Former members of Joy Division have spoken of their regret following the suicide of singer Ian Curtis.

The band's frontman killed himself in May 1980 at the age of 23 after suffering depression over his diagnosis with epilepsy the previous year.

New biopic Control, which tells the story of Curtis's time in the band, is due to hit cinemas next week. In an interview with The Sun ahead of the film's release, bandmates Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner said they wished they could have done more to prevent the tragedy.

Morris said: "Looking back, I wish I'd helped him more. I think that all the time... But we were having such a good time, and you're very selfish when you're young. Epilepsy wasn't understood then. People would just say, 'He's a bit of a loony - he has fits.'"

Sumner agreed: "People thought he was on drugs because of the way he performed, but he never took drugs. He was just losing himself in the music."

Hook said he was pleased that the movie recalls Curtis’s importance in the group, whose hits include 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'. He told the newspaper: "He was the driving force who held it together when we were upset or down. He'd always inspire us to keep trying."

Control - based on the book Touching From A Distance by Curtis's widow Deborah - picked up the Best European Film award at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year. It is released on October 5.