Town’s trail of tributes to band’s tragic frontman
JOY Division are often described as one of the most influential bands of all time and the band’s frontman, Ian Curtis, was one of Macclesfield’s most famous sons.
Ian’s tragic death at the age of 23 saw him take his place among rock and roll icons lost in their youth.
The famous band’s story started in Macclesfield and many places in the town form a significant part of their tale. From the King’s School where Ian and drummer Stephen Morris attended, to a pub where the band rehearsed.
Since Ian’s death on May 18, 1980, several places in the town have become a shrine for fans of the band. While there are many tributes scattered around in the form of plaques, murals and artwork, the legacy of Joy Division lives on.
Here is a list of locations in and around Macclesfield that are either a prominent part of the band’s origins, or pay tribute to them.
MURALS
Most recently, renowned street artist ‘Akse’ finished the Ian Curtis mural last week (March 24). The striking piece of artwork adorns a building on Mill Street, just across from the bus station. The project was by Cheshire East Council and came 42 years after Curtis’ suicide on the eve of Joy Division’s first US tour. It was unveiled to the public last weekend as bassist Peter Hook attended the event.
There is another mural in Macclesfield, which is based at the Churchill Way car park. This one pays homage to the band by displaying the cover for their album ‘Unknown Pleasures’.
77 BARTON STREET
On the corner of an ordinary-looking terraced street sits the house where Ian Curtis wrote many of the band’s most famous songs, and where he took his own life at the age of just 23.
Since his death, it has become something of a shrine for Joy Division fans. Over the years, tourists from across the globe have stopped outside the nondescript two-up-two-down, in which Curtis lived with his wife.
In 2015, there were plans to turn the house into a museum to pay tribute to the frontman, headed up by a local businessman - Hadar Goldman. But seven years on, whether Mr Goldman’s plan will ever go ahead remains to be seen.
PLAQUE AT OLD LABOUR EXCHANGE BUILDING
Curtis worked as an as an assistant disablement resettlement officer at the old
JobCentre in Macclesfield. He had previously worked in Manchester as a civil servant but his new job was a five minute walk from his home.
The Old Labour Exchange building has now been converted into a block of flats on South Park Road but a plaque paying tribute to their album Unknown Pleasures can be seen on the side of the building.
KING’S SCHOOL
Ian Curtis won a scholarship to the independent school, King’s, on Alderley Road at the age of 11 and drummer Stephen Morris also attended the school from 1973.
Curtis was relatively successful during his academic years, but his ambition was to forge a career in music. He did meet his wife, Deborah Woodruffe, while they were at the Macclesfield school.
ST THOMAS’ CHURCH
The church based in Henbury, a few miles from Macclesfield, is where Curtis was married to Deborah in 1975. The pair originally lived in Hulme and Chadderton, before moving to 77 Barton Street in 1977.
Deborah describes their relationship in her book ‘Touching From A Distance’. Ian and Deborah had one child together, Natalie, who was born in April 1979.
MACCLESFIELD CEMETERY
For Joy Division fans who want to pay their respects to the iconic frontman, Ian Curtis’ gravestone can be found in the Macclesfield Cemetery, on Prestbury Road. There is also book of remembrance in a building at the site. It reads: ‘Just for one moment, I heard somebody call, looked beyond the day-in-hand, no-one there at all.’
THE TALBOT PUB
Now the Regency Mill roundabout, the Talbot was a pub that was previously based on the site. It was where the band had their early rehearsals and honed what would become their distinctive post-punk sound.