IAN CURTIS
THE HIGSONS
The Higsons were active from 1980 to 1986. Their main creative driver, front man, and singer was Charlie Higson, now better known for “The Fast Show” and increasingly as the writer of the Young James Bond novels.
The Higsons were the best of a pretty good crop of Post Punk and New Wave bands that came out of the University of East Anglia in the late seventies and early eighties, many of whom were featured on the “Norwich, A Fine City” collection. There is a story that the greatest adoptive East Anglian of them all called them onto his show in frank amazement that any bands were active in Norfolk. John Peel championed The Higsons, and they had consistent Indie Chart success from the release of their first single “I Don’t Want To Live With Monkeys” in July 1981, through their excellent debut album “The Curse Of The Higsons” in October 1984, and right up to their eventual demise in 1986. Openly acknowledging a debt to The Talking Heads (something I myself only hear sporadically) The Higsons’s sound has echoes of Joy Division and Iggy Pop (if that isn’t a tautology), with some Ska blended into the mix which isn’t that surprising as they ended up on the 2 Tone label. If you haven’t heard any, download a couple of tracks at random – they’re all good.
The Higsons didn’t really do much wrong, had a loyal following both in London and amongst their many friends and fans from Norwich, and trod the boards with apparently sober professional well-rehearsed and packed gigs. They probably would have achieved commercial success to match their critical acclaim if they hadn’t got their timing exactly wrong. Looking back all those years as Punk descended Rome-like into the parody of Glam Rock it did so much to end, and music scratched around in the New Romantic void created by the death of the high priest of New Wave Ian Curtis, Switch, as we knew Charlie Higson then, seemed earnestly out of sorts with an eighties of big hair and covers. (Ironically this frustration contributed to his first taste of real fame, as the joint creator of “Loadsamoney”.)
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Three years earlier and they’d have been at ease alongside The Clash, and three years after they split The Stone Roses reinvented what was to become Brit Pop. The Higsons might have been another La’s. All we were left with is a most remarkable post-dissolution adieu in “The Attack Of The Cannibal Zombie Businessmen”(1987), a tantalising bazaar of the greatest of never to be hits.
Albums:
The Curse of The Higsons (October 1984)
©JD Shanks September 2009
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com
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Joy Division
Originally known as Warsaw, this Manchester post-punk outfit is widely regarded as one of the most important bands of their era. Joy Division comprised of Ian Curtis (vocals), Bernard Sumner (guitar/vocals), Peter Hook (bass) and Stephen Morris (drums). Curtis, Sumner and Hook had formed Warsaw in April 1977, with Steve Brotherdale on drums. By the following March, with Morris already on board, they had emerged under their new title, borrowing their name from the prostitution wing of a Nazi concentration camp.
After recording a regionally available EP, 1977's ‘An Ideal For Living’, they were signed Factory Records and placed in the hands of producer Martin Hannett. Their 1979 debut, ‘Unknown Pleasures’, was a dark and disturbing affair, with Curtis at his most manically arresting on the insistent ‘She's Lost Control'.
By the time of the single ‘Transmission', the quartet had already established a strong cult following, which increased after each gig. Much of the attention centered on the charismatic Curtis, who was renowned for his neurotic stage presence. By the autumn of 1979, however, Curtis’ performances were drawing attention for a more serious reason, having suffered from blackouts onstage.
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On 18 May 1980, the eve of Joy Division's proposed visit to America, Ian Curtis was found hanged. The verdict was suicide. A note was allegedly found bearing the words: "At this moment I wish I were dead. I just can't cope anymore".
The UK Top 20 single, ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’, was later released, probably the finest of the year, a haunting account of a fragmented relationship, sung by Curtis in a voice that few realized he possessed. The attendant album, ‘Closer’ followed shortly, showing a maturity in the bands work. The following year, a double album, ‘Still’, collected the remainder of the band's material, most of it in primitive form.
Within months of the Curtis tragedy, the remaining members sought a fresh start as New Order.
In 1995 Curtis' widow, Deborah, published a book on her former husband and the band, while a compilation album and a re-released version of ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart' were back on the shelves on the 15th anniversary of his death.
Carly Page
This information is provided as a brief overview and not as a definitive guide, there are other sources on the net for that. If however you have a story or information that is not generally known we would love to hear from you. Content@rokpool.com
