Ian Curtis

British musician

Photo by: Yvesdebxl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Born:July 15, 1956

Died:May 18, 1980

Age at death:23

Manner of death:Suicide

Cause of death:Hanging To Death

Zodiac Sign:Cancer

Height:1.85 m (6′1″)

Born in:Stretford, United Kingdom

Buried in:United Kingdom

Languages:English

Guitarist Musician Songwriter Singer-songwriter Singer Poet Composer Lyricist

Links

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Famous For

Bands

Joy Division

Books

Touching from a Distance

Ian Curtis

British musician

Biography

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. In 2026, Curtis was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Joy Division after two previous nominations.

This biography uses content from the Wikipedia article “Ian Curtis”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Photos

Tombe Ian Curtis

77 Barton Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire. Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis lived and died here, a suicide on 18 May 1980. Curtis's house is to the right of the corner house.

View of the grave of Ian Curtis. The curbstone bears the inscription: Ian Curtis 18 - 5 - 80 Love Will Tear Us Apart

Headstones under a tree in Macclesfield Cemetery, seen from the nearby grave marker of Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis

After his suicide, on the brink of stardom, Ian Curtis was cremated and put in a small grave - one among many thousands at Macclesfield Cemetery, and not easy to find. This was a sad ending for someone with such great songwriter gifts. Don't walk away in silence...

Equipo original de Ian Curtis.

Intersection of Barton and Newton streets in Macclesfield, Cheshire. The house in foreground, 17 Barton Street, was where Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis lived and died.