Annik Honoré (12 October 1957 – 3 July 2014) was a Belgian journalist and music promoter best known for her association with

Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis (15 July 1956 – 18 May 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, lyricist and occasional guitarist of the band Joy Division, with whom he released the albums ''Unknown Pleasures'' (197 ...

, the former lead singer and lyricist of

Joy Division Joy Division were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Salford in 1976. The group consisted of vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Ian Curtis, guitarist and keyboardist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris (musici ...

. She co-founded record labels

Les Disques du Crépuscule Les Disques du Crépuscule is an independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized ente ...

and

Factory Benelux A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. They ...

Early life

Honoré was born in

Mons Mons commonly refers to: * Mons, Belgium, a city in Belgium * Mons pubis (mons Venus or mons veneris), in mammalian anatomy, the adipose tissue lying above the pubic bone * Mons (planetary nomenclature), a sizable extraterrestrial mountain * Batt ...

, Belgium on 12 October 1957. As a teenager she became interested in

rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...

, 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.

, 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 Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label featured several important acts on its roster, including Joy Division, New Order (band), New Order, A Certain Ra ...

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 influenced the electronic and industrial music genres. History Formation Front 242 were for ...

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 The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

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 music journalists Belgian women journalists Belgian music critics Rock critics Belgian women critics Women music critics People from Mons, Belgium Factory Records Joy Division Place of death missing {{Belgium-journalist-stub