and was taken to hospital to have his stomach pumped. Curtis had held a keen interest in music since the age of 12, and this interest developed greatly in his teenage years, with artists such as Jim Morrison and David Bowie being particular favourites of his, and thus influencing his poetry and art. Among Curtis's earliest experiences with music was in a church choir as a young kid, in his hometown of Macclesfield. Curtis could seldom afford to purchase records, leading him to frequently steal them from local shops. By his mid-teens, Curtis had also developed a reputation among his peers as a strong-willed individual, with a keen interest in fashion. Despite gaining nine O-levels at King's School and briefly studying A-Levels in History and Divinity at St. John's College, Curtis soon became disenchanted with academic life and abandoned his studies to commit himself to finding employment. Despite abandoning his studies at St. John's College, Curtis continued to focus on the pursuit of art, literature and music, and would gradually draw lyrical and conceptual inspiration from ever more insidious subjects. Curtis obtained a job at a record shop in Manchester City Centre, before obtaining more stable employment within the civil service. His employment as a civil servant saw Curtis initially deployed to Cheadle Hulme, where he worked for several months with the Ministry of Defence, before he was offered alternative employment within the Manpower Services Commission in a building at Piccadilly Gardens. He later worked as a civil servant in Woodford, Greater Manchester although, at his request, approximately one year later Curtis was posted to Macclesfield's Employment Exchange, where he worked as an Assistant Disablement Resettlement Officer. On 23 August 1975, Curtis married Deborah Woodruff, to whom he was introduced by a friend, Tony Nuttall. Ian and Deborah initially became friends and then began dating in December 1972, when both were 16 years old. Their wedding service was conducted at St Thomas' Church in Henbury, Cheshire. Curtis was 19 and Woodruff 18. They had one child, a daughter named Natalie, born on 16 April 1979. Initially, the couple lived with Ian's grandparents, although shortly after their marriage the couple moved to a working-class neighbourhood in Chadderton, where they paid a mortgage while working in jobs neither enjoyed. Before long, the couple became disillusioned with life in Oldham and remortgaged their house before briefly returning to live with Ian's grandparents. Shortly