Daisy goes to the Kevin Cummins Joy Division book launch

Daisy checks in with a write up of the recently mentioned launch at White Columns for Kevin Cummins new book, Joy Division:

A good time was had by all at the KEVIN CUMMINS book launch at the White Columns gallery on West 13th Street in New York on Monday even tho I had read the invitation incorrectly. I had the impression that Bernard Sumner (guitarist from Joy Division and later New Order) was going to be there and have a conversation in the gallery. Ooops. The conversation is in the book. Jay McInerney does the introduction in the book. He wasn't there either but I didn't mind that. The book is published by Rizzoli and it's a very beautifully paced visual story of Ian Curtis (born Ian Kevin Curtis 15 July 1956). It includes some handwritten song lyrics and set lists and postcards from tour and it knocked me for six to see his young beautiful face.

There was also a rather nice black box of postcards ($40).

Kevin Cummins, (born 14 July 1953) a fellow Brit, looked natty in his suit and fancy shoes. He signed "Manchester has a lot to answer for." I have a friend called Hulme and I nearly asked him to cross out "Manchester" and put "Hulme" as that is where a lot of Mr. Cummins photos of Mr. Curtis were taken - most notably the photos in the snow (none of the lads wearing enough warm clothes) and on a flyover above a motorway...but it was noisy and I'm not sure that Ms. Hulme does have a lot to answer for. Not as much as Manchester, that's for sure.

Matthew Higgs was in the gallery. He happened to be sitting on a sofa in one of Kevin's photos of Joy Division at band practice, back in the day. Now here he was, the director & curator of the space we were in. He'd brought his milk crate of vinyl from Factory Records along. It was a joy (pun intended) to see the needle in the groves. I particularly liked "English Black Boys" by XODUS - the only reggae record Factory put out. The soundtrack to the evening also included a dark and gravelly Grace Jones. I didn't know she'd recorded on Factory records. (I don't think she did. - Tim)

My friends John and Sabine came along. The room was cozy and as we looked around, we all thought of back in the day when clubs were about this many people and how you would just talk to people and how you would say, "where are you going tomorrow?" and hear about another good band playing and probably see the same crowd there when you turned up the next day.

At the end of the night, Matthew played the vinyl Joy Division. I have to admit, it was a bit much. Now that I am so much older than the fresh faced photogenic Ian Curtis, who hanged himself 18 May 1980 at the age of 23, I had to reach for a tissue and leave for some cold autumn air. He would have been 53. I would have talked to him.