I AM ON STAGE WITH JOY DIVISION
Simone Nobili
Global Creative Director & Writer | Creator of TRANSATLANTIC at London International Awards | Dual Citizen of the United States and Italy
I never saw Ian Curtis dance in real life. If I had, my whole idea of dancing would have been forever changed. Because Ian Curtis dancing was nothing like dancing. Yet, it was everything dancing is supposed to be. The notes travel to your heart, the heart pumps the beat that sends the signal to your brain that shakes the body.
A lot of people thought that Ian was on drugs. He wasn’t. He just had the ability to lose himself in the music. To disconnect the rational sensors attached to our being and turn on a very special switch. The switch that controls the light that shines on a world that is just yours, and no one else’s.
Some think that Ian’s dance was dictated by the hellish rhythm of his epileptic nature. Some say it was a dance born out of depression, a sick mix of schizophrenic movements randomly assembled by an awkward lanky figure wearing skinny jeans and eyeliner.
I think of Ian’s dance as the dance whispered by the writers he drew inspiration from: JG Ballard, Franz Kafka and Nikolai Gogol. It was the dance of a 23-year-old lad from Macclesfield who used to keep his poems in a plastic bag. It was the dance of a fragile human being who wrote lyrics recited out loud by many but only truly understood by his own subconscious.
Ian’s dance is the closest thing I can think of when I think about a great idea coming out of nowhere. You can’t ignore it, push it aside, or brush it off. You have to face it. You have to come to terms with it. And it regenerates every time you try to pull it apart.
When I started my career in advertising back in 1998 I promised myself I’d never forget the Ian Curtis dance. Even when the daily grind shuts down our ability to produce great ideas and numbs our spirits using an anesthetic called ‘routine’, we should always remember what a raw burst of creativity feels like. That’s the Ian Curtis dance to me. That’s his legacy to my ambition. That’s his push to me holding back.
So when pressure shows up, deadlines roll in and expectations are set high, I try to catapult myself back to 1979 in Manchester, England. This is when I see myself on stage with Joy Division, dancing with Ian and losing myself in my beautiful obsession.
Director of Marketing & Customer Strategy - Sharp Health Plan
8 年Good stuff. Planning on listening to Transmission on the way home! Hope you are well Simone!
Global Head of Litigation & Investigations at EFG Bank
8 年Always great to see an Ian Curtis piece. Not mentioned enough. Such a pity he struggled so much but still inspires others.
Senior consultant with more than 20 years working in corporate, education, tech and B2B sectors
8 年Really enjoyed reading this. It's hard to believe that Ian Curtis was here so briefly, yet his influence has carried on beyond his physical presence. Am not sure there will ever be another band as consumed by passion as Joy Division. Not the whole shebang from the management of Rob Gretton, the obsessive production of Martin Hannett, and the lord himself Tony Wilson. You are on the money though. We lose our mojo. We forget the simplicity that made us smile. We don't stop and smell the coffee anymore. I've tried as a freelancer to take time out. To rediscover my own Curtis Dance. It's a pleasure that I cannot afford to lose. Thanks for sharing!
CEO of Media Futures Group, WPP's Global Agency for Google.
8 年I find it so crazy and so amazing that he's an influence on you, as you say a kid from Macclesfield with a plastic bag of poetry, love you man, nice piece. Hope you are well. The NW of England is an amazing place and seen some amazing talent. I'm not even from there but had 3 amazing years in Manchester.
Founder, CEO and Product Architect at Zero Labs Automotive
8 年Consider writing a book about this. There are many examples of people with creative brilliance that comes out of no where. For me it was Rodney Mullen. Anyone watching witness street magic, grown men cried because their nervous system didn't know how else to process what they were seeing. I was always told talent is doing things easily most people find hard, but genius is doing what talented people can never do. JD didn't do what they did because it fit an economic or demographic profile. They couldn't stop it from happening and they like any great creative are a channel for something bigger than themselves. Do a book, but please avoid too many Jazz musician, Steve jobs or popular artist profiles. Find the guys who influenced entire categories yet few know who they are. It's a story that inspires beyond fame and that's really needed these days.