It was too late for Ian & there is still a way to go
Joy Division bandmates make plea on mental health attitude
BY TOM BRYANT Head of Showbiz
JOY Division’s iconic singer Ian Curtis shocked the music world when he took his own life on the eve of the band’s first North American tour.
And now, 42 years on, his former bandmates Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris are lobbying MPs to provide better mental health services.
Guitarist Bernard Sumner, now 66, said at Parliament: “Ian tried to commit suicide months before. He took an overdose.
“He was on a mission. It was going to happen. I don’t know what more we could have done.”
On the state of mental health services, he added: “You hear of 18-month waiting lists. You can’t go on waiting lists if you are thinking of killing yourself. You need help straight away.”
Drummer Stephen Morris, 64, added: “The problem with young men, and Ian, is you box yourself in and don’t know who to talk to about it. You just carried on and didn’t bother people with these things.”
The pair went to the Houses of Parliament during Mental Health Week so they could engage with MPs. They said: “Over 40 years later, there is still a way to go and mental health needs to be treated on a par with physical health.
If we can reach one person by speaking out about this, it will be worth it.”
Curtis, who grew up in Macclesfield, Cheshire, died aged 23 before the release of Closer, the band’s second album. It followed debut Unknown Pleasures. Sumner, Morris and bassist Peter Hook then formed New Order.
Suicides rose to their highest ever recorded level in 2021. Statistics show 75% of all suicides are male, and it is the biggest killer of men under 45. Mental Health
Minister Gillian Keegan, Labour leader Keir Starmer and Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy listened to the musicians speak at yesterday’s event.
It was held in conjunction with charity CALM, of which Factory Records founder Tony Wilson was an early supporter.
Mr Starmer said: “I can’t believe it’s 42 years since Ian’s suicide. I was really struck by the music. It lives on its own right and through New Order.”