before he collapsed to the floor and experienced the most violent seizure he had endured to date. Stage performances Curtis's onstage dancing was often reminiscent of the seizures he experienced and has been termed by some to be his "epilepsy dance". Throughout Joy Division's live performances in 1979 and 1980, Curtis collapsed several times while performing and had to be carried off stage. To minimise any possibility of Curtis having epileptic seizures, flashing lights were prohibited at Joy Division gigs; despite these measures, Bernard Sumner later stated that certain percussion effects would cause Curtis to have a seizure. In April 1980, Terry Mason was appointed as a minder to ensure Curtis took his prescribed medications, avoided alcohol consumption and got sufficient sleep. Regarding the choreography of Curtis's stage performances, Greil Marcus in The History of Rock 'n' Roll in Ten Songs quotes Jon Savage from Melody Maker: "Ian's mesmeric style mirrored the ever more frequent epileptic spasms that Deborah Curtis had to cope with at home." Marcus remarked that Curtis's performance "might also have been a matter of intentionally replicating fits, re-enacting them, using them as a form of energy and a form of music." Curtis's final live performance with Joy Division was on 2 May 1980 at the High Hall of Birmingham University and included Joy Division's first and only performance of "Ceremony", later recorded by New Order and released as their debut single. The final song Curtis performed on stage with Joy Division prior to his death was "Digital". Depression and initial suicide attempt Following Curtis's first definite suicide attempt on 6 April 1980, Tony Wilson and his partner, Lindsay—expressing deep concerns as to Joy Division's intense touring schedule being detrimental to Curtis's physical and mental well-being—invited him to recuperate at their cottage in Charlesworth in Derbyshire. While there, he is known to have written several letters to Honoré, proclaiming his love for her as he recuperated. By early 1980, Curtis's marriage to Deborah was floundering, as she had commenced divorce proceedings after he had failed to cease all contact with Honoré. Curtis enjoyed solitude, but had never been mentally equipped for living alone. He was having difficulty balancing his family obligations with his musical ambitions and his health was gradually worsening as a result of his epilepsy, thus increasing his dependency upon others. On the evening before his death, Curtis informed Bernard Sumner of his insistence upon