IMAGES BY PAUL EVANS
WORDS PAUL EVANS
There aren’t many musicians who can say they’ve been in two of the most influential British bands of the past 40 years. A proud Salfordian and an honorary Mancunian, Peter Hook has been there done that buying several hundred t-shirts on the way. With Joy Division, he co-wrote and played bass on the band’s two seminal albums ‘Unknown Pleasures’ and ‘Closer’ and did the same for all New Order studio albums from ‘Movement’ to ‘Lost Sirens’. With an up-and-coming Peter Hook and the Light USA tour, there’s no better time for a quick chat, but what do you ask a man who’s lived his life in the spotlight for the last 40 years……
It’s been an incredible journey in music from the streets of Salford through to Joy Division and onto New Order and beyond. As he gears up for another long tour in the USA and then back for a UK tour, Peter looks well and is obviously in good spirits.
PE: How are you, Peter?
PH: I’m good. We’ve been rehearsing today, but Martin (Rebelski) the keyboard player has a cold. Bloody typical (he laughs) just before a tour. That reminds me I must phone him to see how he is. How are you?
PE: I’m great, but bloody nervous.
PH: What are you nervous about? you’ve got nothing to be nervous about.
PE: You’re Peter Hook! (I laugh)
PH: I know I’m Peter Hook I’m not that fkin’old (he laughs)
PE: Can you tell me about the forthcoming Peter Hook and the Light tour and what it’s like to still perform these songs live after all these years especially as you’re now also the lead singer.
PH: We’ll be performing both the New Order and Joy Division Substance albums in full. I still class myself as a bass player. I had to become a singer and I now understand why lead singers can be…… difficult (he smiles). I think you’ve got to have something as a lead singer we call it L.S.S (lead singer syndrome) (he laughs). The songs are such a big part of my life and I still hear new things in them especially during the Hacienda classical performances.
PE: Me too. I bought the Love will tear us apart single in 1980 and played it constantly by not putting the arm down on the record player and even now I still pick up different things within the song.
PH: That’s good to hear mate. I had a friend who used to do that. He’d play a song continuously and then give it away. He did it with …… he begins to sing “January…..”
PE: I laugh…. (As surreal things go, having Peter Hook sing a 1975 song by Pilot to me is going to take some beating)
PE: With Peter Hook and the Light, you always play an intense set of nearly three hours. Why don’t you just get a support band, you must get exhausted!
PH: I’m often told that. Being in New Order was hard work, bloody hard work. As soon as it ended, I thought right… now I can do what I want to and I’m also fit enough to do it. The Joy Division music is more exhausting than the New Order music. With songs like ‘Perfect Kiss ‘or ‘Shellshock’ you get quite a lot of time off with the sequencers.
While New Order’s Substance is upbeat, full energy and technological experimentation, Joy Divisions Substance reflects the environment the band were living in at the time. Manchester was bleak in the late 1970s, full of dark Victorian archways and rundown backstreets. It was ominous and industrial and after reading Ged Duffy’s excellent “Factory Tales” book really quite violent. Joy Division’s unique sound set them apart from other bands of that era. Martin Hannett’s production shaping the bands raw sound and turning it into something unique and timeless.
PE: You developed such a unique, iconic and influential playing style right from the start. I’ve read that this was due to your equipment making it harder to hear the lower frequencies. How did your distinctive style and sound develop?
PH: Bernard had a loud amp and when I played we couldn’t hear anything unless I played high up the neck. Ian loved it. Every time we came to play, he would yell “Hooky, play it high”, “Play it high”. An Electro-Harmonix pedal fattened the sound. I also loved Jean-Jacques Burnel (The Stranglers) and Paul Simenon (The Clash) and they played the bass slung really low so I had to get the longest bass guitar strap possible.
Ian Curtis’s voice, lyrics and his presence on stage alongside the swaggering low-slung bass are the enduring image of Joy Division and his passing was such a pivotal and tragic moment in the band’s history. Inevitably the conversation turns to Ian.
PH: The first time I met Ian was at the third Sex Pistols gig in Manchester. He was wearing a jacket with Hate painted on the back which you wouldn’t have expected. You’d have expected it to be a kitten. Ian was Joy Divisions biggest fan. Losing him was like losing a brother. We wanted to slow down with Joy Division when he became ill, but he was the driving force and wanted to go on. What do you do? Ian was so upbeat; he was so encouraging. If we were down, he’d be the one saying we’ll soon be playing there. When I now play different countries around the world. I still say we made it mate.
PE: That’s so great to hear. Ian is generally portrayed as the opposite. Does he get the recognition he deserves?
PH: Definitely, he would be very proud.
PE: The Hacienda is an obviously massive part of New Order’s story and the band funded the club throughout its turbulent history. I read something where Tony Wilson said that Joy Division and New Order have got a lot to thank the Hacienda for as it kept you poor and kept you making great music. How do you see it?
PH: Yeah. (he laughs). We were punks. Our accounts were investigated (the first time) and they didn’t believe we didn’t make any money from Joy Division merchandise and we were fined! Guess who the only person to be sued for copyright on Joy Division is? ….Me! (he laughs again)
PE: What’s next for you after the upcoming USA and UK tours?
PH: We keep getting asked why we aren’t doing this city or that city so after this Substance tour we’re going back. We’re going to be doing ‘Get Ready’ next year and hopefully taking Hacienda classical on tour.
PE: Final question, you once said you hope to play every song you’ve ever written before you retire. How close are you to achieving it?
PH: There’s some early demo’s that might not work, but nearly there (he smiles)
We don’t quite say our goodbyes as the video call goes down (typical) and the last word Peter probably hears from me is an expletive yelled really loudly. If you’re reading this Peter, sorry for that and thank you. It was an absolute pleasure. See you on the road.
All dates and tickets for the upcoming tours are here. https://peterhookandthelight.live
If you’re in any doubt of whether to go here’s a few words from one of my recent reviews:-
“The only possible song to end the set has its title written on a memorial stone in a Macclesfield Cemetery. “Sweeney, this one’s for you my best mate” declares Peter before launching into “Love will tear us apart”. The whole crowd push forward, everyone’s hands stabbing the air. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up again as 3000 people sing those anthemic seven words at the top of their voices back to the band. I’ve not seen a crowd react to a song like this for a very, very long time, if at all. In fact, I haven’t. It’s probably the best performance and emotional reaction I’ve ever seen at a gig. A bass guitar is held in the air, a shirt is thrown into the crowd, the band hug each other and then they’re gone. It’s an end to an astounding, astounding gig. A gig I won’t be forgetting for a long, long time. Wow. Simply, Wow”
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I’ve loved music since forever. Graphic designer, photographer and artist at painted.papillon.smile (www.ppsdesign.co.uk)
