While contemporary emotive links between Cheshire and New Zealand are a bit sparse, those that do exist are musical but melancholy.
THE WELLINGTON ‘IAN CURTIS’ WALL
A wall on Wallace Street in Wellington, New Zealand, had the words "Ian Curtis Lives" written on it shortly after the singer's death. The message is repainted whenever it is painted over. A nearby wall on the same street on the 4th January 2005 was originally emblazoned "Ian Curtis RIP", later modified to read "Ian Curtis R.I.P. Walk In Silence" along with the dates "1960 - 1981" (sic).
Both are referred to as "The Ian Curtis Wall". However on Thursday 10 September 2009, the wall was painted over by Wellington City Councils anti graffiti team. The wall was chalked back up on 16th September 2009, even if the dates had been muddled - Curtis was born in 1956 not 1966. The Council may now just turn a blind eye. The wall was repainted on the 17th September 2009 - this time with correct dates.
IAN CURTIS
Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was the vocalist and lyricist, as well as occasional guitarist and keyboardist, of the band Joy Division, which he joined in 1976 after meeting with Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook at a Sex Pistols gig. He was born in Old Trafford, Manchester but lived the greater part of his short life in Macclesfield, Cheshire.
He grew up in Hurdsfield, an area of Macclesfield, and from a young age he exhibited talent as a poet. Proof of his ability was his admission at the age of eleven to The King's School, Macclesfield with a scholarship. Despite this, he was not a devout student and did not further his education after receiving his O-levels.
From his high school days, his ambitions and hopes were focused on the pursuit of art, literature and, most importantly, music. Curtis was employed in a variety of jobs, including as a civil servant in Manchester and later in Macclesfield.
He was influenced by the writers William S. Burroughs, J. G. Ballard and Joseph Conrad (the song titles "Interzone", "Atrocity Exhibition", and "Colony" coming from the three authors, respectively), and by the musicians David Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop and Jim Morrison.
In 1976, Curtis met two young musicians, Bernard Sumner and Peter Hook, at a Sex Pistols gig, who told him they were trying to form a band; he immediately put himself forward as a vocalist and lyricist. The three of them recruited, and sacked a number of drummers before settling on Stephen Morris as their final member. Initially, the band was called Warsaw before changing its name to Joy Division in 1978, due to conflicts with the name of another band, Warsaw Pakt.
The name "Joy Division" stemmed from the sexual slavery wing of a Nazi concentration camp in the 1955 novel The House of Dolls, and was thought to have been pitched by Curtis.
After starting Factory Records with Alan Erasmus, Tony Wilson "signed" the band to his label (although apparently no contracts were ever actually signed - despite the story of Wilson signing a contract in his own blood).
While performing for Joy Division, Curtis became known for his quiet and awkward demeanour, as well as a unique dancing style reminiscent of the epileptic seizures he experienced, sometimes even on stage. There were several incidents where he collapsed and had to be helped off stage.
Curtis's writing was filled with imagery of emotional isolation, death, alienation, and urban decay. He once commented in an interview that he wrote about "the different ways different people can cope with certain problems, how they might or might not adapt." He sang in a bass-baritone voice, in contrast to his speaking voice, which was higher pitched.
Earlier in their career, Curtis would sing in a loud snarling voice similar to shouting; it is best displayed on the band's debut EP, An Ideal for Living (1978). Joy Division had its sparse recording style developed by producer Martin Hannett, with some of their most innovative work being created in Strawberry Studios in Stockport (owned by Manchester act 10cc) and Cargo Recording Studios Rochdale in 1979, a studio which was developed from John Peel investing money into the music business in Rochdale.
As detailed in Debbie Curtis's Touching from a Distance, Curtis was staying at his parents' house in Macclesfield at this time and attempted to talk his wife into staying with him on 17 May 1980, to no avail. Debbie left him in her house overnight while she left to do some errands. Genesis P-Orridge of Throbbing Gristle claimed in a 2006 interview that Curtis would sometimes phone him during the night and sing the Throbbing Gristle song "Weeping" — a song about suicide — to him.
In the early hours of 18 May 1980, Curtis hanged himself in the kitchen of the house that he and Debbie had occupied in Macclesfield. He had just viewed Werner Herzog's film Stroszek and listened to Iggy Pop's The Idiot.
At the time of his death, his health was failing as a result of the epilepsy and attempting to balance his musical ambitions with his marriage, which was foundering in the aftermath of his affair with journalist Annik Honoré. His wife found his body the next morning.
Curtis's memorial stone, which is inscribed with "Ian Curtis 18 - 5 - 80" and "Love Will Tear Us Apart", was stolen in July 2008 from the grounds of Macclesfield Cemetery. The missing memorial stone was later replaced by a new one.
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