“He dropped a pint pot on the stage, it smashed, and he rolled around in the broken glass, cutting a ten-inch gash in his thigh,” remembers Peter Hook.ĩ. Known for his distinctive on-stage moves, one night Ian pulled wooden tiles off the stage and threw them into the audience. If he was exposed for too long his hands would turn crimson and swell up to resemble a huge pair of red rubber gloves.Ĩ.
Suitably for a man idolised because of intensely introspective dark lyrics, Ian had a peculiar allergic reaction to the brightness of the sun’s rays.
Tony got them to perform ‘Shadowplay’ and again for ‘She’s Lost Control’.ħ. He gave Tony the letter and called him a bastard for not having put them on - it worked.
#CONTROL IAN CURTIS MOVIE JACKET TV#
Ian wrote an abusive letter to Tony Wilson to try to provoke him into giving the band a TV slot. He once had his stomach pumped after taking too many.Ħ. Not one to miss an opportunity, he’d steal prescription drugs from residents and take them himself with mates. A young Ian was forced to do ‘social services’ by visiting the elderly as part of a school scheme. Ian was asked if he’d be willing to ‘entertain’ old ladies.ĥ. He saw an advert in a newspaper asking for young men to apply and travelled down only to find out the job was for the position of a gigolo. After finishing his A-Levels Ian thought about moving to London. Ian was obsessed with music as a teenager but couldn’t afford the albums he wanted as well as the cigarettes and drink he’d taken a liking to, so often he would go to the indoor market in Macclesfield town centre and steal records underneath a large grey coat.Ĥ. When Factory pressed ‘Return Of the Durutti Column’ he ended up gluing the sheets of sandpaper to the sleeves to get cigarette money.ģ. He’d often have to clean the studio building after recording to earn extra. Despite the relative success of ‘Unknown Pleasures’ Ian was always strapped for cash. The showman left his first stunt battered and bruised.Ģ. After drumming up support from local children he donned a crash helmet and jumped from the roof of a garage. He decided to be a stunt man and rigged up a wooden sledge as a landing pad. We uncover the hidden side of troubled Joy Division frontman, Ian Curtis, with 10 Things You Never Knew About.ġ.