Question for those more familiar Ian's history

I was browsing around on Wikipedia today and came accross a link to this:

http://www.genesisp-orridge.com/index.php?section=article&id=65

Is this true? It smells to me of self-serving name-dropping drivel. I know nothing of this "Genesis P Orridge" person, and had never heard of Psychic TV, much less any purported link to Ian Curtis, before today.

It sounds only too convenient for someone to say, in 1998, that they spoke with Ian on the day of his suicide and attempted to have someone in Manchester go and look in on him. But, I could be wrong. Any thoughts?

Matt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesis\_P-Orridge

JonnyMac wrote: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genesis\_P-Orridge

I've read that as well, and it doesn't answer my original question--it does make me wonder, though, if anything PTV or Throbbing Gristle did is actually worth listening to...

Ian's contact with GP-O is well known. I wouldn't write this off as drivel.

veronika wrote: Ian's contact with GP-O is well known. I wouldn't write this off as drivel.

Is it? I read somewhere that Deborah knew nothing about Ian’s connection to GP-O.

veronika wrote: ...Deborah knew nothing about Ian’s connection to GP-O.

She was hardly the authority on what he was up to though, was she?

if anything PTV or Throbbing Gristle did is actually worth listening to

Been about two deacdes since I listened to them. Some of their stuff is ok. They did a great cover of Good Vibrations. I remember a song about cannibalism that was fairly interesting. Later they got into acid house. Their early stuff was freaky and manyly listened to by witches.

Jack The Tab

BIGINOIL wrote:

veronika wrote: ...Deborah knew nothing about Ian’s connection to GP-O.

She was hardly the authority on what he was up to though, was she?

Absolutely. But I've only heard of any connection between them from GP-O; and it always seems self-serving. Of course I'm not authority on Ian's life either.

Only thing I heard of Psychic TV was "Godstar" about Brian Jones.

It's been mentioned in several places that Ian was a fan of Throbbing Gristle, and had correspondence with Genesis. Although Gen does have a habit of self-agrandizement, it was common practice for him to write to fans. TG (and industrial music in general) was still very underground at the time, and the scene was a rather tight-knit community.

I'm a big fan of TG and PTV. There are "best of" albums available for both. If you're into industrial or any kind of experimental electronic music, they are definitely worth checking out.

Aries wrote: It's been mentioned in several places that Ian was a fan of Throbbing Gristle, and had correspondence with Genesis. Although Gen does have a habit of self-agrandizement, it was common practice for him to write to fans.

I really don't feel a need to question the fact that Ian liked TG, or even had some relationship with Genesis, as it seems in line with what is known about his musical tastes. My curiosity, though, was piqued by this portion of the website linked to above, from GP-O him/herself:

"'Weeping' remained Ian Curtis’ favourite song by me. Sometimes he scared even me with his devotion to it. He’s play it to me over the phone and sing the words along with my vocal. Joy Division released 'An Ideal For Living' in June of that same year and he gave me a signed copy. Years later I would sell it so that I could go to see Brion Gysin in Paris.

"During the night of 17th May 1980 an abject Ian phoned me for the last time. He was singing, intoning 'Weeping.' I was scared for him. I could feel what was in his mind. I had tried to kill myself to a backdrop of 'Weeping' too. Lou Lou Picasso who painted the cover of 'We Hate You (Little Girls)' for Sordide Sentimental’s Throbbing Gristle single had also tried to commit suicide listening to 'Weeping.' It was all too horrible and inevitable. He was distraught, anguished, angry, frustrated, confused and severely depressed. He felt that somehow he’d let matters slip out of his grasp and control; that nobody around him cared what he wanted, what he needed, and more importantly at that moment, how much he did not want to tour or be in 'Joy Division' right now.

[after two paragraphs I omitted for length, Genesis continues:]

"I phoned someone in Manchester and told them that I thought Ian was really going to try and kill himself and that they should get to him immediately at home or even call the local police or it might be too late. When I was challenged and asked how I knew, I said I just knew. It was a scary but overwhelming certainty that I was feeling. They basically ridiculed me telling me that Ian was always depressed and suicidal and miserable, that that’s just how he is. I felt helpless. They promised they’d do something anyway, even though they thought he’d just been winding me up. A sense of inevitability still overwhelmed me. I cried into the night until the valium kicked in. Weeping... the kind that wracks your body with sobs and screams so deep that they resemble terminal spiritual convulsions.

Again, I don't know if anyone knows the real story here. I thought it was interesting, though.

Matt

This would seem to tie in well with the conspiracy over whether Ian was gay. If I read correctly the first thing Deborah asked him after he 'fessed up to having an affair was "With another man?"

Matt wrote:

Aries wrote: It's been mentioned in several places that Ian was a fan of Throbbing Gristle, and had correspondence with Genesis. Although Gen does have a habit of self-agrandizement, it was common practice for him to write to fans.

I really don't feel a need to question the fact that Ian liked TG, or even had some relationship with Genesis, as it seems in line with what is known about his musical tastes. My curiosity, though, was piqued by this portion of the website linked to above, from GP-O him/herself:

"'Weeping' remained Ian Curtis’ favourite song by me. Sometimes he scared even me with his devotion to it. He’s play it to me over the phone and sing the words along with my vocal. Joy Division released 'An Ideal For Living' in June of that same year and he gave me a signed copy. Years later I would sell it so that I could go to see Brion Gysin in Paris.

"During the night of 17th May 1980 an abject Ian phoned me for the last time. He was singing, intoning 'Weeping.' I was scared for him. I could feel what was in his mind. I had tried to kill myself to a backdrop of 'Weeping' too. Lou Lou Picasso who painted the cover of 'We Hate You (Little Girls)' for Sordide Sentimental’s Throbbing Gristle single had also tried to commit suicide listening to 'Weeping.' It was all too horrible and inevitable. He was distraught, anguished, angry, frustrated, confused and severely depressed. He felt that somehow he’d let matters slip out of his grasp and control; that nobody around him cared what he wanted, what he needed, and more importantly at that moment, how much he did not want to tour or be in 'Joy Division' right now.

[after two paragraphs I omitted for length, Genesis continues:]

"I phoned someone in Manchester and told them that I thought Ian was really going to try and kill himself and that they should get to him immediately at home or even call the local police or it might be too late. When I was challenged and asked how I knew, I said I just knew. It was a scary but overwhelming certainty that I was feeling. They basically ridiculed me telling me that Ian was always depressed and suicidal and miserable, that that’s just how he is. I felt helpless. They promised they’d do something anyway, even though they thought he’d just been winding me up. A sense of inevitability still overwhelmed me. I cried into the night until the valium kicked in. Weeping... the kind that wracks your body with sobs and screams so deep that they resemble terminal spiritual convulsions.

Again, I don't know if anyone knows the real story here. I thought it was interesting, though.

Matt

It is known that IC liked TG. I didn't know that he knew GPO, but it's possible. Somehow my instinct tells me that most of the events of the night of May 17th that he relates are fabrication. We can never know for sure, but I doubt it.

Wasn't this on here a few weeks ago? Or was that on the factory mailing list?

getting huge sense of deja vu with the question

There's really no way to prove or disprove this story. Wait...I just remembered something else:

Genesis once said that he met Hooky and gave him a copy of I.C. Water. Hooky allegedly said that it was "the song we should've wrote for Ian." I don't know if that anecdote is true either, but I would be very interested to hear any thoughts the band members might have on I.C. Water.