The Headstone Of Joy Division’s Ian Curtis Is Stolen From Macclesfield Cemetery

A very disturbing story has emerged from the UK that the headstone of the late frontman of the postpunk band Joy Division, Ian Curtis (pictured above), has been stolen from Macclesfield Cemetery. The headstone was discovered to be missing on July 1st.

Curtis’ family decided to make news of the headstone theft public in the hopes that it will be returned.

Peter Hook, bassist for Joy Division and New Order, told XFM London:

“I must that admit that in my life I’ve been to Ian’s stone a lot. It’s somewhere, especially with the effect it had on me after what we did, it’s somewhere that I go for a moment of quiet reflection just to give the guy a nod.”

Inspector Gareth Woods, of the Macclesfield Neighbourhood Policing Unit, told BBC 6 Music:

“This is a very unusual theft and I am confident that someone locally will have knowledge about who is responsible or where the Memorial Stone is at present.”

The headstone is inscribed with the words, “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” which is the title of Joy Division’s most successful single.

The legacy of Ian Curtis has been revisited recently because of Anton’s Corbijn’s feature-film biopic about Curtis, Control, which was released last year as well as a self-titled documentary about Joy Division that recently opened in America.

Curtis hanged himself on May 18, 1980 at the age of 23 in his Macclesfield home. Joy Division were due to leave the following day for their first American tour.

To read more about this story, see the articles on the BBC 6 Music site at http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/news/20080703_curtis.shtml and the XFM London site at http://www.xfm.co.uk/news/2008/peter-hook-plea-for-curtis-headstone.

To watch the video for Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” click below: