The striking 'last ever' photo of Ian Curtis taken just days before his death
30.04.2022 - 18:07
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
An original passport picture of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis is thought to have been the last picture taken before his death.
The striking picture, which was taken just days before his untimely death in 1980 and signed by the iconic musician, has now been sold for thousands of pounds at auction.
The photo was taken at the Old Woolworths on Mill Street in his home town of Macclesfield and given to then road manager Terry Mason ahead of the Salford band's planned US tour, Cheshire Live reports.
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Mr Mason believes the photo is the last one taken of Ian as no one has made claim to a later one. The passport picture has now gone under the hammer and sold for £7,500.
The signed shot went for auction on last week at the Music Memorabilia & Vinyl Showcase Auction. On the Omega Auctions website, the former Joy Division manager spoke about events leading up to the picture.
Terry Mason said: "Taken on the morning of Thursday, May 15 1980, at the Photo Me booth in Woolworths Macclesfield, in preparation for the US Tour. The band, Rob and the crew all needed to provide two passport photos, signed on the reverse complete with any middle initials.
"I was due to travel to the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square the next day and I already had everyone else, Ian’s were the last to be collected. I drove over with Barney and Rob Gretton."
"Ian was in fine form and overly generous, we really thought that he had got his head around his domestic situation, and was making plans for the future. He gave Barney some albums, his skinny Levis and his winkle picker boots, he gave me his Ideal for Living cover – for some reason I had missed out on a cover, despite