Introduction: Touching from a Distance.

Touching from a Distance is a biography written by Deborah Curtis. It details her life and marriage with Ian Curtis, lead singer of the 1970s British post-punk band Joy Division. In the book, Deborah Curtis speaks of Ian's infidelity, their troubled marriage, Ian's volatile and sometimes troubled personality, and his health problems (which included epileptic seizures and depression) that likely led to his suicide in 1980, on the eve of Joy Division's first United States tour.The foreword was written by the music journalist Jon Savage.
The title is a reference to a line in one of Joy Division's most popular songs, "Transmission". The appendix contains four sections: Discography, Lyrics, Unseen Lyrics, and Gig List. The Unseen Lyrics section contains songs that either were not recorded or finished.

Source: Wikipedia.

Touching From a Distance was a very special gift my partner made for me - it was a christmas gift.
So far I can say, I love Joy Division. One of my favourites bands and biggest influence in my artistic life. From musical composition to aesthethic choices, JD is serving like a fuel of inspiration in this strange time.
So, when I saw Anton Corbjin's CONTROL film - the same man who photographed the band and was always with them - I was determined to continuing looking forward the mystery around Ian Curtis, that strange young man who was poethically entagled into the downward spiral of existence that can't see the exalted suffering his wife was living with and without him, meanwhile he was the shadowplay of the art industry.
Let's dive into mental illness, electric dancing and life negligence.

So, this is permanence.

So this is permanent, love's shattered pride
What once was innocence, turned on its side
A cloud hangs over me, marks every move
Deep in the memory, what once was love
Joy Division - Twenty Four Hours

Ian Kevin Curtis, born in Manchester in 1956, 15th July was an intense devotee of the New Wave music genre: David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed between others. He was also know as the guy with the "HATE" jacket painted in the back and for the envoling imagery of desolation, emptiness and alienation.
He suffered from epilepsy and struggled with an advanced stage of depression.

Despiste the short life and career, the band has made an imprint in the music: they are, in fact, the fathers of the Post Punk genre.

According to John Bush:

"(Joy Division) became the first band in the post-punk movement by ... emphasizing not anger and energy but mood and expression, pointing ahead to the rise of melancholy alternative music in the '80s".

According to Simon Reynolds (I recommend reading his book "POSTPUNK"):

"Joy Division's influence has extended from contemporaries such as U2 and The Cure to later acts including Interpol, Bloc Party and Editors".

But, what do we know about his personal life?

"Touching From a Distance" and "Control" takes the dead soul of Ian into a human plane and labels him like the person he was, besides the legend.
In 1979, Curtis began to neglect his personal life - his wife and her daughter. The guilt he was consuming him: he was in a affaire while being overly controlling and monitoring the life of Deborah Curtis. The guilt was between two topics: the need of a new platonic life with Annik or the life of being a father with a baby daughter. On one occasion in 1980, Curtis asked Bernard Sumner to make a decision on his behalf as to whether he should remain with his wife or form a deeper relationship with Honoré; Sumner refused.
Honoré heavily influenced Curtis's life. Somehow manage to influence Ian into being a vegetarian, despite he consumed meat when she wasn't present.

Honoré claimed in a 2010 interview that although she and Curtis had spent extensive periods together, their relationship had been platonic. Deborah Curtis has maintained that it was a sexual and romantic affair.
Joy Division (1 February 2011). "Ian Curtis and Annik Honoré – the Dazzling History of Joy Division". Joy Division Bootlegs. Retrieved 2 January 2012.

Is there something else besides Ian being a cheater?

Yes, he also struggle with epilepsy and depression. Those two other topics he played hidding being well, was, at the end, other key reason why he couldn't take it anymore. The rising popularity of the band, the pressure of his hidden life was draining him and didn't wanted any help. He was living remotly in stage, performative, and nothing more until his final days.
He was having difficulty balancing his family obligations with his musical ambitions and his health was gradually worsening as a result of his poorly medicated epilepsy, thus increasing his dependency upon others.
He knew he was going to die young, he was planning it. He performed every last step since his teenage angst.

"Strange as it may sound, it wasn't until after his death that we really listened to Ian's lyrics and clearly heard the inner turmoil in them."
-Bernard Sumner, reflecting in November 2015 on many of the lyrics Curtis had written for Joy Division's second and final album, Closer.

Now his legacy lives forever in New Order, Natalie and Debbie Curtis. Stay safe wherever you are and be gently with yourself.