Comments on: 'Get Lost': Burroughs on Curtis

By: MaaqF

MaaqF — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:08:00 +0000

The Curtis/Burroughs myth rides again. The recent (2007) Grant Gee documentary Joy Division offers perhaps the final word on the subject. According to Hook and Sumner Curtis approached Burroughs in a less than sober state, and may well have been quite obnoxious, possibly going so far as to demand a free book. That Burroughs dismissed the young man is hardly surprising. From other evidence in the documentary, and various other interviews it would appear that Curtis could be a remarkably annoying young man.

That said, I would still argue that much of Joy Division suggests an engagement with the literature of both Burroughs and Ballard. An example I would cite is the song Candidate from Unknown Pleasures. Musically the song is almost skeletal, completely dominated by the ponderous bass line, over which Curtis intones an elliptical monologue, the description of an unstated personal crisis. Parallels can be drawn between this structure and some of the literary forms Ballard has explored, notably in The Atrocity Exhibition (Book) and ‘The Voices of Time’.

Well, thats enough of my ranting, Ballard, Burroughs AND Joy Division are all subjects that fascinate me.

By: Simon Sellars

Simon Sellars — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 15:22:49 +0000

Jack, Severed Heads — well done, sir! They are long overdue for some critical rehabilitation. You got any contacts in the music press?

Re: JD. To be honest I never found Curtis the most interesting part. I love Hannett’s production and Barney’s guitar, and this carries straight over to the first New Order album. Thus I cannot quite agree with the ‘late Led Zep’ comparison, even though Zep’s Presence is a glorious album.

By: johnny strike

johnny strike — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 13:30:46 +0000

chuck’s imagined account rings true for me. i can see some bloke saying, ‘did ya hear, he told curtis to piss off’ which got changed to fuck off by someone else. burroughs probably said something like, ‘not now’

By: Chuck

Chuck — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:33:12 +0000

I doubt the ‘fuck off’ part. I can certainly see Curtis being cocky and WSB not being in the mood for it.

By: jack heron

jack heron — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:15:41 +0000

Having just read Deborah Curtis’s sorry book about her suicide husband – a dim Tory-voting racist narcissist who read little, by her own accounts – and having met Burroughs (an absolute sweetie), I can imagine that it was Ian Curtis who was rude to Burroughs (“Uncle Bill”, as Genesis P Orridge called him) and not the other way around.
And have you tried to listen to ‘Closer’ recently? It’s as painful as late Led Zeppelin!
JGB fans should be exploring the work of Australia’s Severed Heads instead…

By: Anthony Osborne

Anthony Osborne — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:50:16 +0000

I’ve heard the Burroughs vs Curtis tale before … Burroughs dismissing Curtis with an even less courteous “fuck off” for trying to scam a free book in this version. Yes, even more out of character. He was a gentleman, Burroughs.
But Curtis’ literacy being quite an achievement for a Macclesfield lad? Ouch! Could Britton sound more condescending?