Those were the days: when artistic, intense young men and women (although it tended to be men) could see not only what was great about Rimbaud or Kafka, but also what was great about the Sex Pistols – and then form a band. It’s a pleasure to find in this book the cover of Curtis’s copy of Rimbaud’s poems, and also the bookplate in the copy of The Art of Coarse Acting that he was awarded for the history prize at the King’s school, Macclesfield (it’s rather touching that Curtis kept it; it doesn’t sound like his cup of tea). So this is permanence, edited by Jon Savage with a foreword by Deborah Curtis, presents the intensely personal writings of one of the most enigmatic and influential songwriters and performers of the late twentieth century, Joy Division's Ian Curtis. The book "So This is Permanence: Joy Division Lyrics and Notebooks" provides, just as the title implies, plus much more. If you were a fan of Joy Division or not, it must be admitted that the band had a major impact on music at the time. I myself was a great fan of the band, so this book is an incredible treat to own.

Faber Social is proud to announce the publication of this stunning book in a limited edition of 200 copies, signed by Deborah Curtis, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Jon Savage and Bernard Sumner. Does she still play Joy Division’s music? “I don’t,” she says softly. “I can hear it if I want to. It’s there in my head.” A treasure trove of personal writings by the great post-punk singer-songwriter—with a foreword by his wife Deborah and an introduction by Jon Savage. You just took the cue from [Ian] singing and it built up to the vocals. It sounds really simple but that was one of the first one things we did after we finished Unknown Pleasures. I think it started with something that’s like a northern soul song, which we’ve kind of done on “Interzone”, which is the beat in the middle, then I just started playing half time and then we got the slow verse part for it. I really like the way it’s kind of moody and sort of snakes along then suddenly it gets really very spirited. Furious, I think. A little bit like “Insight” on Unknown Pleasures, but a lot more accomplished.The next section contains alternative lyrics, some unrecorded songs, and a bit of prose. And the final section of the book contains artwork, photo's of some of the books in Ian's library that were important to him and also some fan letters to him.

This is Permanence' reveals the personal writings of Joy Division lead singer and influential songwriter Ian Curtis in a beautiful cloth-bound anthology. Curtis committed suicide in 1980 before the British band's first US tour, and the book includes a foreword by his widow, Deborah, as well as song lyrics, an appendix listing his personal book library and a selection of interviews from his relatively short but important career."

The media amplification, deification and santification of a lost artist as something far greater than they ever were, or ever could be As with all artists (and there are many) taken away from us at a very young age and in their creative prime, there are three things which must always been born in mind, namely: So This Is Permanence, edited by Jon Savage with a foreword by Deborah Curtis, presents the intensely personal writings of one of the most enigmatic and influential songwriters and performers of the late twentieth century, Joy Division’s Ian Curtis.

An early version of Love Will Tear Us Apart. Curtis played with variations of ‘your’, ‘this ’, and ‘the bedroom’ in earlier drafts Photograph: PRAlthough this particular book is nothing near a biography of Ian Curtis or the band, there is a brief history of Ian in the forward written by his widowed wife Deborah, also a bit of band history in the introduction by Jon Savage. The book opens with a foreword by Ian’s widow Deborah (whose Touching From A Distance remains a beautifully honest account of her life with Ian and a benchmark in myth debunking autobiography) who gives a brief overview of her relationship with Ian and her reasons behind releasing these writings. She explains how his writings “became an extension of his body” and how he was very private and protective of them. The gig is unsurprisingly littered with dedications - Atmosphere for Ian, Ice Age for best-mate Twinny and tellingly Ceremony for Barney and Steve. And quite right too. This wasn't just about Ian Curtis tonight and the worthy causes - this was about absent friends. I smile as the stately In a Lonely Place brings the whole show to a close and some clever punter shouts 'more!'.

For those who don't know the story of Ian, he was the lyricist, songwriter and front man of the band Joy Division. He suffered from seizures which grew considerably worse as the bands fame increased. Curtis was born in 1956 and committed suicide on 18 May 1980. His wife has written a biography of his life, which was published 1995 titled "Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division".Of course, many of these lyrics have been published before in Touching From A Distance and the Heart and Soul box set and they are certainly worth revisiting it is, however, This Is Permanence’s appendices that are the true revelations. In them we get to see lyrics in their alternative and early forms plus prose, artwork, fanzines, letters, and books that Ian was drawn to. It is in this section where we truly get to see Curtis’ work ethic. Lyrics are altered, titles are swapped (for example Shadowplay is originally entitled Interzone) and we see a writer who is obviously conflicted about revealing his true feelings. This is none more explicit than in his reworking of Love Will Tear Us Apart which sees him alternating from first person to observer, from “this” to “your”. Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2022-05-05 15:14:33 Associated-names Savage, Jon, editor, writer of introduction; Curtis, Deborah, editor, writer of preface Autocrop_version 0.0.12_books-20220331-0.2 Boxid IA40466021 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier