Joy Division Get Walking Tour Tribute

Posted on May 18th 2010 7:30AM by Matt Glazebrook
Comments

Think of it more as an anguished shuffle. This summer, a new walking tour of Macclesfield will explore the town's myriad connections to gloomy British band Joy Division and their late frontman Ian Curtis.

Both Curtis and drummer Stephen Morris were born and raised in the Cheshire community, and the tourist trail -- which will take the form of an annotated map -- includes such iconic locations as 77 Barton Street, the home of Curtis and his wife Debbie, and the scene of the singer's suicide at age 23.

Other stops sure to be of interest to black-clad pilgrims to Macclesfield include King School -- the educational provider to Curtis and, for a time, Morris (he was expelled); the Travellers' Rest and Krumbles nightclub which hosted early Joy Division gigs, and the Armitt Street Labour Exchange. The latter is where the frontman worked before his band took off.

The lowlight of a bathos-drenched trek will likely be Macclesfield's crematorium, the final resting place of Curtis and home to a memorial decorated with the lyrics to 'Love Will Tear Us Apart.'

Once they've completed their melancholy death march, tourists can make their way to the 1813 Sunday School Heritage Centre building, where the ' Unknown Pleasures' exhibition will host record sleeves, rare vinyl, posters, flyers, set lists and letters from late Manchester rock guru Tony Wilson and Joy Division members to the group's manager, Rob Gretton. Also scheduled are percussion workshops, design sessions and guided photography tours.

"Macclesfield has never had the opportunity to celebrate Ian Curtis's work in a way which benefits the communities of the town and also attracts music fans from far and wide," explained museum director Richard de Peyer. "This summer seemed like the right moment to do that."

No word on whether the town elders are planning a follow-up trail of pubs, chip shops and vomit-strewn shop doorways in tribute to Macclesfield's second most famous musical sons, the Macc Lads.