A review by paulataua
Record Play Pause by Stephen Morris

3.0

Ian Curtis, Joy Division, and that whole Manchester indie scene played a big part in my development from Tony Wilson’s ‘So It Goes’ days with Granada and on through the Hacienda and all the bands. It was the first movement I felt I was a part of and felt was a part of me, so I had to read this. As it happens, the first eight chapters are pretty uninspiring, a very ordinary and uneventful upbringing, very much like every other guys upbringing in the period with its airfix models, the drugs, the adolescent rebellion, and all told in that North Western banter style that was a part of just about every group of lads at that time. Skip over the first eight chapters and start when you get to Morris joining Warsaw and the beginning of the group. Even then the depth is very much lacking . I wanted more insight into the group, the people and the venues, and all I got was a lot of pretty shallow anecdotes. And yet, there I was there, right to the end, bathing in the nostalgia and stopping reading every time a track was discussed to open up YouTube and watch the video. Loved the nostalgic trip, but was not too much impressed by the book.

Ian Curtis committed suicide on May 18, 1980, and here we are just a few days from the 42nd anniversary of his death. He was something special and will not be forgotten.