By Deborah Curtis, faber & faber (1995)

The author gives her account of life with Ian Curtis, the lead singer of Joy Division. This is no fawning biography of a rock god. She admits he was a jealous and possessive husband who was fascinated with Nazi Germany and voted Conservative to boot. But it’s not an embittered tale. Deborah’s love and compassion for Curtis shines through, despite the fact that they had split up by the time of his death. He’d also found another lover, a Belgian fan called Annik Honore.

This candid account of domestic life with a legend explains how the Curtis’ teenage marriage gradually fell apart. It’s hard to imagine Courtney Love ever talking about Kurt Cobain in the following manner: If Ian was going to play the tortured soul on stage, it would be easier without the watchful eye of the woman who washed his underpants.

Anyone who has ever seen footage of Joy Division knows that Ian Curtis had stage presence and charisma to burn. Other members of Joy Division and Factory music boss Anthony Wilson, also contribute to the story. You get the overall impression that the whole world was a stage for Ian Curtis and that he mapped out his own Greek tragedy. He suffered from epilepsy and it’s disturbing to realise that he sometimes had fits on stage - the crowd took it as part of the act due to his dancing, which was unorthodox at the best of times.

The story is harrowing and is not suitable reading for anyone in the depths of depression. In May 1980, Deborah found Ian Curtis dead at their home with a rope around his neck. A record, The Idiot by Iggy Pop, was still going round on the turntable. Two days later Joy Division were to embark on a tour of the USA. The band had come a long way from the days when their girlfriends used to sit on the amplifiers to prevent theft. Deborah says the only reason Ian had ceased to be anxious about the American tour was that he knew he wouldn't be going.

The book also includes a discography and lyrics. In my view Love Will Tear Us Apart (1980), remains one of the best songs of its era. The lyrics are sublime:

You cry out in your sleep,
All my failings exposed.
And there’s a taste in my mouth,
As desperation takes hold.
Just that something so good just can’t function no more.

Is this Curtis on his marriage? And how about this from Passover (also 1980):

This is the crisis I knew had to come,
Destroying the balance I’d kept,
Turning around to the next set of lives,
Wondering what will come next.

Not bad poetry that, especially when you consider that Ian Curtis didn’t see his 24th year.

I was an 11 year old in my final year of primary school when John Lennon was shot. The next day the teacher gave us a general knowledge quiz and asked which famous person had been killed. She then asked what band he belonged to. I guessed it must be one of the Beatles. I knew their names were John, Paul, George and Ringo but that was about it. Mum liked them, dad didn't. It seemed a bit of a girlie fad with all those images of hysterical teenagers screaming at concerts.
Then I watched the repeats of A Hard Day’s Night and Help! I listened to some more songs. They weren't so bad after all. Just before Christmas they played some of Lennon's music at the school assembly. Since then, I can't recall ever being bored by the Beatles' music, which is quite amazing given the high risk of overkill.
When all the Lennon solo stuff hit the charts in the winter of 80-81 it was excessive. But I still listen to these songs now and then. Imagine remains a wonderful few minutes of idealism. Yet, I prefer the more vulnerable ballads... Jealous Guy, Woman, Watching the Wheels.
Last month there was a new edition to my family. I have a nephew called Lennon. My brother has no interest in the Beatles. The baby was named after the Glasgow Celtic player Neil Lennon. It's a pretty good choice of name as far as I'm concerned. We are free to choose our own associations.

The controversy caused by Bob Dylan going electric is well documented. But the live footage in this Martin Scorsese documentary shows just how much criticism Dylan had to put up with when playing live in the mid-sixties.

I can sympathise with the traditionalists to a degree. Some of the early acoustic albums are among his best. I would probably put Freewheelin' in my top 3 Dylan albums. It also has one of the most memorable record covers ever.

The big controversy began at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. The legendary folk singer Pete Seeger didn't much care for Dylan's performance there. Seeger says he couldn't make out any of the words because Dylan's band was too loud. I think he had a point. The distorted base on the footage of Maggie's Farm sounds terrible and the live versions of songs from Bringing It All Back Home are not a patch on the studio versions. Nonetheless, Dylan admits that he was pretty upset when he heard that Pete Seeger was looking for an axe to cut off the electricity supply.

It may well be the case that some American festival-goers at Newport were genuinely shocked by what they heard. By the time Dylan toured Britain the fans must have heard Bringing It All Back Home and could not have expected an all acoustic set. Yet, a year after the release of that album there were still disillusioned British fans shouting "Whatever happened to Woody Guthrie, Bob?", and even "Judas". Hmm, very original. These fans could evidently afford to go to a concert they had no intention of appreciating. Did they also queue round the block for tickets just so they could have the pleasure of a night of booing?

It is interesting to hear Dylan's own view of these events. He says that the negative reaction at Newport (according to one interviewee about a third of the audience were booing), had nothing to do with what they were hearing. Is this just Dylan turning a blind eye to criticism? Perhaps he means that these people had already made up their minds and weren't listening, that they merely wished to draw attention to themselves or wanted to make a point about being too clever to listen to anything remotely popular. As with much excessive criticism there was probably a fair bit of jealousy and attention seeking involved.

I've never really been in one camp or the other when it comes to the Acoustic v Electric debate. The album I continue to listen to more than any other is Blood on the Tracks (1974), by which time all this fuss and nonsense had long died down. This album is largely acoustic although it features a band and some great slide guitar by Buddy Cage. Finally, leaving out the really obvious stuff that every busker or Byrds tribute band can play, here are my favourite tracks from the early acoustic albums to console any strictly folk-orientated acoustic buffs out there. You can hear these songs and read the lyrics at www.bobdylan.com

THE FREEWHEELIN' BOB DYLAN (1963)
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
Girl of the North Country
Don't Think Twice, It's Alright

THE TIMES THEY ARE A.CHANGIN'(1964)
Boots of Spanish Leather
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll

ANOTHER SIDE OF BOB DYLAN (1964)
To Ramona