Joy Division Members Condemn eBay Auction for Ian Curtis's Kitchen Table

BY Gregory AdamsPublished Nov 13, 2013

Surviving members of Joy Division have spoken up regarding the ongoing eBay auction for the late Ian Curtis's kitchen table, expressing displeasure that the item has gone up for sale, as well as the media coverage behind it.

In a statement to NME, the group's Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris noted that they're voicing their support to Curtis's wife and daughter, Deborah and Natalie Curtis, "who have been caused great distress over media reporting of the sale of the table originally owned by the family, and currently being auctioned on eBay."

They added: "Deborah and Natalie would like to point out that the sale of this table has nothing whatsoever to do with them. The table was sold along with the house in 1980 and Natalie has never signed any authentication document. Furthermore, they consider the sale of a personal family item, and the subsequent media reporting, to be distasteful and upsetting."

According to the eBay listing, the seller, Tel Harrop, himself bought the item in an eBay auction from former neighbours of the Curtis's. Harrop has since gone on to note that he's "really unhappy" over the distress he's caused and the negative attention brought to the auction.

As a Joy Division fan, Harrop finds the table an interesting artifact, but there is grimness surrounding the item, as the table is rumoured to have been in the kitchen with Curtis when he hanged himself in 1980. Harrop does not believe this to be true.

"When I put the listing on I could have said a lot of things but I didn't want to, you know," Harrop told NME. "I would have bought the table if it had been his lounge table — I just bought it because it was an unusual item. Everyone's got the records — I've got the table. This band has been my life for years."

Harrop acknowledges that, as the band claim, there is no official signed document to certify the authenticity of the table. However, he says that he has emails and documents from Deborah and Natalie Curtis proving the table is genuine, as well as documents from neighbours that held onto the table and later sold it to Harrop and the editor of a Joy Division fansite.

"I can't turn the table on the table story," he said. "I'm upset the way its gone but I didn't put it on for the money, I just did it for good intentions. I want the sale to end now because it's all got out of hand. At the end of this, it might not even sell — with 10 minutes to go there might be a bunch of retracted bids and I may end up with it."

The auction ends later today (November 13). The highest bid is currently £8,200 (roughly $13,764 Canadian).

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