A group of Joy Division fans are attempting to raise funds required to buy former vocalist Ian Curtis's former residence and convert in into a museum centered around the band. The property has gone up for sale and Zak Davies, the fan who started the campaign, hopes to acquire the home before developers get other ideas (from NME).
"The troubled yet gifted singer and lead guitarist has impacted upon so many peoples lives," he said via a website dedicated to the project. "Recently his final home and the place where he spent his final moments has gone up for sale in Macclesfield. Rather than it be taken by developers or sold for development, we feel a place with such cultural significance with such an important man attached deserves to be made into a museum and somewhere that Joy Division fans from around the world can come to pay respects and learn about Ian Curtis."
The campaign has raised £600 so far, out of a total £150,000 the group is trying to raise. The property, located in Macclesfield (south of Manchester), is listed for £115,000. Somewhat alarmingly, £5,000 is listed as covering "legal costs and just incase (sic) something goes wrong."
One possible downside (or upside) to using the building as a museum: Curtis took his own life by hanging in the kitchen (reportedly while listening to Iggy Pop's The Idiot, just a few days before Joy Division was to embark on a tour of the United States. It seems a little morbid to host a museum in the building, although that will realistically draw more fans to the location. Similar concepts, such as Elvis Presley's Graceland museum, bar attendees from the room where the vocalist reportedly died.
A number of big-name musician museums have been in the news recently, including the new George Jones museum in Nashville and a proposed Oscar Hammerstein Museum and performance center outside of Philadelphia.
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