MOG

The modest tombstone which marked the final resting place of the troubled and enigmatic singer of Joy Division, Ian Curtis was stolen this last weekend (late June-as previously reported). Today, Ian's former bandmate Stephen Morris is making a plea for it's return,

Joy Division and New Order drummer Stephen Morris explained to NME.COM:

"I just don't understand why anyone would do it," he said. "You couldn't sell it on eBay - it's ridiculous and very upsetting."

He added: "There had been the films (the 2007 'Control' movie and the recent eponymous documentary) so maybe someone thought they could cash in… or maybe it's someone who is a bit deranged - you'd have to be."

The drummer explained that he and those associated with the band and Curtis' family were upset by the theft.

"I'm speechless. It really is not a very nice thing at all," he said. 

Morris then urged the culprit to "have a bit of dignity about it" and to anonymously leave the gravestone somewhere it could be found.

Curtis was 23 when he hanged himself in the kitchen of his Macclesfield home after having viewed Werner Herzog's film Stroszek and listening to Iggy Pop's The Idiot in May 1980, shortly before the band were due to go on tour in the US.

The headstone is visited by thousands of fans every year, paying their respects to the singer who committed suicide in 1980 at the age of 23.

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