A Joy Division superfan has used artificial intelligence to breathe new life into an old festive photo of Macclesfield's Ian Curtis.

Facebook page Decade 77 - 87 have put one photo of the smiling singer-songwriter and frontman through a computer image programme.

The AI has upscaled the quality, making it less pixely, and appear as if it was taken today.

The photo is from the Macclesfield Unemployment Office Christmas Party, with the photographer currently unknown.

Some fans claim Ian Curtis' eyes are wrong, however, it is the closest we have to a high definition image of the late singer, who passed away aged just 23. (Image - William Howard / Mark Howard Enhanced by AI)

The image was believed to be taken in 1977, two years before Joy Division's debut album Unknown Pleasures made waves across the nation.

Curtis worked for the job centre in question was based at South Park Road in Macclesfield before his short career in the international spotlight.

The wordsmith behind Love Will Tear Us Apart and She's Lost Control died at his Barton Street home in May 1980.

The original photographer was Mr William Howard, and his son Mark shared it online on Facebook groups last decade, and went viral in 2018 when shared by Macclesfield-raised radio presenter Geoff Lloyd.

The original photo. (Image - William Howard / Mark Howard)

The AI illustration has received tens of thousands of likes, however has come under criticism for not being 100% accurate.

Yet, it still provides a stunning spotlight into one of the four known images from this event featuring the former King's School graduate.

Click the red link above to view the original photo, and more of Curtis at this historic Macclesfield Christmas party.

The other Maxonians in the photo are Ernie Beard, Elaine Ian, Doris Taylor, and Sue Doggart. The other male is unnamed.

Earlier this year, a mural of Curtis was revealed in Macclesfield by one of his former bandmates.

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