Annik Honoré (12 October 1957 – 3 July 2014) was a Belgian journalist and music promoter best known for her association and affair with Ian Curtis, the former lead singer and lyricist of Joy Division. She co-founded record labels Les Disques du Crépuscule and Factory Benelux.

Early life

Honoré was born in

Mons Mons (; German and nl, Bergen, ; Walloon and pcd, Mont) is a city and municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the province of Hainaut, Belgium. Mons was made into a fortified city by Count Baldwin IV of Hainaut in the 12th century. T ...

, Belgium on 12 October 1957. As a teenager she became interested in rock music, attending various concerts in London as well as other locations. She moved to London in 1979, taking a job as a secretary at the Belgian Embassy. In late 1979, Honoré and journalist Michel Duval began promoting musical events at the Raffinerie du Plan K venue in Brussels. Joy Division, and Cabaret Voltaire performed on the club's opening night on 16 October. A few months later, in 1980, Honoré and Duval founded Factory Benelux as a Continental offshoot of Factory Records as well as Les Disques du Crépuscule, an independent Belgian music label. Honoré chose the name "Crépuscule." In the summer of 1984, she was the tour manager of

Front 242 Front 242 is a Belgian electronic music group that came into prominence during the 1980s. Pioneering the style they called electronic body music, they are a profound influence on the electronic and industrial music genres. History Formation Fr ...

during their American tour.

Relationship with Ian Curtis

According to Honoré, in a 2010 interview, her relationship with Ian Curtis, which ended with his death in 1980, was platonic. Curtis' widow, Deborah Curtis, has characterised the relationship, which she claims began in August 1979, as an "affair". In '' Control'', the Ian Curtis biographical film directed by

Anton Corbijn Anton Johannes Gerrit Corbijn van Willenswaard (; born 20 May 1955) is a Dutch photographer, film director and music video director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2,Pitman, Joanna"The silent partner"' ...

in 2007, Honoré was played by Alexandra Maria Lara. and Ian Curtis was played by actor Sam Riley, Lara's husband.

Later life

Honoré left the music business in 1985. From 1986 she worked as a civil servant, specifically as a secretary in the Research and Innovation department of the European Commission in Brussels. She had two children, Bertrand and Sasha. She died of cancer on 3 July 2014.

References

External links

* * * 1957 births 2014 deaths Belgian journalists Belgian women journalists Belgian music critics Belgian women critics Women music critics People from Mons Factory Records Joy Division Place of death missing {{Belgium-journalist-stub