Editing Ian Curtis (section)

==Death==
[[File:Ian Curtis grave marker with mementoes.jpg|thumb|upright=0.75|Curtis's grave marker at [[Macclesfield Cemetery]]|alt=A greyish stone block with "Ian Curtis 18-5-80 Love Will Tear Us Apart" carved into it in a [[sans-serif]] typeface. There are several small pots of flowers and other objects on top.]]
{{quote box
| quote = "Strange as it may sound, it wasn't until after his death that we really listened to Ian's lyrics and clearly heard the inner turmoil in them."
| source = —[[Bernard Sumner]], reflecting in November 2015 on the lyrics Curtis had written for Joy Division's second and final album, ''[[Closer (Joy Division album)|Closer]]''<ref name=nyt>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/04/t-magazine/bernard-sumner-joy-division-book.html|title=Bernard Sumner on Ian Curtis and His Joy Division Bandmates|access-date=13 September 2017|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=2 November 2015|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107034114/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/04/t-magazine/bernard-sumner-joy-division-book.html|archivedate=2015-11-07}}</ref>
| width = 35em
| salign = right
}}

[[File:Ian Curtis In A Lonely Place.mp3|thumb|right|An audio excerpt from "In a Lonely Place", one of the few songs recorded by the band before Ian Curtis' death. New Order would remake both this and "Ceremony".]]

On the evening of 17 May 1980, Curtis asked Deborah to drop her impending divorce proceedings; she replied that it was likely that he would have changed his mind by the following morning and then – mindful of his previous suicide attempt and also concerned that his state of [[anxiety]] and frustration might drive Curtis into an epileptic seizure – offered to spend the night in his company.<ref>Curtis, Deborah (1995). p. 131.</ref> Deborah then drove to her parents' home to inform them of her intentions. When she returned to the couple's home at 77 Barton Street in Macclesfield, his demeanour had changed and he informed his wife of his intentions to spend the night alone, first making her promise not to return to the house before he had taken his scheduled 10 a.m. train to Manchester to meet his bandmates.<ref>Curtis, Deborah (1995). pp. 131-132.</ref>

In the early hours of the next morning, Curtis took his own life. He was 23.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/may/17/ian-curtis-joy-division-wak "Joy Division walking tour to bring fans closer to unknown pleasures"], ''The Guardian'', 17 May 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2015.</ref> He had used the kitchen's [[Clothes line|washing line]] to hang himself after having written a note to Deborah in which he declared his love for her despite his recent affair with Honoré.{{refn|group=n|In this suicide note, Curtis recollected his life with Deborah and recounted his love for her. He also claimed that he could not be so cruel to Annik as to inform her he did not wish to see her again even if his marriage depended upon it. By the time Curtis had finished writing the note, he stated it was dawn and he could "hear the birds singing".<ref name="p133">Curtis, Deborah (1995). p. 133.</ref>}}<ref name="ReferenceB"/> Deborah found his body soon after. In her biography, ''[[Touching from a Distance]]'',<ref name=":0">{{cite news|title='Control': A Refreshingly Stripped-down Look at Troubled Joy Division Singer |date=19 October 2007 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=20071019&id=Ef1RAAAAIBAJ&pg=2110,59294394 |publisher=Lodi News-Sentinel |access-date=11 February 2018}}</ref> Deborah recalls finding her husband's body and initially thinking that he was still alive before noticing the rope around his neck.<ref name="p133"/> According to Tony Wilson,<ref name="auto1">''The Rough Guide to Rock'' {{ISBN|1-858-28457-0}} p. 552.</ref> Curtis spent the few hours before his suicide watching [[Werner Herzog]]'s 1977 film ''[[Stroszek]]'' and listening to [[Iggy Pop]]'s 1977 album ''[[The Idiot (album)|The Idiot]]''.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> Stark notes the significance of this album, as Pop's title was inspired by [[Fyodor Dostoevsky|Dostoyevsky's]] novel ''[[The Idiot]]'' about the spiritually sensitive epileptic prince who was driven mad by the tragic and violent society in which he lived.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stark |first=Tanja |title=Dostoyevsky and the Epileptic Prince |url=https://tanjastark.com/2016/04/22/dostoyesvksy-and-the-epileptic-prince-rip/ |website=www.tanjastark.com|date=22 April 2016 }}</ref> His wife recollected that he had taken photographs of their wedding and their baby daughter off the walls, apparently to view them as he composed a note.<ref name="p133"/> In the note, he did not state that he was going to kill himself, and asked Deborah not to contact him for a while. It is not clear whether Curtis intended this to be a suicide note.<ref name=":0" />

At the time of Curtis's suicide, Joy Division were on the eve of their debut North American tour. Deborah has stated that Curtis had viewed the upcoming tour with extreme trepidation, not only because of his extreme fear of flying (he had wanted to travel by ship) but also because he had expressed deep concerns as to how American audiences would react to his epilepsy.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Deborah has also claimed that Curtis had confided in her on several occasions that he held no desire to live past his early twenties.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.omahype.com/2012/09/joy-division/|title=Joy Division|website=omahype.com|access-date=15 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anothermag.com/current/view/1897/Ian_Curtis|title=Ian Curtis's Stark Utilitarian Style|last=AnOther|website=anothermag.com|date=13 April 2012|access-date=15 June 2017|archive-date=29 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129035000/http://www.anothermag.com/current/view/1897/Ian_Curtis|url-status=dead}}</ref> He had expressed to both Deborah and Honoré his deep concerns that his medical condition was likely to kill him,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/discoverpsychiatry/mindsonfilmblog/control.aspx | title=Improving the Lives of People with Mental Illness| publisher=rcpsych.ac.uk| date=23 July 2013 | access-date=4 September 2017}}</ref> in addition to causing him to receive mockery from audiences,<ref>{{cite web| url= https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283262617| title= Ian Curtis: Punk Rock, Epilepsy and Suicide| date= 9 November 2015| author= Mia Tuft| website= researchgate.net| access-date= 17 August 2017}}</ref> and that this mockery would only increase when performing before American audiences on the upcoming tour.{{refn|group=n|Deborah Curtis wrote in her 1995 biography ''Touching from a Distance'' that Ian had carefully chosen the date of his suicide, stating: "I believe Ian chose his deadline. It was important for him to keep up the charade in front of the band in case they tried to dissuade him. The only reason he was no longer worried about the American trip was because he knew he wasn't going."<ref>Curtis, Deborah (1995). p. 129.</ref>}}

According to Lindsay Reade, Curtis had informed her shortly before his death of his belief that, with his epilepsy, he could no longer perform live with the band. Additionally, he had claimed that with the impending release of ''Closer'', he believed the band had hit an artistic pinnacle.<ref name="Uncut"/>

In a 2007 interview with ''The Guardian'', Stephen Morris expressed regret that nobody had realised during Curtis's life the distress he was in, even though it was evident in his lyrics.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.huckmagazine.com/art-and-culture/music-2/five-best-ways-remember-joy-division-frontman-ian-curtis/| title= Five of the Best Ways to Remember Joy Division Frontman Ian Curtis| date= 18 May 2015| author= Shelley Jones| website= huckmagazine.com| access-date= 22 September 2017}}</ref>{{refn|group=n|In a 1987 interview given to ''[[Option (music magazine)|Option]]'', Morris was asked to comment on how he would describe Curtis to those who asked him just what he was like. In response, he replied: "An ordinary bloke just like you or me, liked a bit of a laugh, a bit of a joke."<ref name="Woodard">{{Cite journal |last=Woodard |first=Josef |title=Out From The Shadows: New Order |journal=Option |date=November–December 1987}}</ref>}} Bassist Peter Hook reflected on the tragedy of the timing of Curtis's death, just before what might have been a breakthrough to fame.<ref name="auto1"/> Hook also claimed that, prior to the release of the 2007 documentary ''[[Joy Division (2007 film)|Joy Division]]'', a specialist in epilepsy had viewed the combination of drugs that Curtis had been prescribed for his condition and expressed concerns about the drugs' safety.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wnyc.org/story/266342-peter-hook/|title=Inside Joy Division With Peter Hook|website=wnyc.org|access-date=15 June 2017}}</ref>

[[File:Gravestone of Ian Curtis, lead singer of Joy Division (close up).jpg|thumb|right|Close-up of Curtis's gravestone]]

Curtis's body was cremated at Macclesfield Crematorium on 23 May 1980, and his ashes were buried at [[Macclesfield Cemetery]]. A memorial stone, inscribed with "Ian Curtis 18–5–80" and "[[Love Will Tear Us Apart]]", was placed above his ashes.<ref name=beaumont/>{{refn|group=n|Due to union disputes, following Curtis's suicide the music video the band had recorded for "[[Love Will Tear Us Apart]]" was not broadcast on ''[[Top of the Pops]]''.<ref>Curtis, Deborah (1995). p. 138.</ref>}} This memorial stone was stolen in mid-2008.<ref>{{cite news|title=Ian Curtis memorial stone stolen |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/7486280.stm |work=[[BBC News]]|date = 2 July 2008 |access-date =3 July 2008}}</ref> A replacement, bearing the same inscription but in a sans-serif typeface, was placed in the same location.<ref name="New stone laid at Curtis memorial">{{cite news |title=New stone laid at Curtis memorial |url=http://www.macclesfield-express.co.uk/news/s/1060415_new_stone_laid_at_curtis_memorial |date=30 July 2008 |access-date=22 January 2009|work=[[Macclesfield Express]]|publisher=[[Manchester Evening News|MEN Media]]}}</ref> A central "mowing" stone used to hold floral tributes was reported stolen from the grave in August 2019.<ref name=beaumont>{{cite news |last=Beaumont-Thomas |first=Ben |title=Stone stolen from grave of Joy Division's Ian Curtis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/aug/06/stone-stolen-from-grave-of-joy-division-ian-curtis |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=6 August 2019 |access-date=6 August 2019}}</ref>