May 1995: Deborah Curtis’s Book on Ian Curtis and Joy Division

When Touching From A Distance was published 15 years after Ian’s death, I spoke to Deborah for City Life magazine.

When Deborah Curtis published her book Touching From A Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division, I was lucky enough to interview her for Manchester’s City Life magazine.

Deborah lived in the countryside on the outskirts of Macclesfield, a relatively short drive from where I was living in South Manchester.

Unlike many interviews at the time, which were either done over the phone or in a bar or pub, I was invited round to her place for a chat.

I was a little nervous about meeting her and perhaps inevitably I got slightly lost on the way. I remember having to stop to consult my road map a couple of times, although I don’t think I got there late in the end.

Goodness knows what Deborah thought when I pulled up in front of the house in my battered white Austin Maestro van. It was a practical vehicle, but pretty low on the hip quotient — more suited to a plumber or decorator than a freelance journalist.

Still, Deborah didn’t come across as someone overly bothered by hipness. She seemed grounded, straightforward, practical and caring —…