How much did Ian Curtis influence Swans leader Michael Gira?
The late Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis has long been viewed as the antecedent to Michael Gira, the creative mastermind of Swans. Ostensibly, this thought is influenced by the pair’s deep and instantly recognisable baritones. Since both have written songs that can be so emotionally intense and sonically punishing, it makes sense that a lineage is drawn between them. For many, this connection was crystallised in the late 1980s when Swans delivered one of the most talked about moments in their oeuvre, a cover of Joy Division song ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’. However, this has been a point of contention for Gira from the very moment it was released.
Notably, as the 1980s moved towards its close, Swans’ records gradually dropped the hostile style of the early days and moved towards a more transcendental sound. Of course, this metamorphosis took years. In hindsight, it’s easier to view their development as a creative arc which was underpinned by changes in Gira’s artistic outlook and lineup.
The introduction of Jarboe Devereaux to the fold was the most crucial factor in Swans’ development during this period. Some commentators have posited that one of this new iteration’s earliest fruits – their 1988 cover of ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ – was instrumental in the shift from the early period to what came after. It followed in the footsteps of the previous year’s exquisite Children of God.
Swans’ cover of ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ arrived as part of the EP of the same name in 1988, which also featured two semi-acoustic versions of cuts from Children of God. A largely faithful rendition of Joy Division’s original, featuring a prominent 12-string guitar and Jarboe’s otherworldy vocals, the recording earned the band more success than they had previously experienced. Although this was moderate in scope, it became a college radio hit and reached number two on the UK Indie Chart.
During a 1989 interview, Gira was asked whether the band’s moderate success with the cover changed things for them. He replied: “Yeah, I think so. It did, yeah”. However, Gira was then questioned if the cover was a “tip of the hat” to Curtis, and it was here that he dispelled the argument that he is in any way indebted to the Joy Division frontman.
The Swans leader responded in his customarily concise manner: “No, as a matter of fact, it wasn’t. A lot of people have romantic feelings about him ‘coz he hung himself and all that, but I just…whenever we choose to do a cover song, it’s nothing to do with the sentimentality attached to the artist that wrote it or anything, it’s just choosing a song from a pool of songs that are there to be used. I don’t really care who wrote it.”
