Ian Curtis was the group's sole lyricist. Curtis would write frantically when the mood took him; he would then listen to the band's music (which was often arranged by Sumner) and used the lyrics that were most appropriate. Words and images such as "coldness, pressure, darkness, crisis, failure, collapse, loss of control" recur in his songs.
In 1979, NME journalist Paul Rambali wrote, "The themes of Joy Division's music are sorrowful, painful, and sometimes deeply sad."
The other band members later admitted they paid little attention to what Curtis was writing.
Morris commented: "We just thought the songs were sort of sympathetic and more uplifting than depressing. But everyone's got their own opinion."
The surviving members of the band in retrospect regret not seeing warning signs in Curtis's lyrics. "This sounds awful but it was only after Ian died that we sat down and listened to the lyrics," Morris said in 2007. "You'd find yourself thinking, 'Oh my God, I missed this one.' Because I'd look at Ian's lyrics and think how clever he was putting himself in the position of someone else. I never believed he was writing about himself. Looking back, how could I have been so bleedin' stupid? Of course he was writing about himself. But I didn't go in and grab him and ask, 'What's up?' I have to live with that."
Joy Division were due to begin their first American tour in May 1980. While Curtis had expressed a desire to take time off to visit a few acquaintances, he feigned excitement about the tour around the band because he did not want to disappoint his band mates or Factory Records. At the time, Curtis's relationship with his wife, Deborah Curtis (the couple married in 1975 as teenagers), was collapsing. Contributing factors were his ill health, her being mostly excluded from his life with the band, and his relationship with a young Belgian woman named Annik Honoré whom he had met on a European tour. The evening before Joy Division were to embark on the American tour, Curtis returned to his home in Macclesfield in order to talk to his estranged wife. He asked her to drop the divorce suit she had filed; later, he told her to leave him alone in the house until he caught his train to Manchester the next morning. Early on the morning of 18 May 1980, Curtis hanged himself in his kitchen; Deborah Curtis discovered his body when she returned around midday. Tony Wilson said in 2005, "I think all of us made the mistake of not thinking his suicide was going to happen.... We all completely underestimated the danger. We didn't take it seriously. That's how stupid we were."
A wall on Wallace Street in Wellington, New Zealand, had the words "Ian Curtis Lives" written on it shortly after the singer's death. The message is repainted whenever it is painted over. A nearby wall on the same street on the 4 January 2005 was originally emblazoned "Ian Curtis RIP", later modified to read "Ian Curtis R.I.P. Walk In Silence" along with the dates "1959 - 1981". Both are referred to as "The Ian Curtis Wall". On Thursday 10 September 2009, the wall was painted over by Wellington City Council's anti graffiti team. The wall was chalked back up on 16 September 2009. Following this, council spokesman Richard MacLean said "They [the anti-graffiti team] may turn a blind eye to it".
Curtis's memorial stone, which is inscribed with "Ian Curtis 18 - 5 - 80" and "Love Will Tear Us Apart", was stolen in July 2008 from the grounds of Macclesfield Cemetery. The missing memorial stone was later replaced by a new stone.
- This bit of information made me think instead of looking for a person, my main character could be looking for a place. Throughout the film he could be holding a parcel wraped in cloth so as to make you wonder what's inside then at the end he finds the perfect location and places it down to a close up shot of the inscribed message. Also it could be worth spray-painting a mock Ian Curtis New Zealand Wall.
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