Bono recalls meeting “beautiful soul” Ian Curtis for the first time

21 November 2020, 12:00

U2 frontman Bono in 1980 and Joy Division's Ian Curtis. Picture: 1. David Corio/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images 2. Rex/Shutterstock

The U2 frontman has recalled his shock at the sound of the late Joy Division frontman’s speaking voice on the Transmissions podcast.

Bono has recalled meeting Joy Division and their frontman Ian Curtis for the first time.

The U2 frontman appeared on the New Order and and Joy Division podcast, Transmissions: The Definitive Story, where he described the moment he was introduced to the frontman.

Talking about how U2 turned up at the studio where Love Will Tear Us Apart was being recorded in early 1980, Bono recalled that the band "were very kind" and |came out to say hello" in the green room where they were waiting.

However, it was Ian Curtis who the One singer was most struck by.

“Then this man with the weight of the whole universe in his voice, this crooner from some black hole — the dark lord — stepped forward and I was like: ‘Oh my god, I’m going to meet Ian Curtis’," Bono recalled.

"I put my hand out and he went ‘Alright?’ And I couldn’t believe the sound he made.“It was just this sweet, sweet sound. He was this beautiful soul but he sang from this other place…. Just the most gentle conversation and it was a very special moment."

Ian Curtis was to tragically lose his life to suicide on 18 May 1980.

Love Will Tell Us Apart was released a month later on June 1980 as a non-album single.

The song, which was certified platinum in the UK and sold over 6000,000 copies, was inspired by Ian Curtis' marital problems with Deborah Woodruff amidst his own mental health issues and epilepsy diagnosis.

Meanwhile, Bernard Sumner recently revealed that he suffered from coronavirus.

The New Order singer and guitarist and Joy Division co-founder told the station The Current in Minnesota that he was "one of the lucky ones" and that he knows people who have sadly died after contracting the virus.

"I got it three weeks ago, from someone who worked here actually," he told presenter Jill Riley from his home studio. "My voice is a little bit gruff,but I didn't get it too bad, so I'm OK.""I was one of the lucky ones," he went on.

"I've heard some horror stories about it, I know a couple of people who've died from it. So I'm very lucky."We've got a real serious second wave here. It seems like Russian roulette, you can get light symptoms like me, or it can kill you. It's crazy."