Not everything in the states was all good, of course. “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Pac Man” were released on back to back days. The Miracle on Ice had happened and the country was still buzzing. The Voyager 1 had confirmed a new moon of Saturn. But it was less certain if they’d garner the same response in the states at the turn of the decade. Joy Division had captivated audiences in the UK, who were eager for the way Curtis massaged some lyrical beauty out of otherwise mundane anguish. He was worried about how American audiences would react to his dancing, or the threat of him passing out on stage and having a seizure. It was nearly two hours before his bandmates found him unconscious on the floor.Īnd so, when it came time for the band to prepare for their American debut, Curtis, was anxious, concerned, and growing increasingly depressed. During one recording session, Curtis went to the bathroom, had a seizure and hit his head on the sink. By the time they began recording “Closer,” he was suffering about two seizures a week on average. By the time Joy Division had begun to tour and record more vigorously, Curtis saw his condition worsen. The anticonvulsant medications he was given forced him to have mood swings, and become even more withdrawn than he’d already been. He still drank and smoked, and didn’t sleep much. Ian Curtis performing at The Lyceum in London, February 29, 1980. Photo by Chris Mills/Redferns via Getty Imagesĭespite his diagnosis, Curtis didn’t follow doctor’s orders as strictly as those close to him might have wanted him to. Through the grainy black and white footage, the small fists of Curtis cut through the darknesses, like he’s fighting some invisible demon, circling the stage. There are videos online – compilations of these moments that people can watch and marvel at. His movements on stage were chaotic and unpredictable: a moment of stillness followed by a windmill of rapid arm movements, or his body, twisting and turning into a brief and uncontrolled tornado before settling into abrupt calm again. A dark cloud of sweat starting out small and then moving south along his button-down shirts. It was the band’s performances that got the press going, particularly due to the movements of frontman Ian Curtis.
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Lawrence, Music Journalist and Historian Dart Adams, and YOU. * To celebrate the release of Lost Notes Season 3, join KCRW for an epic conversation about the albums that made a forever stamp on 1980. At the virtual table will be Lost Notes S3 host Hanif Abdurraqib, KCRW DJs Anne Litt and Eric J. “Unknown Pleasures” wasn’t immediately commercially successful, but in the fall of 1979, Joy Division went on tour in support of the Buzzcocks, drumming up further critical acclaim and an excitement for their second album already in the works, “Closer.
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The cover of Joy Division’s “Unknown Pleasures” released in 1979