loose. Helpless to something. I think you can know a lot if you get to see someone dance and lose that control. If someone lets you see it. If it is free or if it has to say something. He doesn't remember his epileptic attacks when they are over.
And she turned around and took me by the hand and said,
I've lost control again.
And how I'll never know just why or understand,
She said I've lost control again.
And she screamed out kicking on her side and said,
I've lost control again.
And seized up on the floor, I thought she'd die.
She said I've lost control.
She's lost control again.
She's lost control.
She's lost control again.
She's lost control.
Ian Curtis' dancing I am not sure about freedom and control. His dancing he is famous for and people would go to see him. I was upset that more people came to see him the sicker he got. He drank alcohol and had fits through the medication meant to stop them. I wonder if this was on purpose, because maybe he had another life on stage. I don't know about the letting everyone watch him loose part as by all accounts their success would cease to mean anything to him once the dream came true. It had a name, this dance. It was his epileptic attacks. Was he helpless to it as to those fits? Deborah writes that her husband danced those measured beats at their wedding too so it wasn't a stage thing, exactly. He had exhibited signs of it in their early teens before the disorder owns him. Ian Curtis would fly off stage and lose control in the audience. The dancing became more mesmerizing to those watching the more he lost control. So they say. I keep thinking about this dancing for him more than the song lyrics that he denied had any meaning other than art to anyone who asked him. The people he leaves behind think about his lyrics after he is gone as a cry for help. Before he died it was inconceivable that they ever could be. I keep thinking about what Tony Wilson (I kind of think he was a douche bag, personally. This review is too long to get into that) said about how Ian got what he wanted. Deborah was miserable either way. That's what I really keep thinking about and not if anyone could have saved Ian. I don't know why he wanted what he did except to know that Ian Curtis didn't try to do anything other than his songs and his dancing. He had his love affair with the Belgian reporter, Annik. Annik rejected him when he had his fits. She wouldn't or couldn't deal with it. Deborah describes Ian as coming home with his tail between his legs. What was the saving? No one could stop him from having his attacks. Bernard thinks that it was the medication that killed him. I think it was the attacks and there was nothing they could have done. I think it was because he was born the old dying. And I remember when we were young line haunts me a little. I wonder if he didn't drink to bring on the attacks, on stage, despite the ill affects combined with his pills.
Okay, a point I thought was pretty damned important was that Ian asked Bernard Sumner to pick which woman for him. Bernard refused (well yeah). All of his before death shit of watching Werner Herzog films about a man who kills himself rather than choosing between two women. Is it like when he (okay, this I learned from Chris Ott's Unknown Pleasures book) says David Bowie sold out because he didn't kill himself after twenty-five like in his 'All the Young Dudes' lyrics.
There has to be more to it than this. Was he this attached to bullshit childhood ideals? His soul outgrowing small mind and too large for it only in his lyrics? His life was not lived beautifully.
I also thought it was interesting that the people in his life didn't think he had the great empathy required to write the songs he did and they had to be about himself. The songs don't feel like lies. There seemed to be a lot of past second guessing and replaying about what to be done. No one could be with him at all times. What I've got is no cries for help. I don't feel that way about these songs. There's the songs and I will write about them later. I have feelings about Ian Curtis' music that are not about sticking fingers through a chest and stopping a heart(less) life. Why didn't he have one for Deborah and Natalie? Deborah did divorce him. I wish I had more than she fell in with him and it was easier when he made her quit school and get married and then he kept a photo of their dog in his wallet and not his wife and child (I felt so bad for her when she had to give up her beloved dog because they couldn't afford to feed Candy any longer. Ian blamed her and did nothing to help the situation). I don't wonder how she didn't hate him just why did she stay and kill her own life by him. I get the feeling he wasn't living at all and that was the way he was going. What about her? She writes this book about him and their lives. Okay, when one of the guys in the band, Morris, has a girlfriend that Ian doesn't like her gets her to come over to their house. Deborah finds her comfy as an invitee. Ian tells Deborah that Stephenie is threatening suicide because her boyfriend dumped her. She has razor blades in their bathroom and go get her father to come fetch her. Deborah is confused because it doesn't look that way at all. Stephenie gives her a betrayed look when her father shows up or maybe I'm just remembering it that way now because Deborah feels she betrayed Stephenie. Mostly because she's the girl shoved out of their lives. Deborah wasn't allowed in Ian's life. But she did it and she knows she did it and she's disturbed that she did it. I get this and I want to know why. I wish I could be there and watch her face. Maybe if I knew that it wouldn't feel so sick to balance remembering people in your life and not remembering them when they were old and young too soon. On purpose, like a suicide, before they could ever get there. The songs from the other side, maybe. It feels that way sometimes, when you think about dying and there's no future and the past is something you can't think about happening and the present disowned you. Or some ghosts of some kind.
Staying in the same place, just staying out the time/Touching from a distance/Further all the time.
August 13, 2015
I started reading this book around 4 or 5 years ago, and was really enjoying it at the time. And then I put it down for some unknown reason. I finally got around to picking it up again, and decided to read from the start because I couldn't remember where I'd left off before - and I'm so glad I did.
This is a very touching and painful biography of Ian Curtis's life to read, as told from the close, personal perspective of his widow Deborah Curtis. I am glad that I have never idolised Ian Curtis, because this book would truly shatter people's ideas of him as a person. Having to read about the textbook domestic abuse in Ian and Deborah's relationship (even from the very beginning) was quite upsetting, and left me feeling both angry yet conflicted towards him. The description of his newly-discovered epilepsy was also quite emotional to read about, and quite scary at times particularly with the amount of grand mal attacks he would experience in a short amount of time.
The insight into Ian's life and the origins of Joy Division was incredibly interesting, with the perfect amount of detail and quotes without it being overloaded. At around 150 pages I felt this book to be a great length, and a very touching read. The inclusion of a gig list and song lyrics was also excellent, and it's quite disturbing reading some of Ian's later lyrics for the album Closer, after having read of his personal life and emotional state at the time of writing those songs.
A great read if you're a fan of Joy Division's music, truly fascinating.
This is a very touching and painful biography of Ian Curtis's life to read, as told from the close, personal perspective of his widow Deborah Curtis. I am glad that I have never idolised Ian Curtis, because this book would truly shatter people's ideas of him as a person. Having to read about the textbook domestic abuse in Ian and Deborah's relationship (even from the very beginning) was quite upsetting, and left me feeling both angry yet conflicted towards him. The description of his newly-discovered epilepsy was also quite emotional to read about, and quite scary at times particularly with the amount of grand mal attacks he would experience in a short amount of time.
The insight into Ian's life and the origins of Joy Division was incredibly interesting, with the perfect amount of detail and quotes without it being overloaded. At around 150 pages I felt this book to be a great length, and a very touching read. The inclusion of a gig list and song lyrics was also excellent, and it's quite disturbing reading some of Ian's later lyrics for the album Closer, after having read of his personal life and emotional state at the time of writing those songs.
A great read if you're a fan of Joy Division's music, truly fascinating.
October 27, 2012
I wouldn't say Deborah Curtis is a great writer but the way she manages to convey her complex feelings about Ian Curtis is both believable and touching. If you've seen the movie "Control" and/or "24 Hour Party People", you might want to read this book as it strips away the "myth from the man" to reveal Ian's, rather intense, character flaws and emotional issues that pre-date his epilepsy. I was especially surprised to read about his violence and control issues. He controlled what Deborah wore, who she saw, even what time she got up. He contributed little to their household financially and even less as a father and mate. Even though Deborah writes about the bad, and you can feel her frustration with Ian, she doesn't come off as vindictive. If anything, she comes off as still having a bit of hero worship for the guy even after he lies about her to the band, picks up a mistress, and abandons her.
Ian Curtis was a young man with serious problems and as his popularity grew he turned away from his family, especially his wife. Maybe the band or Tony Wilson could have done more for him but they seem to have been blinded by ambition and youth. Or maybe no one could have done a thing. Ian lied to all those around him: his parents, band mates, wife, and doctors, all the people who might have been able to help him.
Ian Curtis was a young man with serious problems and as his popularity grew he turned away from his family, especially his wife. Maybe the band or Tony Wilson could have done more for him but they seem to have been blinded by ambition and youth. Or maybe no one could have done a thing. Ian lied to all those around him: his parents, band mates, wife, and doctors, all the people who might have been able to help him.
August 22, 2007
A "tell-all" of everybody's favorite suicide...Ian Curtis. You like Manchester, you like New Order, a fan of Joy Division, want to know more about the man, the myth, the deceased frontman....then read this. If you don't then, don't read this...duh, what did you think I was going to say. Beg you to read this? Whatever you probably LOVE Interpol and think they are so original...without Joy Divsion you wouldn't have any of that stuff. Original PERIOD. Me lady is a big fan of Joy Division/New Order so we happened to visit Macclesfield (Ian's home and place of death/eternal resting place). Very eerie, especially after reading the book...saw his grave, heard creepy stories, mingled with english white-trash locals. Yeah, this book is also the basis for the Joy Division movie "Control" which should be coming to theatre's soon and THEN you will read this book.
April 8, 2018
I read this quite a while ago. I have a first edition copy of this somewhere. Unlike my more heavy reading habits, I don't feel like this subject matter needs to be fresh in my mind to write a review.
I just started listening to Joy Division again after many years of not listening to them. I often go through periods of genre listening. I suppose what sparked a renewed interest in Joy Division and Post-Punk was the fact that I just started listening to The The and I've been pretty impressed. I'm not sure if I should be glad or disappointed that The The somehow passed by me as a kid; but it has caused me to revisit other bands I liked from this era (e.g. The Cure, early New Order, The Smiths etc).
Anyway, this was a really good biography. Some reviewers hate it because they idolize a very flawed human being and are disappointed by his foibles. More than likely many of them are floored that Ian Curtis was a Tory conservative--GASP!!! I think Deborah Curtis did a good job representing her husband. Is she unbiased? No. Does she know him better than his legions of blissfully ignorant adorers? Undoubtedly!
I just started listening to Joy Division again after many years of not listening to them. I often go through periods of genre listening. I suppose what sparked a renewed interest in Joy Division and Post-Punk was the fact that I just started listening to The The and I've been pretty impressed. I'm not sure if I should be glad or disappointed that The The somehow passed by me as a kid; but it has caused me to revisit other bands I liked from this era (e.g. The Cure, early New Order, The Smiths etc).
Anyway, this was a really good biography. Some reviewers hate it because they idolize a very flawed human being and are disappointed by his foibles. More than likely many of them are floored that Ian Curtis was a Tory conservative--GASP!!! I think Deborah Curtis did a good job representing her husband. Is she unbiased? No. Does she know him better than his legions of blissfully ignorant adorers? Undoubtedly!
September 1, 2011
I think you can skip the book and just read this article from The Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2005/...
The article is more eloquent, more poignant and shorter. I liked this bit:
"I saw a review on Amazon once, somebody had written, 'She doesn't understand her subject'. And I thought, 'Well, surely that's the point?'" She sighs.
This middle section of "Touching from a Distance" dragged for me. Lots of arguing about carrying amps at gigs.
I hate it when Northern-types bang on about London. Just do your thing and that's fine! If you're happy and having fun, there's no reason to whinge about it!:
"Londoners finally realized that perhaps their city was no longer the centre of the Universe as they had previously thought," and then "It put Manchester at the centre of what was happening in the music business and slated Londoners for their smug complacency." Okay, but you're happy, right? Just relax!
"My sister Jill had a friend who worked looking after the teeth of people in institutions and Ian loved to hear of patients with extra breasts along the nipple line. A simple harmless deformity would fire his imagination." I really don't understand this. Is "extra breasts along the nipple line" a teeth thing? An extra nipple could be described as "a simple harmless deformity", but I'm not sure why a dentist would know about this. Is an extra breast "a simple harmless deformity"? It must be quite emotionally involved to have three tits. I'm too scared to Google "extra breasts along the nipple line". I'm so confused.
This edition has Ian's lyrics, so you can discover that, whilst Deborah spells realised with a "z", Ian opted for an "s". Interesting...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2005/...
The article is more eloquent, more poignant and shorter. I liked this bit:
"I saw a review on Amazon once, somebody had written, 'She doesn't understand her subject'. And I thought, 'Well, surely that's the point?'" She sighs.
This middle section of "Touching from a Distance" dragged for me. Lots of arguing about carrying amps at gigs.
I hate it when Northern-types bang on about London. Just do your thing and that's fine! If you're happy and having fun, there's no reason to whinge about it!:
"Londoners finally realized that perhaps their city was no longer the centre of the Universe as they had previously thought," and then "It put Manchester at the centre of what was happening in the music business and slated Londoners for their smug complacency." Okay, but you're happy, right? Just relax!
"My sister Jill had a friend who worked looking after the teeth of people in institutions and Ian loved to hear of patients with extra breasts along the nipple line. A simple harmless deformity would fire his imagination." I really don't understand this. Is "extra breasts along the nipple line" a teeth thing? An extra nipple could be described as "a simple harmless deformity", but I'm not sure why a dentist would know about this. Is an extra breast "a simple harmless deformity"? It must be quite emotionally involved to have three tits. I'm too scared to Google "extra breasts along the nipple line". I'm so confused.
This edition has Ian's lyrics, so you can discover that, whilst Deborah spells realised with a "z", Ian opted for an "s". Interesting...
September 18, 2016
If you've built your idea of Ian Curtis through the biopic Control, or if as a fan you insist on perpetuating the idea that Ian was a troubled misunderstood soul, you're probably missing part of the picture. I won't deny that Ian must have been all that, but he was a human being who also contained flaws within the net of his personality.
This biography is also a partial and subjective look into Ian Curtis' life, but by accessing many partial views perhaps we may aproach the truth of who Ian really was - not more, not less, than a fascinating human being.
This biography is also a partial and subjective look into Ian Curtis' life, but by accessing many partial views perhaps we may aproach the truth of who Ian really was - not more, not less, than a fascinating human being.
June 29, 2020
Ian Curtis, Warsaw, Joy Division, Manchester, música, amor y dolor. Todo ello contado por Deborah Curtis, esposa de Ian.
Sin duda, no es una biografía al uso, y es muy interesante para conocer más datos sobre la vida de Ian. Datos que en ocasiones no son agradables, pero que son muy necesarios.
Me reservo que quizá no me gusta la forma en la que está escrito, no sé si se debe a la propia Deborah o a la traducción, pero en conjunto es muy interesante.
Se completa con las letras de Joy Division, con escritos inéditos, fechas de conciertos y alguna que otra curiosidad más.
Sin duda, no es una biografía al uso, y es muy interesante para conocer más datos sobre la vida de Ian. Datos que en ocasiones no son agradables, pero que son muy necesarios.
Me reservo que quizá no me gusta la forma en la que está escrito, no sé si se debe a la propia Deborah o a la traducción, pero en conjunto es muy interesante.
Se completa con las letras de Joy Division, con escritos inéditos, fechas de conciertos y alguna que otra curiosidad más.
December 21, 2012
Readers of this book have to remember that just because Deborah Curtis was married to Ian, she doesn't have special insight into his personality. All biographies are CONSTRUCTS - and reading this book brings you no closer (yes, I used that word) to Ian than simply spinning one of Joy Division's records.
The essential problem with the book is that DC presents IC as such a one-dimensional character - a rat bastard and terrible husband.
An exercise: Listen to ANY Joy Division song and ask yourself a question. Is Ian one dimensional?
Also, the narrative reads like the product of an author with a personality disorder (yes, I used that word, too). Although DC does throw Ian some bones once in a while, she's mainly interested in assassinating his character. In fact, the things that he couldn't help - his epilepsy and depression - are somehow his fault and her problem. The writing indicates no warmth, no compassion.
Finally, if you read this book, pay specific attention to its diction, especially when DC discusses Ian's lyrics. There's a sense that she undermines his creativity and genuine interest in human suffering by saying that he read books on human suffering (by giants such as Dostoevsky, Ballard, Kafka, and Burroughs, etc.) to craft lyrics to accompany JD's gloomy music. This is total bullshit.
We need to give the artist the benefit of the doubt - always - and assume earnestness and the best intentions.
The essential problem with the book is that DC presents IC as such a one-dimensional character - a rat bastard and terrible husband.
An exercise: Listen to ANY Joy Division song and ask yourself a question. Is Ian one dimensional?
Also, the narrative reads like the product of an author with a personality disorder (yes, I used that word, too). Although DC does throw Ian some bones once in a while, she's mainly interested in assassinating his character. In fact, the things that he couldn't help - his epilepsy and depression - are somehow his fault and her problem. The writing indicates no warmth, no compassion.
Finally, if you read this book, pay specific attention to its diction, especially when DC discusses Ian's lyrics. There's a sense that she undermines his creativity and genuine interest in human suffering by saying that he read books on human suffering (by giants such as Dostoevsky, Ballard, Kafka, and Burroughs, etc.) to craft lyrics to accompany JD's gloomy music. This is total bullshit.
We need to give the artist the benefit of the doubt - always - and assume earnestness and the best intentions.
August 8, 2016
Some parts are a bit flat and reportorial, while others are raw and harrowing. The sections about Ian Curtis's epilepsy are particularly troubling in their implications. This account shreds many of the romantic notions surrounding Joy Division, without ever quite touching the mystery of the music itself.
November 10, 2007
This is an mildly interesting read, though it's probably only of interest to fans of Joy Division, Factory and the late 70's Manchester Post-Punk scene. Deborah Curtis's writing could definitely use more life, but as far as a document of events it functions ably. Some people will probably even find the mannered English delivery a nice respite from what's usually found in rock bios, and I appreciated the effort she seemed to put into being objective. Of course, it makes for a great companion piece to Anton Corbijn's Ian Curtis biopic Control, which is primarily based on this book. Of special interest to Joy Division fans will be the small collection of color photos from Curtis's family life, and the appendices (at least in this edition), which include not only lyrics for Joy Division's entire catalog, but also previously unpublished or unused lyrics and writings, a complete "gig list," and a discography.
August 25, 2013
Having seen Control for the third time, I was very eager to read this book. Unsurprisingly, the book written by Deborah, gave me, and not only me, the sad, dejecting and on the other hand, beautiful image of a person, whose only wish was to become famous and release an LP and a single.
This book, bearing in mind being subjective, gave me a further insight into Deborah and Ian's problematic life. His being distant to everybody made him interesting to some people around.
I must admit that I feel a kind of resent towards Ian, mainly due to the way he treated his family and the lack of interest in every single aspect of their family life. He could not control his life anymore, and yet he did not ask anybody for help. He was to realize his long-term plan, since he was a teenager, to die young.
Nevertheless, his contribution to music is extraordinary, one must not forget what Ian was struggling with, every single day till the 18th May.
This book, bearing in mind being subjective, gave me a further insight into Deborah and Ian's problematic life. His being distant to everybody made him interesting to some people around.
I must admit that I feel a kind of resent towards Ian, mainly due to the way he treated his family and the lack of interest in every single aspect of their family life. He could not control his life anymore, and yet he did not ask anybody for help. He was to realize his long-term plan, since he was a teenager, to die young.
Nevertheless, his contribution to music is extraordinary, one must not forget what Ian was struggling with, every single day till the 18th May.
June 3, 2023
Fascinating this book is, especially if you're a fan of Joy Division. Ian Curtis was a complicated genius type character with a very very troubled mind. I actually came away from this book feeling very sorry for his wife as Curtis comes across as being a bit of a twat at times. He is the kind of tortured artist that should never have got married or had children. A must read though if you're a fan of the music.
*Re-read June 2o23- well the original spark is lost on a second read. The "tortured artist" literally just translates into Ian Curtis was a bit of a cunt! He was controlling, misogynistic, contrary with an horrific set of double standards. I pity Deborah and her difficult years trying to hold his shit show together. Isn't it funny how we laud these complicated, violent, temperamental shithouses when in actual fact, yes they were extremely talented, but boy did they make other's lives a misery. One too many reads for me so off this goes to the community book exchange.
*Re-read June 2o23- well the original spark is lost on a second read. The "tortured artist" literally just translates into Ian Curtis was a bit of a cunt! He was controlling, misogynistic, contrary with an horrific set of double standards. I pity Deborah and her difficult years trying to hold his shit show together. Isn't it funny how we laud these complicated, violent, temperamental shithouses when in actual fact, yes they were extremely talented, but boy did they make other's lives a misery. One too many reads for me so off this goes to the community book exchange.
October 28, 2017
Per lungo tempo ho evitato di acquistarlo, nonostante Jan Curtis sia uno degli idoli della mia adolescenza: pensavo di sapere quello che mi aspettava. E infatti: mi è dispiaciuta la non obiettività . Il punto di vista è unilaterale, quello di una moglie dopo tanti anni incredibilmente livorosa. Ma anche il tono sciatto. Una scrittura a due mani non avrebbe certo nociuto. Che sbaglio, leggerlo. Voglio che i miei "Idoli" rimangano sul piedistallo, quasi "non-umani"...
October 10, 2010
In Touching From a Distance, Deborah Curtis retells the life of her husband, Ian Curtis - the lead singer and founder of the British punk band Joy Division. Deborah chronically Ian's tragically short life from childhood antics, to secondary school indifference and the start of his obsessions with striking it big and dying young. Curtis, with the help of quotes from several others paints a picture of a man determined to be a legend.
I started Touching from a Distance with no idea who Ian Curtis or Joy Division were. This was one of several assigned readings for this semester that I was more than a little skeptical about, particularly because it was a biography of someone I'd never heard of. I was surprised with how interested I became in Ian's life. Even ignoring his fame, Ian Curtis lead an interesting life. He was a smart kid who was obsessed with music. Deborah makes sure her voice is heard in every pages. She tries to give Ian a sympathetic audience but his controlling behavior, apparent schizophrenia, and inability to see how his antics effect those closest to him makes Ian more of a monster than helpless angel. It is obvious that Deborah loved her husband, even through his affair. In more ways than not this is her story as well. Her early life is so intertwined with his that it leaves the reader a chance to take sides.
I didn't many issues with Touching from a Distance. Deborah's timeline tended to move in inconsistent chunks, focusing on events that may or may not have actually been important and skimming over everything for the next several months. This happens a lot with performances. Several performances are highlighted, and there are so many that it becomes hard to keep track of venues, television personalities and groupies. My only other issue was the quotes. It is obvious that Curtis did her research, talking to everyone else involved with Ian and Joy Division. While they are informative, and sometimes refreshing to get a different perspective they often take away from the flow Curtis has created.
Overall I was very impressed. Though I'd love to hear what actual Joy Division fans thought of the biography.
I started Touching from a Distance with no idea who Ian Curtis or Joy Division were. This was one of several assigned readings for this semester that I was more than a little skeptical about, particularly because it was a biography of someone I'd never heard of. I was surprised with how interested I became in Ian's life. Even ignoring his fame, Ian Curtis lead an interesting life. He was a smart kid who was obsessed with music. Deborah makes sure her voice is heard in every pages. She tries to give Ian a sympathetic audience but his controlling behavior, apparent schizophrenia, and inability to see how his antics effect those closest to him makes Ian more of a monster than helpless angel. It is obvious that Deborah loved her husband, even through his affair. In more ways than not this is her story as well. Her early life is so intertwined with his that it leaves the reader a chance to take sides.
I didn't many issues with Touching from a Distance. Deborah's timeline tended to move in inconsistent chunks, focusing on events that may or may not have actually been important and skimming over everything for the next several months. This happens a lot with performances. Several performances are highlighted, and there are so many that it becomes hard to keep track of venues, television personalities and groupies. My only other issue was the quotes. It is obvious that Curtis did her research, talking to everyone else involved with Ian and Joy Division. While they are informative, and sometimes refreshing to get a different perspective they often take away from the flow Curtis has created.
Overall I was very impressed. Though I'd love to hear what actual Joy Division fans thought of the biography.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2008
For those of us who are lucky or, perhaps, foolish enough to allow music to rule a large part of our lives, there is always an elite set of artists and or songs that make such an impact that it is almost painful. The band that smacked me right across the gob and changed me forever was Joy Division.
By the time I heard the astonishing voice and, yes, haunting words of Ian Curtis, he had been dead at least 3 years by his own hand. Ian was a James Dean type persona. He took himself out when he was on the brink of something so enormous he could not withstand it. Ian's personal demons, his lack of ability to cope with emerging fame and the disparate paths he was being asked to take overwhelmed him and he killed himself the day after my birthday in 1980. If I sound like a driveling fan-girl, it is because I am!
Now that we are in a period of Joy Division nostalgia, with the success of last year's indie biopic, Control, about Curtis's life and the formation of the band, it might be of interest to other fans to make mention of the book penned by Curtis's widow. Although the couple were on the brink of splitting at the time of Ian's death, she leaves a poignant memoir of those times. Though Deborah Curtis is not a professional writer, she was "there" and tells the story with candor, including references to Ian''s affair with Annick Honore. Guilt over this extra-marital affair was a contributing factor to Curtis's depression around the time of his suicide.
Hard core Joy Division fanatics will probably already be aware of this book. Those who are somewhat interested in the band or the formative days of the Manchester Sound and punk/post punk genres may learn some interesting background to this scene.
By the time I heard the astonishing voice and, yes, haunting words of Ian Curtis, he had been dead at least 3 years by his own hand. Ian was a James Dean type persona. He took himself out when he was on the brink of something so enormous he could not withstand it. Ian's personal demons, his lack of ability to cope with emerging fame and the disparate paths he was being asked to take overwhelmed him and he killed himself the day after my birthday in 1980. If I sound like a driveling fan-girl, it is because I am!
Now that we are in a period of Joy Division nostalgia, with the success of last year's indie biopic, Control, about Curtis's life and the formation of the band, it might be of interest to other fans to make mention of the book penned by Curtis's widow. Although the couple were on the brink of splitting at the time of Ian's death, she leaves a poignant memoir of those times. Though Deborah Curtis is not a professional writer, she was "there" and tells the story with candor, including references to Ian''s affair with Annick Honore. Guilt over this extra-marital affair was a contributing factor to Curtis's depression around the time of his suicide.
Hard core Joy Division fanatics will probably already be aware of this book. Those who are somewhat interested in the band or the formative days of the Manchester Sound and punk/post punk genres may learn some interesting background to this scene.
April 24, 2015
This is a horrendously disjointed, and self-serving piece of vitriolic slander born of 15 years of vehemence boiling inside Deborah Curtis.
I don't believe Ian Curtis was perfect, however, I don't believe he was the devil Deborah made him out to be. She alternates between trash-talking Ian to saying how much she loves him, and what a good wife she was to him. She goes so far as to say that he faked some of his seizures, and that his previous suicide attempts were for attention, or to act out some fantasy she believe he had.
Through the entire narrative, Deborah portrays herself as the perfect, sweet and innocent wife, abandoned by her fickle husband. She says she wasn't aware of Ian's depressive lyrics, yet she claimed she went through all of Ian's lyric notebooks to find Annik's number. She later says Ian brought home a Joy Division tape for her but she couldn't listen to it because Ian hadn't bought her a tape player.
She also describes an incident in which she bit Ian hard enough to draw blood while the two of them lay in bed together. The result was that sh got kicked. She excuses her actions by saying she was so ignored etc, thereby, conveniently absolving herself of any blame over the fact that she was physically abusive toward her husband. Toward the end of the book, she also talks about a strong "bond" she and Ian shared, yet through the ENTIRE book accuses Ian of being distant and withdrawn from her and Natalie.
Personally, I would NOT recommend reading this book, but if you do, pay attention to the contradictions in her narrative and how clean she comes off in her little story. I call bullshit on this whole book. I also think it's disgusting that Deborah Curtis profited off her spiteful venom.
I don't believe Ian Curtis was perfect, however, I don't believe he was the devil Deborah made him out to be. She alternates between trash-talking Ian to saying how much she loves him, and what a good wife she was to him. She goes so far as to say that he faked some of his seizures, and that his previous suicide attempts were for attention, or to act out some fantasy she believe he had.
Through the entire narrative, Deborah portrays herself as the perfect, sweet and innocent wife, abandoned by her fickle husband. She says she wasn't aware of Ian's depressive lyrics, yet she claimed she went through all of Ian's lyric notebooks to find Annik's number. She later says Ian brought home a Joy Division tape for her but she couldn't listen to it because Ian hadn't bought her a tape player.
She also describes an incident in which she bit Ian hard enough to draw blood while the two of them lay in bed together. The result was that sh got kicked. She excuses her actions by saying she was so ignored etc, thereby, conveniently absolving herself of any blame over the fact that she was physically abusive toward her husband. Toward the end of the book, she also talks about a strong "bond" she and Ian shared, yet through the ENTIRE book accuses Ian of being distant and withdrawn from her and Natalie.
Personally, I would NOT recommend reading this book, but if you do, pay attention to the contradictions in her narrative and how clean she comes off in her little story. I call bullshit on this whole book. I also think it's disgusting that Deborah Curtis profited off her spiteful venom.
July 14, 2015
Do not read this book
if you want to read about Joy Division or you enjoy reading about bands in general.
This book isn't about Joy Division. It's hardly about Ian Curtis and that's his face on the cover. It's more about Deborah Curtis. It is a means for her to vent. To get out what she has been holding in. Fair play, everyone should have their say, that's what I believe in. I knew something about Ian Curtis before I started reading, certainly have loved Joy Division for years. And happen to have first hand experience with singer boyfriends. Not that they're all the same, but the same qualities are there. Here's the thing: Deborah Curtis got hurt in a mean way. The longer they were together, the worse it got. And then you get this book and you have to freakin' read about it. O, the agony. Also, Ian Curtis lacked major balls in taking responsibility for the relationship or any of it really. Like seriously, any.
Fine fine, he was gone too soon, anyone that young is. I'm not saying anything about the music either, you notice? Yeah, it's kinda not the point of the book. It leaves me with the incredible shouting inside my head: "THIS IS ONLY HER SIDE OF THE STORY!"
I still love Joy Division.
Still have all the admiration for Ian Curtis as a musician, but for nothing else.
Will want to read some other book about the actual band at one time and forget about this one.
if you want to read about Joy Division or you enjoy reading about bands in general.
This book isn't about Joy Division. It's hardly about Ian Curtis and that's his face on the cover. It's more about Deborah Curtis. It is a means for her to vent. To get out what she has been holding in. Fair play, everyone should have their say, that's what I believe in. I knew something about Ian Curtis before I started reading, certainly have loved Joy Division for years. And happen to have first hand experience with singer boyfriends. Not that they're all the same, but the same qualities are there. Here's the thing: Deborah Curtis got hurt in a mean way. The longer they were together, the worse it got. And then you get this book and you have to freakin' read about it. O, the agony. Also, Ian Curtis lacked major balls in taking responsibility for the relationship or any of it really. Like seriously, any.
Fine fine, he was gone too soon, anyone that young is. I'm not saying anything about the music either, you notice? Yeah, it's kinda not the point of the book. It leaves me with the incredible shouting inside my head: "THIS IS ONLY HER SIDE OF THE STORY!"
I still love Joy Division.
Still have all the admiration for Ian Curtis as a musician, but for nothing else.
Will want to read some other book about the actual band at one time and forget about this one.
March 7, 2013
My favorite JD songs, in no particular order:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxuIh_...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRnWYA...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4pScq...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mz5AE...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhCLal...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQSpJf...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL9rSA...
I'm including these because I've definitely been in a Joy Division type of mood lately (winters in the Hub have a very Manchester-esque bleakness and bitterness, I'd imagine, among other, more personal, bleaker things) and because only songs like these can begin to explain or redeem such a pretentious, selfish, maudlin, afflicted, spineless little creep.
March 1, 2021
Have seen the film Control numerous times that is based on Deborah Curtis's book, but as I'm not a big fan of biographies, it's took me a long time to actually buy and read the story of Ian's life.
An amazing book. At times an insight into Curtis's lyrical genius and at times an harrowing insight to the turmoil that plagued not only Ian Curtis himself but also his relationship with his wife and the in the direction the band were taking.
If you've never read this book and know of Joy Division then this is a must read.
An amazing book. At times an insight into Curtis's lyrical genius and at times an harrowing insight to the turmoil that plagued not only Ian Curtis himself but also his relationship with his wife and the in the direction the band were taking.
If you've never read this book and know of Joy Division then this is a must read.
December 6, 2007
They say you should never meet your idols because you will usually be disappointed. That was somewhat the case with reading this book. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Joy Division and Ian Curtis' lyrics. However, he was not very kind to his wife at all. Of course this could have been exageraged since she did write this book. The 1st part of the book focus on this a little much and I started to get tired of it. However the 2nd part of the book tends to take a look at Ian's whole situation (at least from his wife's point of view). It is a sad look at a great word smith who we lost at his prime. Debbie Curtis does leave you with the impression that he never intended to live beyond his twenties and took his life while he would be remembered a legend like many of his idols. While there are quotes in the book that lead you to believe his epilepsy, the drugs to control it and the "rock n' roll lifestyle" contributed to severe depression and ultimately suicide. Throw in being pulled between 2 lovers and you have recipe for self destruction. The book is told in a linear fashion, but may little details from the future are thrown in that sometimes threw off the narrative. All in all this was an short, but interesting look into Ian's life.
On a side note. It is very interesting knowing the story and going back and reading the lyrics to his songs. They are all provided at the back of the book.
On a side note. It is very interesting knowing the story and going back and reading the lyrics to his songs. They are all provided at the back of the book.
July 3, 2015
basically it has changed the way I used to think about joy division, Ian Curtis suicide and etc... also made mine perceptions about life and marriage change a lot. Deborah Curtis is nothing that I had imagine that she was, she was not the needy and annoying rock star wife that we would suppose. when we are a joy division fan we believe and clichés and prejudices about everybody involved and just don't realise that they are nothing but opinions. facts has to be checked. I would strong recommend to complement this great reading the complementary reading of Peter's Hook book, and then Bernard Sumner Book, Chapter and Verse, and then Deborah's Curtis book, in this order. leave her book for the last, the best for the last. Peter s Hook is amazing as well, is like more an introduction, Chapter and Verse will bore you but it is complementary since Bernard Sumner talked a great deal with Ian Curtis and even hypnotised him! you can find the whole session in the end of the book. I think these three book are very complimentary of Ian Curtis character, and if you are a fan like me and always wondered why he committed suicide, the poetry in his lyric's, you will find it very substantial.
August 26, 2013
Debbie Curtis comes off as a really bitter, jilted wife in this book. And of course, if everything she said in it is true, then by all means that seems appropriate. However it makes for a really difficult and plodding read. The whole book she just seems to paint herself as an innocent bystander as her world around her is falling apart. Yet she never seems to take any responsibility for her own actions/inactions. Ie: not leaving Ian sooner when she knew he was having an affair, or when he was treating her so horribly, etc. If you're looking for some insight into Ian Curtis and Joy Division, then you might be a little disappointed. I know I was. Stay away from this and read Peter Hook's excellent Joy Division memoir instead.
May 22, 2009
This was a quick read mostly because I skimmed through a lot of it. I realized halfway through that I would rather keep my limited understanding of Ian Curtis, his life and problems. I don't want to know that he was a controlling, emotionally manipulative young man or that they were far too young and immature to get married... but now I do. I recommend the movie, "Control" more than I recommend this book. You get the same basic information, but Ian Curtis doesn't come across as such a jerk.
January 20, 2019
Well, you know how this one ends. It's a sad story but offers great insight on Ian Curtis' life from someone who truly loved him. It's well written and quite...a downer. Falling in love with another woman while Deborah was pregnant with their first child was a sad thing. Still, any fan of Ian or Joy Division will consider thus a must-read, and a great step-off to Anton Corbjn's stellar biopic 'Control' based on this book. Love will tear us apart.
Steve McGowan
Steve McGowan
October 2, 2010
i expected more from this one.
his personality demand more from biographer. it was necessary to have another dimension, but all you get are facts.
still, if you're interested in curtis, you have to read this book. for informations, at least.
i recommend the film: control.
his personality demand more from biographer. it was necessary to have another dimension, but all you get are facts.
still, if you're interested in curtis, you have to read this book. for informations, at least.
i recommend the film: control.
September 16, 2023
I probably cannot be trusted at all when it comes to reviewing anything Joy Division, but I do believe that Deborah Curtis honest and gripping story will appeal to anyone - and be utterly indispensable for anyone into Ian's work.
December 15, 2018
perskaičiau per dvi dienas autobuse, važiavau nuo Subačiaus stotelės iki Jono Kazlausko, tikrai neblogai
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