One Joy Division super fan is in the process of purchasing the Macclesfield, England home that frontman Ian Curtis committed suicide in with plans of transforming it into a museum.
Initially, an Indiegogo campaign was attemping to raise money to buy and renovate the house into a museum and keep it away from developers. The campaign fell short and only accumulated around £2,000, which was eventually donated to a mental health charity, Mind, in Curtis' name. Musician and entrepreneur, Hadar Goldman, contributed the £115,000 left of the asking price (approximately $180,200) in addition to £75,000 ($117,525) to take care of legal fees to reverse the sale, notes Rolling Stone.
"Although I paid £190,000 - nearly double the asking price - I felt as if I had to get involved, especially after hearing the plight of fans who had failed to raise the necessary funds to buy the house owned and lived in by one of the musical heroes of my youth," Goldman said. With a lack of information on the museum and its location, Goldman said in a statement, "When the time comes, we will welcome the input and ideas of anyone interested in being part of such an exciting project, commemorating a meaningful part of musical history."
Bandmates Peter Hook and Bernard Sumner have mixed feelings about the home-turned-museum. While Bernard told the Guardian that the museum would be "a great compliment," Sumner feared the house of the Unknown Pleasures singer, who suffered epilepsy and depression, would appear as "a monument to suicide."
Sumner's apprehension could have stemmed from last year's sale of the kitchen table Curtis stood on to hang himself which drew £8,400 on eBay. At the time of the auction, Sumner and Stephen Morris referred to the sale as ""distasteful and upsetting," and shared that it caused Curtis' family grief.
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