Pic: Julien LachaussÇe
About to hit Australia for the first time since 2009, Peter Hook is once again bringing his band ‘The Light’ to Australia along with his signature bass lines in a celebration of his New Order era and in particular the third and fourth albums Brotherhood and Low Life. This follows on from the previous tour where the entire Unknown Pleasures album was played, and although Hooky regrets not being able to make it to Australia ‘in the middle’ to play Closer, Movement and Power Corruption And Lies as they did in the UK, US and Europe, he guarantees a stellar show.
Originally starting off as Warsaw, Hooky (as he is affectionately known) along with friends Ian Curtis, Bernard Sumner, and Stephen Morris became the post punk sensations known as Joy Division until Curtis’ untimely death in 1980. Rather than disband, the lads kept going under the moniker of New Order and along with the new setup came the defining sounds of the new wave movement.
We spoke to Peter Hook about the pending tour and his career as one of the founders of the new wave movement and, not one to be perturbed by the whole celebrity scene, Hooky gave us a very candid interview including an update on his current stalemate with former band members over the use of the New Order name and music.
In his distinct Manchester accent, Hook explains why it’s taken so long to return to Australia and promises a show that will give die hard fans a real treat.
“With us doing the chronological thing in the UK, US and Europe where we played the whole six albums in succession over several tours, we feel bad that we couldn’t do that in Australia, as we missed ‘the middle’, but hey that’s life, innit! Maybe we’ll have to throw some favourite songs in, a few medleys to make up for it. The interesting thing about playing albums in a show is because my group is quite flexible, and we can play all the Joy Division and New Order songs anyway. We might not be getting home those nights!”
The lineup for this tour is pretty much the same as the 2009 tour, but with David Potts replacing Nat Wason, and features Paul Kehoe on Drums, Andy Poole on Keyboard and Hook’s son Jack Bates on bass(which technically makes them ‘Monaco’.)
“We’re very much a tight unit, we’ve been playing together for 25 years- it’s scary,” Hooky proudly says. But, there was a time when a Joy Division song wasn’t played by any of the band members following Curtis’ death, but he reflects on what made them want to finally play the older songs after the subsequent demise of Joy Division
“After almost 30 years of not being able to play Joy Division, we tried it once as New Order at a cancer benefit in Manchester and when we came off stage, Bernard looked at me and said ‘It’s fookin’ miserable that stuff, I’m not playing it again’….. and we never did!” But Hook explains that this had more to do with the lighter feel of New Order’s music as opposed to Sumner having to sing the darker, more emotive lyrics of Ian Curtis.
We discuss Curtis’ death and his musical legacy, and more importantly how Hook feels about playing those songs himself, whether or not they evoke hurtful memories and feelings. Hook’s response is both philosophical and poignant.
“Joy Division were a very unique group, each member brought something really special to it and you had a wonderful drummer, bass player, and guitarist who meshed together perfectly with this wonderful vocalist and lyricist. To play it was great, and to be honest I felt cheated with Ian’s suicide and was very angry with him…for all the work we put into Closer etc. But that pales into significance when you realize the effect it had on his parents, wife, and child. There was a definite hole both personally and professionally, and we never got to perform Closer as a group. We’d just finished it when Ian sadly departed and there was an emptiness about that record. To play it live for the first time was an amazingly wonderful feeling. Up until then, most people had only ever heard Joy Division on record. Myself and The Light manage to celebrate that band as much as we can now, as much as I celebrate New Order without trying to be them. “(a subtle swipe at the current lineup of which he is no longer a part of)
But it’s not all sour grapes with Hook though, who still respects Sumner and Morris’ musical talents but saw New Order as becoming different in it’s musical identity, leading up to his departure from them in 2007. “Bernard was writing these fantastic guitar lines and keyboard lines, but I don’t think some other members of the band were able to play them, or feel them. The band became a different interpretation of the songs. It was frustrating so I left. “
It’s no secret that Hook and former bandmates from New Order, Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris, are locked in a legal battle over the use of the band’s name and songs, and Hook sees them as pretending to be the band when they’re not quite the genuine article. He doesn’t try to hold back anything when we talk about this. “My beef with the others is that they are pretending to be New Order, and that’s not fair. After 30 years of hard work and what I did to establish both the band and the brand with them, they way they treated me was disgusting and I hope that one day the truth will come out & fans will realise what they’re like as people. Their decision to reform the group without me is unfair, and that’s what I’m fighting them for. I could really do without all this!”
But despite this ‘nasty divorce’ as he puts it, Hook and hopes one day for reconciliation. “I am a great fan of Bernard and Stephen as musicians, and to be honest when I look at what we’ve created together over the years we shouldn’t let a stupid argument get in the way of those wonderful achievements we’ve shared together. Joy Division changed the world of music, and then New Order came and did it again…so I’d be happy to celebrate that with them once more! It would be wonderful to get back together because I really respect Bernard as a musician, I wouldn’t have achieved what I did without him, or Steve for that matter and vice versa!”
It’s only fair that Hooky gets his ‘half of the dog’ as he puts it, after his input into both groups and there’s still hope yet that the lads will bury the hatchet and get back to the reason they came together in the first place-the music! One can only hope.
Meanwhile, catch Peter Hook and The Light playing the entire Brotherhood and Low Life albums along with an array of other hit songs from Joy Division and New Order.Peter Hook and The Light will kick off on Feb 14 in Perth.
Get your tickets here: http://bit.ly/HookTix
Interviewed by Darren Hassan
Tour Dates.
Saturday 14th February 2015: Astor Theatre, Perth, Australia
Sunday 15th February 2015: The Gov, Adelaide, Australia
Wednesday 18th February 2015: Tivoli Theatre, Brisbane, Australia
Thursday 19th February 2015: Metro, Sydney, Australia
Friday 20 February: SummerSalt Outdoor Arts Festival, Melbourne, Australia
Saturday 21st February 2015: Corner Hotel, Melbourne, Australia
Sunday 22nd February 2015: Wrestpoint, Hobart, Australia
Wednesday 25th February 2015: Churchills, Christchurch, New Zealand
Thursday 26th February 2015: Bogeda, Wellington, New Zealand
Friday 27th February 2015: The Studio, Auckland, New Zealand
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